Carneades

Carneades was a Greek philosopher and head of the Academy in the second century BCE. He argued that certainty is unattainable, while impressions ranked by plausibility can guide action.

Pithanon: The plausible or persuasive impression that Carneades proposed as a guide to action without certainty. It names the practical standard his skeptical account offers in place of certain knowledge.
Plato's Academy: The philosophical school founded by Plato in Athens and continued by later Academic philosophers. Carneades led this school during its skeptical phase.
Diogenes of Babylon: A Stoic philosopher who led the school and took part in a famous Athenian embassy to Rome. He presented the Stoic position alongside Carneades during the embassy of 155 BCE.
Carneades' embassy to Rome: A diplomatic mission sent by Athens to Rome in 155 BCE, including the philosophers Carneades, Diogenes, and Critolaus. Carneades’ contrasting speeches on justice became the episode most associated with his Roman visit.
Impression (philosophy): An appearance or presentation to the mind that may ground belief or judgment. Carneades assessed impressions by their persuasiveness rather than treating them as certain.
Arcesilaus: A Greek philosopher who led Plato’s Academy and established its skeptical direction in the third century BCE. Carneades inherited the skeptical Academy shaped by Arcesilaus.
Critolaus: A Peripatetic philosopher who led Aristotle’s school in Athens during the second century BCE. He joined Carneades and Diogenes in the Athenian embassy to Rome.
Carneades on justice: A skeptical challenge to the claim that justice is naturally or universally advantageous. His paired arguments for and against justice illustrated how persuasive cases can support opposing conclusions.
Skeptical suspension of judgment: The withholding of assent when evidence does not justify a definite belief. Carneades’ rejection of certainty raises the question of when assent should be withheld.
Hellenistic philosophy: Philosophy produced in the Greek-speaking world from the death of Alexander the Great to the Roman era. Carneades’ disputes with Stoics belong to the central debates of this period.

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