The Principle of Conformity to Nature and the Anthropological Vector of Sсeptical Thinking (from Sextus Empiricus to Antiochus of Ascalon and Cicero)
The article focuses on the issue of the formation of Cicero’s teachings as an expression of the views of the Sceptics and Stoics about man reflecting the paradigm of conformity to nature. The relevance of the topic is due to the task of elucidating the subtleties of intellectual evolution of thinkers of sceptical persuasion from the “sceptical Platonism” of the 2nd and 3rd Academy to the “eclectic Platonism” of the 4th Academy. The transition from fierce criticism of the Stoics by the Sceptics to the integration of elements of the Stoic thought into the fabric of the new teachings of Antiochus and Cicero requires a detailed study. The article discusses the definition of man given by Sextus Empirics and its relationship with the definition given by Antiochus. Special attention is paid to the principle of conformity to nature described as a keypoint of the Stoics and Sceptics, which plays the role of a mediator in the teachings about impressions important to Cicero. Antiochus, in his attempt to revive Platonism, tried to link the theory of receptivity (impressions) with the forms of Plato. The question of the extent of knowledge of the world, considered by the Sceptics of the 2nd and 3rd Academy, was translated, thanks to Cicero, into the terms of the 4th Academy.It was no longer only about the degree of knowledge of ethical principles, the extentof utility, but also about the degree of human abilities and their roots. The concept of nature extended to the natural value-relevant categories, has become the basis for understanding the broad scope of human life and activity.