_Is Empiricism in Medicine the same as Scepticism?_
Some say that the medical sect called Empiricism is the same 236
as Scepticism. Yet the fact must be recognised, that even if
Empiricism does maintain the impossibility of knowledge, it is
neither Scepticism itself, nor would it suit the Sceptic to take
that sect upon himself. He could rather, it seems to me, belong
to the so-called Methodic School. For this alone, of all the
medical sects, does not seem to proceed rashly in regard to 237
unknown things, and does not presume to say whether they are
comprehensible or not, but is guided by phenomena, and receives
from them the same help which they seem to give to the Sceptical
system. For we have said in what has gone before, that the
every-day life which the Sceptic lives is of four parts,
depending on the guidance of nature, on the necessity of the
feelings, on the traditions of laws and customs, and on the
teaching of the arts. Now as by necessity of the feelings 238
the Sceptic is led by thirst to drink, and by hunger to food,
and to supply similar needs in the same way, so also the
physician of the Methodic School is led by the feelings to find
suitable remedies; in constipation he produces a relaxation, as
one takes refuge in the sun from the shrinking on account of
intense cold; he is led by a flux to the stopping of it, as
those in a hot bath who are dripping from a profuse perspiration
and are relaxed, hasten to check it by going into the cold air.
Moreover, it is evident that the Methodic physician forces those
things which are of a foreign nature to adapt themselves to
their own nature, as even the dog tries to get a sharp stick out
that is thrust into him. In order, however, that I should 239
not overstep the outline character of this work by discussing
details, I think that all the things that the Methodics have
thus said can be classified as referring to the necessity of the
feelings that are natural or those that are unnatural. Besides
this, it is common to both schools to have no dogmas, and to use
words loosely. For as the Sceptic uses the formula "I 240
determine nothing," and "I understand nothing," as we said
above, so the Methodic also uses the expressions "Community,"
and "To go through," and other similar ones without over much
care. In a similar way he uses the word "Indication"
undogmatically, meaning that the symptoms of the patient either
natural or unnatural, indicate the remedies that would be
suitable, as we said in speaking of thirst, hunger, and other
things. It will thus be seen that the Methodic School of 241
medicine has a certain relationship to Scepticism which is
closer than that of the other medical sects, speaking
comparatively if not absolutely from these and similar tokens.
Having said so much in reference to the schools that seem to
closely resemble Scepticism, we conclude the general
consideration of Scepticism and the First Book of the Sketches.