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Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue | Questions
and Answers | 2026 Update | 100% Correct.
1. Pyrrhonian skepticism aims primarily at:
a) Proving that nothing exists
b) Achieving tranquility by suspending judgment on all non-
evident matters
c) Establishing absolute certainty
d) Refuting all religious beliefs
Answer: b) Achieving tranquility
Rationale: Pyrrhonism, as described by Sextus Empiricus, is a
practical therapy. By suspending judgment on matters that are not
evident (e.g., the true nature of things), one frees oneself from
anxiety and attains ataraxia.
2. The “Ten Modes” (Tropes) of Aenesidemus are designed to:
a) Prove the existence of God
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b) Show that for every appearance there is an equal and
opposite appearance, leading to suspension of judgment
c) Establish a foundation for knowledge
d) Refute the laws of logic
Answer: b) Show equipollence of opposing appearances
Rationale: The Ten Modes catalog ways in which perceptions vary
(by species, by senses, by circumstances, etc.). The result is that no
judgment can be preferred over its opposite, leading to epochē.
3. According to Sextus Empiricus, the skeptic does not deny
that things appear a certain way; rather, the skeptic:
a) Asserts that nothing is true
b) Asserts that appearances are all that exist
c) Withholds judgment about what things are in themselves (the
underlying reality)
d) Believes only in material things
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Answer: c) Withholds judgment about underlying reality
Rationale: The skeptic lives by following appearances (e.g., feeling
hungry, seeing a tree) but makes no dogmatic claims about the real
essence of things. This is the “phenomenalist” interpretation.
4. The Pyrrhonian skeptic’s famous reply to the “apraxia”
objection (that skepticism leads to inaction) is:
a) Skeptics do nothing
b) Skeptics follow the “fourfold” guide of nature, feelings, laws,
and customs
c) Skeptics are actually dogmatic
d) Action is impossible anyway
Answer: b) Follow the fourfold guide
Rationale: Sextus explains that skeptics act by: (1) natural
guidance (hunger → eat), (2) necessity of feelings (pain
avoidance), (3) laws and customs, and (4) teaching of arts. Thus
they live normally without dogmatic beliefs.
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5. The difference between Academic Skepticism (Arcesilaus,
Carneades) and Pyrrhonism is that:
a) Academics deny the possibility of knowledge; Pyrrhonians
only suspend judgment
b) Academics are dogmatic; Pyrrhonians are not
c) There is no difference
d) Pyrrhonians deny knowledge; Academics affirm it
Answer: a) Academics deny possibility of knowledge
Rationale: Academic skeptics (New Academy) argued that nothing
can be known (negative dogmatism). Pyrrhonians considered that
claim itself a dogmatic assertion, so they continued inquiry without
asserting impossibility.
6. Carneades developed the concept of the pithanon (probable
impression) to:
a) Justify action without certainty
b) Prove God’s existence
Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue | Questions
and Answers | 2026 Update | 100% Correct.
1. Pyrrhonian skepticism aims primarily at:
a) Proving that nothing exists
b) Achieving tranquility by suspending judgment on all non-
evident matters
c) Establishing absolute certainty
d) Refuting all religious beliefs
Answer: b) Achieving tranquility
Rationale: Pyrrhonism, as described by Sextus Empiricus, is a
practical therapy. By suspending judgment on matters that are not
evident (e.g., the true nature of things), one frees oneself from
anxiety and attains ataraxia.
2. The “Ten Modes” (Tropes) of Aenesidemus are designed to:
a) Prove the existence of God
,Page 2 of 72
b) Show that for every appearance there is an equal and
opposite appearance, leading to suspension of judgment
c) Establish a foundation for knowledge
d) Refute the laws of logic
Answer: b) Show equipollence of opposing appearances
Rationale: The Ten Modes catalog ways in which perceptions vary
(by species, by senses, by circumstances, etc.). The result is that no
judgment can be preferred over its opposite, leading to epochē.
3. According to Sextus Empiricus, the skeptic does not deny
that things appear a certain way; rather, the skeptic:
a) Asserts that nothing is true
b) Asserts that appearances are all that exist
c) Withholds judgment about what things are in themselves (the
underlying reality)
d) Believes only in material things
,Page 3 of 72
Answer: c) Withholds judgment about underlying reality
Rationale: The skeptic lives by following appearances (e.g., feeling
hungry, seeing a tree) but makes no dogmatic claims about the real
essence of things. This is the “phenomenalist” interpretation.
4. The Pyrrhonian skeptic’s famous reply to the “apraxia”
objection (that skepticism leads to inaction) is:
a) Skeptics do nothing
b) Skeptics follow the “fourfold” guide of nature, feelings, laws,
and customs
c) Skeptics are actually dogmatic
d) Action is impossible anyway
Answer: b) Follow the fourfold guide
Rationale: Sextus explains that skeptics act by: (1) natural
guidance (hunger → eat), (2) necessity of feelings (pain
avoidance), (3) laws and customs, and (4) teaching of arts. Thus
they live normally without dogmatic beliefs.
, Page 4 of 72
5. The difference between Academic Skepticism (Arcesilaus,
Carneades) and Pyrrhonism is that:
a) Academics deny the possibility of knowledge; Pyrrhonians
only suspend judgment
b) Academics are dogmatic; Pyrrhonians are not
c) There is no difference
d) Pyrrhonians deny knowledge; Academics affirm it
Answer: a) Academics deny possibility of knowledge
Rationale: Academic skeptics (New Academy) argued that nothing
can be known (negative dogmatism). Pyrrhonians considered that
claim itself a dogmatic assertion, so they continued inquiry without
asserting impossibility.
6. Carneades developed the concept of the pithanon (probable
impression) to:
a) Justify action without certainty
b) Prove God’s existence
