Conflicting Appearances, Suspension of Judgment, and Pyrrhonian Skepticism without Commitment

By means of the Ten Modes, Pyrrhonian skeptics appeal to conflicting appearances to bring about suspension of judgment. However, precisely how the skeptic might do so in a nondogmatic manner is not entirely clear. In this paper, I argue that existing accounts of the Modes face significant objections, and I defend an alternative account that better explains the logical structure, rational nature, and effectiveness of the Modes. In particular, I clarify how the Modes appeal to concerns about epistemic impartiality and circularity, the nature of the skeptic’s nondoxastic attitude(s), and how the skeptic can employ the Modes nondogmatically.