Carneades
Carneades (/kɑːrˈniːədiːz/; Greek: Καρνεάδης, Karneadēs, "of Carnea"; 214/3–129/8 BC) was a Greek philosopher, perhaps the most prominent head of the Skeptical Academy in ancient Greece. He was born in Cyrene. By the year 159 BC, he had begun to attack many previous dogmatic doctrines, especially Stoicism and even the Epicureans, whom previous skeptics had spared.
Carneades | |
|---|---|
Carneades, Roman copy after the statue exhibited on the agora of Athens, c. 150 BC, Glyptothek | |
| Born | 214/213 BC |
| Died | 129/128 BC |
| Era | Hellenistic philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Academic skepticism, Platonism |
Main interests | Epistemology, ethics |
Notable ideas | Philosophical skepticism, probabilism, Plank of Carneades |
As scholarch (leader) of the Academy, he was one of three philosophers sent to Rome in 155 BC where his lectures on the uncertainty of justice caused consternation among leading politicians. He left no writings. Many of his opinions are known only via his successor Clitomachus. He seems to have doubted the ability not just of the senses but of reason too in acquiring truth. His skepticism was, however, moderated by the belief that we can, nevertheless, ascertain probabilities (not in the sense of statistical probability, but in the sense of persuasiveness) of truth, to enable us to act.