Carneades

Carneades
Carneades, Roman copy after the sit statue exhibited on the agora of Athens, c. 150 BC, Glyptothek
Born	214/213 BC Cyrene
Died	5 November 128 BC Athens
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Western Philosophy
School	Academic skepticism, Platonism
Main interests	Epistemology, Ethics
Notable ideas	Philosophical skepticism and a probabilistic account of knowledge
Influences Plato, Arcesilaus, Diogenes of Babylon
Influenced Clitomachus, Philo of Larissa, Sextus Empiricus

Carneades (/kɑːrˈniːədiːz/; Greek: Καρνεάδης, Karneadēs, "of Carnea"; 214/3–129/8 BC) was an Academic skeptic born in Cyrene. By the year 159 BC, he had started to refute all previous dogmatic doctrines, especially Stoicism, and even the Epicureans whom previous skeptics had spared. As head of the Academy, he was one of three philosophers sent to Rome in 155 BC where his lectures on the uncertainty of justice caused consternation among the leading politicians. He left no writings and many of his opinions are known only via his successor Clitomachus. He seems to have doubted the ability, not just of the senses but of reason too, in acquiring truth. His skepticism was, however, moderated by the belief that we can, nevertheless, ascertain probabilities of truth, to enable us to live and act correctly.

Carneades, the son of Epicomus or Philocomiis, was born at Cyrene, North Africa in 214/213 BC. He migrated early to Athens, and attended the lectures of the Stoics, and learned their logic from Diogenes. He studied the works of Chrysippus, and exerted his energy of a very acute and original mind in their refutation.