Kyle Shaffer on Grecian Sextus Empiricus as a proto-Griceian

by J. L. Speranza
for the Grice Club

In the interesting "The Skeptic’s Language Game: Does Sextus Empiricus Violate Normal Language Use?", Kyle Shaffer considers that philosophical skepticism is an epistemological problem that has plagued the greatest thinkers.

For example, Descartes (on whom Grice lectured, "Descartes on clear and distinct perception") used it as a tool to prove the existence of a loving, just God who would not deceive us.

Hume, on whom Grice also lectured -- "Hume's projections" -- used it as a means to critique the use of human reason, and to dismiss metaphysical extrapolations that went beyond human capacities.

So, various responses to scepticism have been made in attempts to show that we can know certain things and that skepticism as a system of thought is either incoherent or results in a way of life that is untenable.

Popular responses have been those from semantic externalism and contextualism in contemporary analytic philosophy.

However, the ancient Grecian form of Pyrrhonean skepticism is unique in that it successfully dodges many of the typical critiques brought against more modern forms of skepticism.

All the Pyrrhonean skeptic seeks to do with her outlook is to weigh the consequences of opposing viewpoints.

If both points are equally valid, the Pyrrhonist simply suspends judgment on the matter, a stance referred to as epochē.

In this way, the Pyrrhonist conforms to no dogma, and indeed resists even calling her view a philosophical one.

What Shaffer does is explore the Pyrrhonean outlook by way of language analysis and while this of critique (cfr. Speranza, "Conversations with the Sceptic", seminar) may not completely refute scepticism, it does pose some complications for the Pyrrhonist.

Shaffer begins by drawing connections between the later philosophy of Witters and several important tenets of Pyrrhonism.

Shaffer then attempts to critique the language-use of the Pyrrhonist by implementing some of the pragmatic principles of conversation described by Grice, notably in "Causal theory of perception" 1961 onwards.

Shaffer concludes with an intuitive model of communication that the Pyrrhonist outlook seems to be inherently at odds with.

That is, if the Pyrrhonist is unable to reconcile her way of life with this communication model, we can justifiably disregard many of the implications presented by the sceptic. Or not.