SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

Form: so called because he belonged to the empirical school of medicine.

A Grecian philosopher, a follower of the Sceptical school, who lived at the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. He is the author of three works on philosophy, (1) the Pyrrhonistic Sketches in three books, an abridgment of the Sceptical philosophy of Pyrrho; (2) an attack on the dogmatists (the followers of the other schools of philosophy) in five books; (3) an attack on the mathematicians (the followers of positive seiences-grammar, with all the historical sciences, rhetoric, arithmetict, geometry, astrology, and music) in six books. These works are remarkable for their learning and acuteness, as well as for simplicity and clearness of style. They form a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the general philosophical literature of Greece, and the Sceptical philosophy in particular.