Carneades

Carneades (kärnē'udēz) [key], 213–129 B.C., Greek philosopher, b. Cyrene. He studied at Athens under Diogenes the Stoic, but reacted against Stoicism and joined the Academy, where he taught a skepticism similar to that of Arcesilaus. He denied the possibility of absolute certainty in knowledge; it is disputed whether he held that probable knowledge was adequate to guide a person's actions. He recognized three degrees of probability, and his teaching anticipated modern discussions of the nature of empirical knowledge.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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