Sextus Empiricus’s Works as Guideline for Simone Luzzatto’s Socratic Ignorance
In: Simone Luzzatto’s Scepticism in the Context of Early Modern ThoughtSearch for other papers by Michela Torbidoni in
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Abstract
In Luzzatto’s Socrates, Or On Human Knowledge (1651), divine revelation delimits the boundaries of truth, beyond which begins the sphere of the probable, of doubt, which he entrusts to Socratic investigation. This chapter seeks to delve into Luzzatto’s acquaintance with the writings of Sextus Empiricus, a crucial and widely influential source of early modern scepticism. By examining the presence of Sextus’s Outlines of Pyrrhonism in Luzzatto’s work and analysing how Against the Mathematicians may have shaped the portrayal of significant figures in his Socrates, this chapter aims to demonstrate that Luzzatto, like Montaigne, not only revitalises Sextus’s works, but also engages in a serious philosophical commitment to sceptical issues.