Institute of Philosophy SAS
Topic
The Neo-Pyrrhonian skeptical tradition and its representatives in the second half of the 20th century
PhD. program
Name of the supervisor
prof. PhDr. Břetislav Horyna, PhD.
Contact:
Receiving school
Filozofická fakulta UPJŠ
Annotation
The PhD student will work on the contribution of the most important figure of this tradition, the German
philosopher Odo Marquard. The thesis will focus on Marquard’s continuation of the tradition of Pyrrhic
skepticism and its further development when applied to modern conditions, on the notion of a philosophy of
history, and on the concept of ethics (morality) and anthropology (habitualism, anthropology, homo
compensator). On this basis, he attempts to confront his own attitudes to the questions posed by modern neo-
Pyrrhonist skepticism: what shapes us; what we can influence; how we understand the political rules that govern
society; whether we have the possibility of interpreting them in yet another way; how we move in constant
conflict with multiplicity and unity, etc.
philosopher Odo Marquard. The thesis will focus on Marquard’s continuation of the tradition of Pyrrhic
skepticism and its further development when applied to modern conditions, on the notion of a philosophy of
history, and on the concept of ethics (morality) and anthropology (habitualism, anthropology, homo
compensator). On this basis, he attempts to confront his own attitudes to the questions posed by modern neo-
Pyrrhonist skepticism: what shapes us; what we can influence; how we understand the political rules that govern
society; whether we have the possibility of interpreting them in yet another way; how we move in constant
conflict with multiplicity and unity, etc.