The Epistemology of the Cyrenaic School

by Voula Tsouna

Overview

The Cyrenaics were a Hellenistic Greek philosophical school of the fourth century BC, related both to the Socratic tradition and to Greek skepticism. There are further links with modern philosophy as well. This book reconstructs the Cyrenaic theory of knowledge, explains how it depends on Cyrenaic hedonism, locates it in the context of ancient debates and discusses its connections with modern and contemporary views on knowledge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521036368
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/23/2007
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.24(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Abbreviations; 1. Knowledge and the good life: the ethical motivation of the Cyrenaic views on knowledge; Part I. Subjectivism: 2. The nature of the pathe; 3. The vocabulary of the pathe; 4. The apprehension of the pathe; 5. The criticism of Aristocles of Messene; Part II. Scepticism: 6. The causes of the pathe: objects in the world; 7. Our ignorance of other minds; 8. Some remarks on language; Part III. Subjectivism, Empiricism, Relativism: Cyrenaics, Epicureans, Protagoreans: 9. Cyrenaic subjectivism and the Epicurean doctrine that all perceptions are true: Plutarch, Adv. Col. 1120f–1121e; 10. Cyrenaic epistemology and Protagorean relativism: some considerations; 11. The Socratic connection; Appendix: sources and testimonies; References; Index of names; Index locorum; Subject index.

Editorial Reviews

"Tsouna's study of the epistemology of the Cyrenaic school is certainly a valuable asset for the scholarship on Hellenistic philosophy and ses a standard of excellence of philological expertise and interpretation of ancient philosophy in the light of modern cognitive theory." Classical World

"Tsouna provides a welcome addition to the sparse bibliography on a philosophical school that claimed a Socratic pedigree and was also related to the Skeptics. Throughout she contrasts the hedonism and cognitive theory of the Cyrenaics with modern philosophic thought, a valuable contribution. Her work belongs in the collections of all universities and colleges that teach classics and philosophy." Religious Studies Review

"...scholarly...[Tsouna] provides a valuable discussion in which she compares the Cyrenaics with Epicureans, Protagoras, and the Socratic doctrines that supposedly inspired Aristippus." Ethics

"...astutely argued and clearly well-written..." Richard Bett, Ancient Philosophy

From the Publisher