Pyrrhonism

English Etymology From (the stem of) en la Pyrrhō en ism, after frm pyrrhonisme. Pronunciation en /ˈpɪɹənɪz(ə)m/ UK Noun ~ en philosophy The system of skeptical philosophy established by Pyrrho of Elis, centred on the idea that nothing can be known for certain; widespread skepticism, universal doubt. from 17th c. 12 II Whosoever shall imagine a perpetuall confession of ignorance, and a judgement upright and without staggering, to what occasion soever may chance; That man conceives the true Phyrrhonisme. en 1833 w:Edgar Allan Poe MS. Found in a Bottle I have often been reproached with the aridity of my genius; a deficiency of imagination has been imputed to me as a crime; and the Pyrrhonism of my opinions has at all times rendered me notorious. en 2014 Allen Jayne Jefferson's Declaration of Independence 98 The continuing impact on Jefferson of Reid's antiskepticism and that of his followers is clear in a statement he made to John Adams in 1820: "Rejecting all organs of information, therefore, but my senses, I rid myself of the pyrrhonisms with which an indulgence in speculations hyperphysical and antiphysical, so uselessly occupy and disquiet the mind . Related terms en Pyrrhonist en eponyms en Philosophy