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RuleAttested · Ancient skepticism

Suspending judgment: epochē

Set against every certainty its opposite; unable to decide, suspend.

The set against every thesis a contrary thesis of equal strength (); unable to decide, they suspended judgment, , and found in that suspense an unexpected tranquility, . This rule takes up their gesture: faced with a certainty sweeping you along, building the opposing case yourself, weighing it, and agreeing not to conclude. Today it defuses the flare-ups and quarrels where one defends an opinion more than one examines it.

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Enacts

Source: Ancient skepticism

Appears in
  • Living without certaintyIf nothing is certain, can we still act and choose, or does suspending judgment make life impossible: is fallibilism, acting on one's best reasons while staying open to revision, the way out?