Sextus Empiricus: General Principles
Ch. xxxiv Whether Medical Empiricism is the Same as
Skepticism
315
- Since some say that the sceptical philosophy is the same as the
empirical system in medicine, it should be understood that insofar as
that empiricism commits itself to the ungraspability of non-evident things,
it is not the same as scepticism, nor is it appropriate for the sceptic to
attach himself to that system. He might, rather, it seems to me, follow
the so-called methodical doctrine. 237. For of the medical systems that
alone seems not to be rash by presumptuously saying whether non-
evident things are graspable or not. Rather, following appearances, it
derives from them what seems to be advantageous, in agreement with
the sceptics. For we said previously [23] that the general lifestyle, which
the sceptic also uses, is divided into four parts: [1] the guidance given
by nature, [2] compulsion exercised by our states, [3] traditional laws
and customs, and [ 4] the teaching of the crafts. 238. So, just as the sceptic
is guided by the compulsion exercised by his states to drink when thirsty
and eat when hungry, and similarly for the rest, so the methodical physi-
cian is guided by the states [of the patient] to corresponding [remedies],
by contraction to dilation; just as someone seeks the refuge in warm
sunshine from the contraction caused by extreme cold; or seeks relief
from a flux by stopping it up; or as those in a hot bath, being languid
and dripping with sweat, proceed to check [the sweat] and so seek refuge
in the cold air. It is self-evident that states uncongenial to nature compel
one to act to dispel them, seeing that even a dog with a thorn in its paw
proceeds to remove it. 239. Lest I exceed the bounds of a summary
sketch by speaking about details, I shall just say that I think that all the
things said by the methodical physicians can be categorized under the
compulsion exercised by our states, whether they be those according to
or contrary to nature, and also that [the methodical and sceptical] ap-
proaches have in common the undogmatic and indifferent use of terms.
- For just as the sceptic uses the utterances "I determine nothing"
and "I grasp nothing" , as we have said, so the methodic
physician speaks guilelessly of 'generality' and 'pervade' and related
terms. He also uses the word 'indication' undogmatically, for the guidance
given by apparent states, according to and contrary to nature, as to what
seem to be corresponding [remedies], as for thirst and hunger, and the
rest that I mentioned. 241. For this reason, the approach of the methodics
in medicine, on the basis of these and other considerations, should be
said to have an affinity to scepticism; at any rate, more than the other
medical doctrines, when it is compared with them.
