—CHAPTER 3 After Aristotle: A Search for the Good Life After Sparta defeated Athens in the Peloponnesian and most of what is known of his es from War (431–404 .), the Greek city-states began to his disciple Sextus Empiricus, who wrote Outlines of collapse and the Greek people became increasingly Pyrrhonism (Bury, 1990) in the third century . demoralized. In this postwar atmosphere Socrates, The Skeptics’ main target of attack was dogma- Plato, and Aristotle flourished, but a gulf was begin- tism. For them, a dogmatist was anyone claiming to ning to develop between philosophy and the psycho- have arrived at an indisputable truth. The Skeptics logical needs of the people. Shortly after Aristotle’s believed that the arguments for and against any death (322 .), the Romans invaded Greek terri- philosophical doctrine were pelling. Be- tory, making an already unstable situation even more cause all claims of truth appeared equivocal, the uncertain. In this time of great personal strife, com- Skeptics advocated a suspension of judgment. They plex and abstract philosophies were of fort. were not dogmatic in their beliefs, however, saying A more worldly philosophy was needed—a philoso- always that “this is how things appear to us” or “this phy that addressed the problems of everyday living. is how things appear to me.” They were not affirming The major questions were no longer, What is the na- or denying any belief, they were only claiming that ture of physical reality? or What and how can hu- they were unaware of any reliable criteria for distin- mans know? but rather How is it best to live? or guishing among various claims of truth. They held What is the nature of the good life? or What is worth “that no one at all could know anything at all; and believing in? What emerged in response to the latter mendable consistency they proceeded to questions were the philosophies of the Skeptics, Cyn- deny that they themselves knew even t
