Pyrrho of Elis
Considered the founder of Pyrrhonian skepticism, advocating for suspension of judgment to achieve tranquility.
Most quoted
"Whoever wants to be happy must consider these three questions: First, what are things like by nature? Second, what attitude should we adopt towards them? Third, what will be the outcome for those who have this attitude?"
— from Via Aristocles of Messene
"Things are equally indifferent, unmeasurable and inarbitrable. Because of this, neither our sensations nor our opinions tell us truths or falsehoods."
— from Via Sextus Empiricus
"Nothing is honorable or base, just or unjust; and likewise, nothing is true or false, but everything is a matter of custom and convention."
— from Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism, -300
All quotes by Pyrrho of Elis (152)
Nothing is honorable or base, just or unjust; and likewise, nothing is true or false, but everything is a matter of custom and convention.
Suspend judgment.
The wise man is he who does not affirm anything about anything.
We can know nothing, not even whether we can know anything or not.
The same things appear different to different people, and therefore we cannot say what they are in their nature.
For every statement, an equal and opposite statement can be made.
The goal of life is ataraxia (imperturbability).
One should live without belief, without opinion, without inclination.
The wise man is not disturbed by anything, because he does not believe in anything.
We have no criterion of truth.
All things are equally indifferent, unmeasurable, and undecidable.
The wise man is like a man who walks on a tightrope; he does not lean to one side or the other.
We should refrain from making any assertions about the nature of things.
The only thing we can say is that we can say nothing.
The wise man is not affected by pleasure or pain, because he does not judge them to be good or bad.
There is no such thing as absolute truth.
The wise man lives without fear, because he does not believe in anything to fear.
We should live according to appearances, without assenting to them.
The wise man is free from all passions.
The only thing we can be certain of is our uncertainty.
Contemporaries of Pyrrho of Elis
Other Philosophys born within 50 years of Pyrrho of Elis (-360–-270).