Works of Sextus Empiricus (8 vols.)
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Overview
Over 1,500 years before David Hume, John Locke, and George Berkeley questioned the nature of knowledge and advocated for empiricism, Sextus Empiricus challenged the validity of induction and the extent to which we can be assured of what we know. As a Pyrrhonian skeptic, Sextus never denied the possibility of obtaining knowledge, but he refused to trust any senses or beliefs as a confirmation or an indication of knowledge. Thus, he advocated that the suspension of judgment was the only means of acquiring peace of mind. Sextus recorded the practices of Pyrrhonian skepticism in Outlines of Pyrrhonism, and his writings make up the most complete account of ancient Greek and Roman skepticism surviving today. While the ambiguous origins of Sextus Empiricus himself are still debated, his writings are undeniably valuable to scholars of philosophy and skepticism.
The Works of Sextus Empiricus includes Outlines of Pyrrhonism, Against Logicians, Against Physicists. Against Ethicists, and Against Professors. With these writings, Sextus Empiricus calls into question every academic school of thought and redefines what we can truly know.
This collection contains the complete texts in their Loeb Classical Library editions. Each text includes the original Greek and an English translation for easy side-by-side comparison. Logos’ language tools allow you to go deeper into the Greek text and explore Sextus’ elegant language. Use the dictionary lookup tool to examine difficult English words used by the translator. Students of literature, history, and philosophy will enjoy these works and appreciate their significance.
Key Features
- 28 surviving works of Sextus Empiricus
- Loeb Classical Library editions
- Criticism of professors of the arts and sciences
- Outline of Pyrrhonian skepticism
Product Details
- Title: Works of Sextus Empiricus
- Author: Sextus Empiricus
- Translator: R. G. Bury
- Series: Loeb Classical Library
- Publisher: Harvard University Press
- Volumes: 8
- Pages: 2,032
Partially includedAbout Sextus Empiricus
Sextus Empiricus (AD 160–210) was a physician and philosopher, believed to have lived in Alexandria, Rome, or Athens. As a physician, he followed the experienctially governed practices of the empiric school, though his writings aligned more with the methodic school’s approach to medicinal knowledge. He was a major voice in favor of suspending belief and judgment. The first printing of his writings, in 1562, radically impacted the following centuries of philosophy. Little is known about Sextus Empiricus beyond what can be gleaned from his own writing.
About R. G. Bury
Reverend Robert Gregg Bury (1869–1951) studied classical Greco-Roman texts at Trinity College in Cambridge and built a reputation as a philosophical scholar, researcher, and translator. His other works include a translation of Plato’s laws. His name carries on with the Gregg Bury Prize, “awarded for a distinguished dissertation on the subject of the philosophy or religion” at Cambridge.