Pyrrhonian skeptics were quite unique among their ancient Greek and Roman contemporaries. Unlike other schools that had gained popularity at the time (most notably, the Epicurean and Stoical schools), this group of skeptics didn’t advocate any programs nor did they lobby for any policy nor did they prescribe any recipes for human well-being. In a way, they were the anti-self-help gurus of their day.

In the place of “dogmatism,” they put doubt. They thought that once you examined a subject closely enough, whatever that subject may be, you’d end up, as if by accident and not by intention, with the feeling that you couldn’t be certain about the conclusions that your peers were reaching. Their lack of certainty led them to suspend judgment and, in turn, to feel a certain ‘lightness of being.’ Theirs was a world set free from ultimate commitments. No skeptic ever declared war on his neighbor.

Now that we have some idea about how skepticism works, I have a challenge for you : live like a skeptic for a day. In order to live skeptically, you’ll have to change your vocabulary and your behavior like so.

• Reality. Change statements that suggest that you’re certain about reality to statements of appearance. Ex) Her: “It’s cold.”  You: “Well, it definitely looks cold, but maybe it’s not.” Ex) Him: “This is going to be a long week.” You: “It seems so, but who knows? It could go by pretty quickly.”
• Others and Oneself. Tack “I’m not sure” or “Hmm… I don’t know” onto the end of statements. Ex) Her: “John’s a real asshole.” You: “I can see why you’d say that, but I’m not sure. I don’t know John that well.” Ex) You: “I feel terrible.” You skeptic: “I’m not sure that I feel my best today, but I don’t know. Besides, I could have felt worse in the past and just forgotten as much.”
• Explanations and Actions. Change actuality to possibility, should’s to could’s. Ex) Him: “Clearly, this led us to lose the customer. So, we should…” You: “Yeah, that’s possible. But could it have been for some other reason? Frankly, I’m not sure what we should do.” Her: “We should go ahead with the plan.” You: “We could do that, but are we certain this is a good strategy? Is it the best?”
• ‘When in Rome…’ In your actions, follow the customs and conventions around you: not because you’re committed to them but because they happen to be the ones that your people have adopted. Eat lunch with your co-workers, say. Discuss the Jets’ big win over the Patriots. You get the idea (but you’re not certain that the approach is a good one or a bad one or…).

At the end of the day, record your observations. What was it like to be a skeptic? Is suspending judgment freeing? Is living without basic commitments frustrating?