Carneades

Carneades was a Greek philosopher born around 214–3 BC in Cyrene. He became one of the most important leaders of the Skeptical Academy in Ancient Greece. Carneades challenged many old ideas, especially those of the Stoics and Epicureans, and questioned whether we can really know what is true.

In 155 BC, Carneades was one of three philosophers sent to Rome. There, his talks about justice made many leaders worried because he talked about how hard it is to know for sure what is right. Carneades did not write any books himself, but his ideas were passed down by his student Clitomachus and later written about by Cicero and Sextus Empiricus.

Carneades believed we might not be able to know absolute truth, but we can still find ideas that seem very likely and helpful for everyday life. According to Douglas Walton, Carneades' big contribution was his theory about how to judge what seems believable using good reasons, consistency, and testing. This helped people deal with uncertainty in practical ways.

Biography

Carneades was born in Cyrene in North Africa around 214/213 BC. He later moved to Athens where he studied under the Stoics, learning from Diogenes of Babylon and the works of Chrysippus. He became the leader of the Platonic Academy after the death of Hegesinus of Pergamon.

In 155 BC, Carneades traveled to Rome as an ambassador. During his visit, he gave speeches about justice. On one day, he praised Roman justice, but the next day, he argued that justice was not always clear and could be tricky. This surprised many people in Rome. Carneades continued to lead the Academy in Athens until his death around 129/128 BC at the age of 85. He was known for his hard work and dedication to his studies.

Philosophy

Carneades was an Academic Skeptic. This means he believed that we cannot truly know anything, except that we cannot know much else.

Carneades taught that we cannot be sure if our thoughts, feelings, or senses show us the real truth. He said that even our best feelings and thoughts can sometimes be wrong. But, we still need ways to live our lives. So, he suggested we trust what feels most true and what many of our thoughts agree on, even if we cannot be completely certain.