 Title page of Cicero’sAcademica, edited by Johann August Goerenz | |
| Author | Cicero |
|---|---|
| Language | Classical Latin |
| Subject | Academic Skepticism |
| Genre | Philosophy |
Publication date | May, 45 BCE |
| Publication place | Roman Republic |
| Preceded by | Hortensius |
| Followed by | De finibus bonorum et malorum |
TheAcademica (alsoOn Academic Skepticism,Academici Libri orAcademic Books) is work in a fragmentary state written by theAcademic Skeptic philosopherCicero published in two editions. The first edition is referred to as theAcademica Priora. It was released in May 45 BCE and comprised two books, known as theCatulus and theLucullus. TheCatulus has been lost. Cicero subsequently extensively revised and expanded the work, releasing a second edition comprising four books. Except for part of Book 1 and 36 fragments, all of the second edition has been lost. The second edition is referred to asAcademica Posteriora orAcademici Libri orVarro.
TheAcademica was the second of five books written by Cicero in his attempt to populariseGreek philosophy inAncient Rome, and it is the only one of the five books that exclusively focused on promoting Academic Skepticism, the school ofHellenistic philosophy to which Cicero belonged. It was preceded by the now-lostHortensius which argued that the pursuit of philosophy is the most important endeavor one can engage in their leisure time.
Just before Cicero turned his efforts to writing books on philosophy he experienced a series of hardships.Gaius Julius Caesar had become bothdictator andconsul in 46 BCE, and was subverting elements of theRoman Senate, of which the decidedlyrepublican Cicero was a fervent supporter.[1][2] Cicero had divorced his wifeTerentia in 46 BCE,[3] and in 45 BC he married Publilia, a rich young girl in hisward, although the marriage quickly fell apart.[4] In February 45 BCE, Cicero's daughter,Tullia, whom he loved greatly, died after giving birth.[5][6]
These misfortunes shook him to his core, with the death of his daughter being most disturbing. In aletter to his friend,Titus Pomponius Atticus, Cicero wrote, "I have lost the one thing that bound me to life." Cicero soon found that the only thing which enabled him to get on with life was reading and writing. He retreated to his villa atAstura, where he isolated himself and composed his philosophical works.[7]
In theAcademica Cicero aimed to present a complicated series of philosophical debates that had spanned over 250 years.
The first layer in this series has four main stages, and concerns the debates between theStoics and Academic Skeptics aboutepistemology from the third and second centuries BCE.
1.Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, made and defended his novel epistemological claims (katalepsis) which were attacked by his contemporary,Arcesilaus,scholarch of thePlatonic Academy and the founder of Academic Skepticism. (Circa 275 to 240 BCE).
2. Zeno's views were reformulated and defended against Arcesilaus byChrysippus. (Circa 240 to 210 BCE).
3. Chrysippus' defense was elaborated on by his studentDiogenes of Babylon and attacked with renewed vigor by the Academic SkepticCarneades. (Circa 170 to 150 BCE).
4. Carneades' arguments were opposed by Diogenes' studentAntipater of Tarsus, and the nature of Carneades' skepticism was disputed by Carneades' studentsClitomachus andMetrodorus of Stratonicea. (Circa 140 to 110 BCE).
The second layer of arguments is about intra-Academic disputes about the most consistent form of skepticism. This layer has three main stages.
1.Philo of Larissa, scholarch of the Academy, abandoned the radical skepticism of his teacher, Clitomachus, and adopted a form of mitigated skepticism. (Circa 100 to 90 BCE).
2. Philo's position was criticized and rejected by two of his students,Aenesidemus andAntiochus of Ascalon. Aenesidemus continued to adhere to radical skepticism. He left the Academy and adoptedPyrrhonism, in doing so either reviving or re-founding the school thatPyrrho had started and who had influenced Arcislaus to found Academic Skepticism. Antiochus abandoned skepticism and founded a syncretic school that revived the doctrines of theOld Academy, combining them with doctrines of thePeripatetic school, but relying on Stoic epistemology. (Circa late 90s BCE).
3. Due to pressure from his critics, Philo abandoned mitigated skepticism for a form of naturalisticfallibilism, which was criticized by Antiochus and by Academics who still adhered to skepticism. (Circa 80s BCE).
The third and final layer of arguments is with the Roman interlocutors in Cicero's dialogues. These are set in 62 BCE in the first edition and 45 BCE in the second edition.[8]
The surviving parts of theAcademica are structured with book 1 of the second edition serving as the beginning, abbreviated as "Ac. 1", with theLucullus, the second book of the first edition, following, abbreviated as "Ac. 2".
The first edition is set on two consecutive days in 62 BCE. The conversation is among four prominent Roman leaders:Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus,Quintus Hortensius,Lucius Licinius Lucullus, and Cicero. The conversation on the first day takes place in the seaside villa of Catullus, for theCatullus, TheLucullus takes place the second day in the seaside villa of Hortensius. In the dialogue, Lucullus insists that he is repeatingAntiochus' arguments from memory. Catullus says he is repeating his father's views, which appear to be the same as Philo's initial views. Hortensius denies that he has any philosophical expertise. Cicero champions the Academic Skeptic views ofClitomachus.[9]
The second edition Cicero titledAcademica Liberi ("Academic Books"). This edition comprised four books. All of this edition is lost except for a substantial portion of book 1 and 36 fragments. Cicero's motivation for the revision was that the characters he had chosen for the dialogue in the first edition were unsuitable for technical philosophical arguments the dialogue contained.[10] He replaced all of the interlocutors except himself. The new interlocutors wereMarcus Terentius Varro, who was a follower of Antiochus, andTitus Pomponius Atticus, anEpicurean. This edition was set in the spring of 45 BCE, at Varro's villa onLucrine Lake.
Book 1: Varro presents Antiochus' history of philosophy. Cicero gives an alternative history from the perspective of Academic Skepticism.
Book 2: Cicero presents a series of skeptical arguments against the veridicality of the senses.
Book 3: This book corresponded closely with the speech Lucullus gave in theLucullus.
Book 4: This book corresponded closely with the speech Cicero gave in theLucullus.
Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE), who ultimately systematizedChristian philosophy, was initially an adherent ofManichaeism. After eight or nine years of adhering to the Manichaean faith (as an "auditor", the lowest level in the sect's hierarchy), he turned from Manichaeism, taking upskepticism, which he subsequently rejected in favor of Christianity. In 386 CE, he publishedContra Academicos (Against the Academic Skeptics) which argued against Cicero's claims in theAcademica on the following grounds:
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