Sextus Empiricus: Against the Ethicists

About Sextus
Sextus Empiricus is one of the most important ancient philosophical writers after Plato and Aristotle. His writings are our main source for the doctrines and arguments of Scepticism. He probably lived in the second century AD. Eleven books of his writings have survived, covering logic, physics, ethics, and numerous more specialized fields.
About Against the Ethicists
In this unjustly neglected and misunderstood work Sextus sets out a distinctive Sceptic position in ethics. He discusses the concepts good and bad, and puts forward the sceptical argument that nothing is either good or bad by nature or intrinsically or invariably, but only relatively to persons and/or to circumstances. He then argues that the sceptic is better off than the non-sceptic. In the latter part of the book, Sextus attacks the Stoic view that there is such a thing as a `skill for life'.
About this edition
This volume contains a translation of Against the Ethicists in clear modern English, together with an introduction and a detailed commentary. Those who have discussed this work in the past have tended to underestimate it, often regarding its main position as essentially the same as that of Sextus' better-known Outlines of Pyrrhonism. Richard Bett shows that Against the Ethicists represents quite a distinct and coherent philosophical outlook, associated with a phase of Scepticism earlier than Sextus himself, an outlook of which little other evidence survives.

Readership: Scholars and students (advanced undergraduates and graduates) of ancient philosophy and classics; moral philosophers interested in the historical dimension of their subject.

Translated with an introduction and commentary by Richard Bett, Professor, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

"Bett shows himself as a good philologist, his translation is precise and based on a diligent evaluation of the text variants. It is also very clear and very good to read." - J.Opsomer, Les Etudes Classiques, University of Namur, Vol.68.

"'Bett's book which is in every way remarkable, compels us to re-evaluate Sextus' philosophical calibre and the precision of his intellectual thought.' Jacques Brunschwig, Apeiron"

"The Clarendon Ancient Philosophers series continues with Richard Bett's excellent translation of and commentary on Sextus Empiricus, Against the Ethicists. In his detailed and informative treatment of the book as a whole and of individual arguments within it Bett's argues that it is earlier than Outlines of Pyrrhonism 3 and that its first part reflects a different version of Pyrrhonism, linked by Bett's with Aenesidemus as opposed to Agrippa, in which the absence of agreement about the good entails not just suspension of judgement about its reality but outright denial of this; to be real a good must be (a) universal and (b) recognised. He argues that the book as a whole is based on two, and only two, sources, and that it is therefore as it were a cousin, rather than a sibling, of the discussion of similar issues in Diogenes Laertius. Sextus' arguments are pertinently criticised but also defended. An impressive contribution to the subject." - Phronesis

"every student of Pyrrhonism will want this commentary for its detailed criticisms of Sextus' arguments.' Charles Brittain, Ancient Philosophy"

"it would be appropriate for anyone interested in skepticism, whether ancient or modern, to use this careful and useful book.' Julia Annas, The Philosophical Review"

"'Bett's work is a distinguished addition to the literature on skepticism.' Lloyd P. Gerson, Bryn Mawr Classical Review"

"This translation and commentary...will certainly become the standard edition of this important text for the forseeable future.' Marcelo D. Boeri, Manuscrito"

"a great deal of philosophical and philological scholarship will be found ... an excellent job of tracking down Sextus's sources and his targets." - Journal of the History of Philosophy

"This excellent and admirable volume contains an English translation with copious notes and commentary of Sextus Empiricus' most extensive discussion of ethical theory ... It is in all respects an exemplary production. The translation, occupying the first thirty-nine pages, is excellent ... and generally capturing Sextus' dry, and sometimes drily witty philosophical prose ... B. has put an immense amount of thought into every line of Sextus, and the translation and commentary reflect that ... All in all a first-rate production, which should be taken as a model for future members of its genre." - Tad Brennan, Journal of Hellenic Studies 119 (1999).