pyrrhonism

There is an old story, once commonly told, about a young man named Pyrrho. Pyrrho held that a person can never truly know if one action is wiser than another. No matter how lucid a situation seemed, Pyrrho refused to admit that he knew the best course of action to take. One day Pyrrho was walking along the road on his way to his philosophy seminar, when he saw his philosophy professor stuck in a ditch on the side of the road. The professor called out, “Pyrrho, my good lad, would you kindly come hither and assist me out of this ditch? I am unfortunately unable to move.” Pyrrho was quite found of this man, as he was the professor who had taught Pyrrho the philosophy he valued so highly. Pyrrho thought for a moment, yet he could not conclusively decide that it would be better to help the professor out of the ditch, rather than leave him there. Pyrrho walked on, leaving the man helpless. Later that day, a couple other philosophy students came upon their poor professor. Of course, the young men helped him out immediately, wasting no time to even consider any other course of action. Many people thought Pyrrho despicable for his callousness; however, the professor was quite pleased. He praised Pyrrho’s consistency.

Pyrrho is the founder of Pyrrhonism, which in philosophical circles today has become much better known as Skepticism. So, what is the value of Pyrronhism? Should we suspend judgement for the simple reason that it may not be the perfect choice? If so, to what extent?