What did the Skeptics mean by dogmatis,, and why did they oppose it?
Skepticism is a school of thought which is based on the philosophies of Pyrrho of Elis. The followers of Skepticism were known as the skeptics. According to the Skeptics, good lives consist of ‘quietude’ and ‘tranquility’. They sought a simple life and did not believe in anything that they were not sure of. Two of their basic principles in life were appearances and convention. Appearances constituted of simple sensations and feelings. Conventions were the customs, traditions and laws of the society.
Skeptics saw dogmatism as a form of disease. For them, a dogmatist was anyone, who claimed that he has arrived at an indisputable truth and knew everything about a certain topic. The skeptics believed in a philosophy of commonsense and embraced the societal norms, rules and conventions.
The skeptics opposed the dogmatists because they believed that the arguments, which stand for and against a certain question, are equally applicable. Skeptics did not deny any other philosophy. They claimed to be unaware of any sense of judgment. They also believed that one could remain from making judgments because it is best not to believe in anything than to be wrong.
For a skeptic, work was work without any sense of meaning or purpose. This ‘lack of believe in anything’ type of belief was used to their advantage by the early Christians of the Roman Empire. They tried to convert the Romans to Christianity by giving their life a purpose, as was told by Jesus and his follower, known as the Christian revelation.