Philo of Larissa

Philo of Larissa (c. 159–84 BC) was a Greek philosopher and the final head of Plato's Academy, succeeding Clitomachus. He is sometimes credited with founding a 'Fourth Academy,' though this is debated. A student of Clitomachus, Philo followed the tradition of Academic skepticism but introduced a more nuanced perspective, allowing for provisional assent to beliefs without requiring absolute certainty. This marked a departure from the stricter skepticism of his predecessors. During the Mithridatic Wars, which led to the destruction of the Academy, Philo fled Athens around 88 BC and established himself in Rome. There, he gained prominence as a lecturer on rhetoric and philosophy, attracting many notable students, including the renowned orator and statesman Cicero, who was deeply impressed by Philo's teachings. Philo is considered the last in the direct line of succession from Plato as the Academy's scholarch. Following his death, the Academy fragmented into rival factions and eventually ceased to exist in its original form until the later Neoplatonist revivals. Our understanding of Philo's philosophy comes primarily from secondary sources such as Numenius, Sextus Empiricus, and Cicero, as none of his own writings have survived. His philosophy is often seen as a bridge between the skepticism of the Middle and New Academy and the more dogmatic approaches of earlier Platonists.