Epoché
Encyclopedia
Epoché is an ancient Greek
term which, in its philosophical usage, describes the theoretical moment where all judgments about the existence of the external world, and consequently all action in the world, is suspended. One's own consciousness is subject to immanent critique so that when such belief is recovered, it will have a firmer grounding in consciousness. This concept was developed by the Greek skeptics and plays an implicit role in skeptical thought, as in René Descartes
' epistemic principle of methodic doubt. The term was popularized in philosophy by Edmund Husserl
. Husserl elaborates the notion of 'phenomenological epoché' or 'bracketing
' in Ideas I. Through the systematic procedure of phenomenological reduction, one is thought to be able to suspend judgment regarding the general or naive philosophical belief in the existence of the external world, and thus examine phenomena as they are originally given to consciousness.
, the skeptical philosophy named after Pyrrho
. The Skeptics used to refer to themselves as zetetikoi ("searchers"). They do not dogmatically assert the inability to know anything: the word skepsis means "inquiry, examination." According to them, only by refusing either to affirm or to deny the truth of what we cannot know, can we achieve ataraxia
.
On the basis of claiming that we do not know anything, Pyrrhonism argues that the preferred attitude to be adopted is epoché, i.e., the suspension of judgment or the withholding of assent. This does not mean that we have no rationale to choose one kind of action over another; rather, one kind of life or one kind of action cannot be definitively said to be the 'correct' way or action. Instead of a life of inaction, the Skeptic insists that one normally ought to live according to customs, laws, and traditions. It would be a contradiction to boldly assert that nothing can be known since that very proposition itself would then be elevated to the status of something which is known.
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
term which, in its philosophical usage, describes the theoretical moment where all judgments about the existence of the external world, and consequently all action in the world, is suspended. One's own consciousness is subject to immanent critique so that when such belief is recovered, it will have a firmer grounding in consciousness. This concept was developed by the Greek skeptics and plays an implicit role in skeptical thought, as in René Descartes
René Descartes
René Descartes ; was a French philosopher and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day...
' epistemic principle of methodic doubt. The term was popularized in philosophy by Edmund Husserl
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...
. Husserl elaborates the notion of 'phenomenological epoché' or 'bracketing
Bracketing (phenomenology)
Bracketing is a term derived from Edmund Husserl for the act of suspending judgment about the natural world that precedes phenomenological analysis....
' in Ideas I. Through the systematic procedure of phenomenological reduction, one is thought to be able to suspend judgment regarding the general or naive philosophical belief in the existence of the external world, and thus examine phenomena as they are originally given to consciousness.
Epoché and skepticism
Epoché played an important role in PyrrhonismPyrrhonism
Pyrrhonism, or Pyrrhonian skepticism, was a school of skepticism founded by Aenesidemus in the 1st century BCE and recorded by Sextus Empiricus in the late 2nd century or early 3rd century CE. It was named after Pyrrho, a philosopher who lived from c. 360 to c. 270 BCE, although the relationship...
, the skeptical philosophy named after Pyrrho
Pyrrho
Pyrrho , a Greek philosopher of classical antiquity, is credited as being the first Skeptic philosopher and the inspiration for the school known as Pyrrhonism, founded by Aenesidemus in the 1st century BC.- Life :Pyrrho was from Elis, on the Ionian Sea...
. The Skeptics used to refer to themselves as zetetikoi ("searchers"). They do not dogmatically assert the inability to know anything: the word skepsis means "inquiry, examination." According to them, only by refusing either to affirm or to deny the truth of what we cannot know, can we achieve ataraxia
Ataraxia
Ataraxia is a Greek term used by Pyrrho and Epicurus for a lucid state, characterized by freedom from worry or any other preoccupation.For the Epicureans, ataraxia was synonymous with the only true happiness possible for a person...
.
On the basis of claiming that we do not know anything, Pyrrhonism argues that the preferred attitude to be adopted is epoché, i.e., the suspension of judgment or the withholding of assent. This does not mean that we have no rationale to choose one kind of action over another; rather, one kind of life or one kind of action cannot be definitively said to be the 'correct' way or action. Instead of a life of inaction, the Skeptic insists that one normally ought to live according to customs, laws, and traditions. It would be a contradiction to boldly assert that nothing can be known since that very proposition itself would then be elevated to the status of something which is known.