The Epistemology of the Cyrenaic School

Description

The Cyrenaic school was a fourth-century BC philosophical movement, related both to the Socratic tradition and to Greek Scepticism. In ethics, Cyrenaic hedonism can be seen as one of many attempts made by the associates of Socrates and their followers to endorse his ethical outlook and to explore the implications of his method. In epistemology, there are close philosophical links between the Cyrenaics and the Sceptics, both Pyrrhonists and Academics. There are further links with modern philosophy as well, for the Cyrenaics introduced a form of subjectivism which in some ways preannounces Cartesian views, endorsed by Malebranche and Hume and developed by Kant. This 1998 book reconstructs Cyrenaic epistemology, explains how it depends on Cyrenaic hedonism, locates it in the context of ancient debates, and discusses its connections with modern and contemporary epistemological positions.

"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