Pyrrho of Elis

[speed]

Pyrrho, a man of fatalistic yet pragmatic wisdom, urged men to ask three questions: 1) What things are and how are they constituted? 2) How are we related to these things? 3) What ought are attitude be towards these things?

His answers? We can never know how things are, only how they appear to us. Each has his own different opinion on how we are related--thus no matter how convincing or sly, it is still a opinion, and can be refuted. And finally, we ought to suspend judgment of everything, because the only thing we do know, is that we know nothing at all.

Discovering all of this, Pyrrho advocated acatalepsia, or the impossibility of knowing things in their own nature. And drawn from this acatalepsia, Pyrrho advanced like the Epicureans, that since nothing can be known, then the wise or intelligent man's only recourse, is to adopt a attitude of ataraxia towards knowledge (the Epicureans adopt it for all of life)--that is, freedom from worry, freedom from the building of imaginary philosophical systems, epistemological arguments, etc., etc. Freedom from all of those things that philosophy is still enraptured with and debating to this very day.

Thus, I ask, if all matters of philosophy have already been solved (by Pyrrho), why bother with the linguistic games, the systems, and the pursuit?

 

[Warden_D]

Pyrrho, a man of fatalistic yet pragmatic wisdom, urged men to ask three questions: 1) What things are and how are they constituted? 2) How are we related to these things? 3) What ought are attitude be towards these things?

His answers? We can never know how things are, only how they appear to us. Each has his own different opinion on how we are related--thus no matter how convincing or sly, it is still a opinion, and can be refuted. And finally, we ought to suspend judgment of everything, because the only thing we do know, is that we know nothing at all.

Discovering all of this, Pyrrho advocated acatalepsia, or the impossibility of knowing things in their own nature. And drawn from this acatalepsia, Pyrrho advanced like the Epicureans, that since nothing can be known, then the wise or intelligent man's only recourse, is to adopt a attitude of ataraxia towards knowledge (the Epicureans adopt it for all of life)--that is, freedom from worry, freedom from the building of imaginary philosophical systems, epistemological arguments, etc., etc. Freedom from all of those things that philosophy is still enraptured with and debating to this very day.

Thus, I ask, if all matters of philosophy have already been solved (by Pyrrho), why bother with the linguistic games, the systems, and the pursuit?

Life can't just be about keeping serotonin levels up, can it? Ultimately everyone has to try to fill the void of meaning in their life somehow. It's why obscenely rich and shallow celebrities travel the globe hugging african children. Chemical happiness feels great, and ignorance can have it flowing through your brain like a rushing creek. But there's always that unexplainable (god? spirituality?) part of oneself that must be satisfied as well. In the end, most people never reach their goals and become cynical babbling man-infants watching Wheel of Fortune eating crushed pears, cursing father time for passing by too quickly. But (and I know it's a cliche) it's the joooourney maaan, not the destination. Be happy with what you've got and are gaining instead of despondent about what might never be there. Wasn't there a cleverly disguised adolescent book about this, the Alchemist or something?

D.

 

[speed]

Life can't just be about keeping serotonin levels up, can it? Ultimately everyone has to try to fill the void of meaning in their life somehow. It's why obscenely rich and shallow celebrities travel the globe hugging african children. Chemical happiness feels great, and ignorance can have it flowing through your brain like a rushing creek. But there's always that unexplainable (god? spirituality?) part of oneself that must be satisfied as well. In the end, most people never reach their goals and become cynical babbling man-infants watching Wheel of Fortune eating crushed pears, cursing father time for passing by too quickly. But (and I know it's a cliche) it's the joooourney maaan, not the destination. Be happy with what you've got and are gaining instead of despondent about what might never be there. Wasn't there a cleverly disguised adolescent book about this, the Alchemist or something?

D.

I like you outlook on life. I think my point was, like Pyrrho, should we perhaps stop wasting our time trying to explain the unexplainable in knowledge--creating more systems, making more critiques and summations of logical flaws? Should we perhaps just accept that no philosophical system no matter how comprehensive, will ever truly be ironclad? Should we instead search or find comfort in other things--life, spirituality, art?

Or, are we humans by nature, just too damn inquisitive and foolish to stop?