Carneades, << kahr NEE uh `deez` >> (213?-129? B.C.), was a Greek philosopher. He was part of a philosophical movement called Skepticism . Carneades argued that there is no standard of truth and thus no knowledge of reality. He was famous for his ability to present persuasive arguments both for and against any given philosophical thesis. The goal of such arguments was to show how insecure and unstable the arguments were for any philosophic position and the necessity for suspending judgment. Carneades claimed we should not agree to any sense impressions because we cannot be certain of their truth. We can still act on “convincing” impressions, which come in three degrees. First are those that simply appear true. Second are those that appear true and are not contradicted by the associated impressions we have at the same time as the main impression. Third are those that have the attributes of the second but do so after we have thoroughly explored the associated impressions.
Carneades was born in North Africa. He became head of the Academy, the philosophical school founded by the Greek philosopher Plato.
