PHILOSOPHER

Arcesilaus

315 BC - 240 BC

Arcesilaus

Arcesilaus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀρκεσίλαος; 316/5–241/0 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic philosopher. He was the founder of Academic Skepticism and what is variously called the Second or Middle or New Academy – the phase of the Platonic Academy in which it embraced philosophical skepticism. Arcesilaus succeeded Crates of Athens as the sixth scholarch of the academy around 264 BC. He did not preserve his thoughts in writing, so his opinions can only be gleaned second-hand from what is preserved by later writers. In Athens Arcesilaus interacted with the Pyrrhonist philosopher, Timon of Phlius, whose philosophy appears to have influenced Arcesilaus to become the first Academic to adopt a position of philosophical skepticism, that is, he doubted the ability of the senses to discover truth about the world, although he may have continued to believe in the existence of truth itself. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Arcesilaus is the 255th most popular philosopher (down from 229th in 2019), the 250th most popular biography from Türkiye (down from 220th in 2019) and the 21st most popular Turkish Philosopher.

Arcesilaus was a philosopher of the Skeptic school and is most famous for his argument that nothing can be known for certain.

Memorability Metrics

Page views of Arcesilaus by language

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Arcesilaus ranks 255 out of 1,267. Before him are Imre Lakatos, Bias of Priene, Cleanthes, Adam Weishaupt, Cratylus, and Isaiah Berlin. After him are Roger Garaudy, Pherecydes of Syros, Donald Davidson, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Euclid of Megara, and Judah Loew ben Bezalel.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Imre Lakatos
1922 - 1974
HPI: 72.32
Rank: 249
Bias of Priene
600 BC - 530 BC
HPI: 72.32
Rank: 250
Cleanthes
330 BC - 232 BC
HPI: 72.30
Rank: 251
Adam Weishaupt
1748 - 1830
HPI: 72.25
Rank: 252
Cratylus
500 BC - Present
HPI: 72.22
Rank: 253
Isaiah Berlin
1909 - 1997
HPI: 72.20
Rank: 254
Arcesilaus
315 BC - 240 BC
HPI: 72.20
Rank: 255
Roger Garaudy
1913 - 2012
HPI: 72.15
Rank: 256
Pherecydes of Syros
580 BC - 520 BC
HPI: 72.10
Rank: 257
Donald Davidson
1917 - 2003
HPI: 72.02
Rank: 258
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi
1149 - 1209
HPI: 71.93
Rank: 259
Euclid of Megara
435 BC - 365 BC
HPI: 71.88
Rank: 260
Judah Loew ben Bezalel
1512 - 1609
HPI: 71.87
Rank: 261

Contemporaries

Among people born in 315 BC, Arcesilaus ranks 2. Before him is Theocritus. After him are Aratus, and Leonidas II. Among people deceased in 240 BC, Arcesilaus ranks 3. Before him are Euclid, and Callimachus. After him are Aratus, Zou Yan, and Posidippus.