The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers · Character
Carneades
The Academy's great skeptic, famed for arguing both sides of justice and for the quip that turned an ugly lover toward a prettier woman for ten talents.
supporting
First appearance: Carneades
As a supporting figure in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Carneades is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.
Successor to Hegesinus, continuing the line after Lacydes.
Carneades stands at the head of the skeptical Academy, a philosopher whose dialogues on justice, the gods, and pleasure made him a formidable and unsettling presence in Rome and Athens alike. His wit is as sharp as his arguments—his advice to the rich man smitten with an ugly woman captures the blend of irony and worldly sense that runs through his teaching. He matters because he pushes the Academy's suspension of judgment to its most public and provocative extreme, forcing every dogmatic school to answer him.
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Character Web
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Relationship types
- Other
Character groups
- Later Academic Skeptics
- Major Philosophers and Biographers
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Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
Monimus’s feigned madness and destruction of the money is the emotional and psychological peak because it dram…
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Carneades appears across 4 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.
Chapter companion notes
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