ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I explore the philosophical school of the ancient Greek Pyrrhonian sceptics who practiced the suspension of judgment in the service of securing ataraxia, or a state of unperturbedness. The path they advocated was less a philosophical school devoted to exploring what we can possibly know (Descartes, Hume, Husserl) than a therapeutic tool for achieving peace of mind. I argue that this is akin to the psychoanalytic process that endeavors to diminish our neuroses in order to live a happier life. Freud was acquainted with the Pyrrhonists via his reading of Michel de Montaigne, the French essayist and avowed sceptic. I argue further that Freud’s conception of neutrality is a sceptic device to help us suspend judgment and engage with our patients open-mindedly.
