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Patrick, Mary Mills, 1850-1940

"Sextus Empiricus and Greek Scepticism"

He does not express himself
positively, but he states what he feels.


CHAPTER XXIV.

_The Formula "Every thing is Undetermined."_
The expression "Indetermination" furthermore shows a state 198
of mind in which we neither deny nor affirm positively anything
regarding things that are investigated in a dogmatic way, that
is the things that are unknown. When then the Sceptic says
"Every thing is undetermined," he uses "is undetermined," in the
sense of "it appears undetermined to him." The words "every
thing" do not mean all existences, but those that he has
examined of the unknown things that are investigated by the
Dogmatists. By "undetermined," he means that there is no
preference in the things that are placed in opposition to each
other, or that they simply conflict with each other in respect
to trustworthiness or untrustworthiness. And as the one who 199
says "I am walking" really means "It is I that am walking," so
he who says "Every thing is undetermined" means at the same
time, according to our teachings, "as far as I am concerned," or
"as it appears to me," as if he were saying "As far as I have
examined the things that are under investigation in a dogmatic
manner, it appears to me that no one of them excels the one
which conflicts with it in trustworthiness or
untrustworthiness."


CHAPTER XXV.

_The Formula "Every thing is Incomprehensible."_
We treat the formula "Every thing is incomprehensible" in 200
the same way.


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