pyrrhonism means 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. It carries an Arena rating of 1351, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, pyrrhonism ranks #52 of 17,093 for Most Storied Words, #1,704 of 17,111 for Most Sublime Words, #2,117 of 17,125 for Most Incisive Words, #3,359 of 17,118 for Most Ponderous Words.
pyrrhonism is pronounced /ˈpɪɹənɪz(ə)m/.
Why “pyrrhonism” is a great word
A radical form of skepticism that suspends all judgment on the truth or falsity of any belief, seeking tranquility through the acceptance of perpetual uncertainty. From the proper name Pyrrho (from Greek Pýrrhōn, Pyrrho of Elis) + the suffix -ism (denoting a system or doctrine), modelled on Middle French pyrrhonisme; first attested in English 1660–70. Unlike dogmatism, which clings arrogantly to declared truths, or academic skepticism, which dogmatically asserts that nothing can be known, Pyrrhonism refuses even that final assertion, aiming only for a state of undisturbed peace. It is the mental practice of watching every argument—for and against God, for and against reality, for and against meaning—cancel itself into silence: the quiet after a debate has exhausted all its words, the stillness of a scale perfectly balanced with equal weights, the serene neutrality of observing clouds that promise both rain and sunshine, delivering neither. It is less a philosophy of doubt than a slow, deliberate unclenching in the face of an unknowable world.
Etymology
From (the stem of) Latin Pyrrhō + -ism, after Middle French pyrrhonisme.
noun
- 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.e.g.“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.”
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