Ancient psychology in general is helpful because each of the unique ancient pictures of the soul represents a philosopher’s genuine attempt to capture and explain what it means to live as a human being with a human mind. Ancient thought…
Though hope plays a central role in activism, as it has in the history of philosophy, there are ethical resources for moving beyond hope. Stoic philosophers, existentialists, some theorists working in the Black intellectual traditions, as well as other scholars,…
And wisdom to know the difference. The theory can be approached from a number of angles, depending on which Stoic author one finds most congenial: Seneca talks about the four cardinal virtues of practical wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Epictetus…
What about Stoicism? A recent article by Jeremy Corter over at Modern Stoicism summarizes the situation as far as the ancient texts are concerned. I will not repeat Jeremy’s points here, since he does a superb job of it. After parsing several…
After Aristotle’ death there was much to dissect and sort through. Some focused on his ethics, and multiple Hellenistic schools (like the Epicureans and Stoics) elaborated on several of the virtues he discussed. Others, like Islamic philosopher Avicenna and medieval…
On the scholarly and historical side of things, this resurgence (at least in English) seems to have started in the late 1960s among specialists in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. You would have to ask those folks for an explanation…
I seem to be in a transitional phase, so I’m not sure excitement is the right term for it. A line from a Leonard Cohen song comes to mind instead: What is your favorite thing that you’ve written? * What…
Photo of Brooklyn Library courtesy of Ian Olasov. Massimo Pigliucci was part of the Night of Philosophy and Ideas held at the Brooklyn Public Library in January. I spoke with Massimo about the discussion he hosted on philosophical approaches to keeping secrets about infidelity, as well…
In a recent conversation on the blog, Sandy Grant argues that Stoicism thrived during slavery and women’s oppression, in which case it makes sense that Stoicism was popular then, because it helped people live with being oppressed. However, she suggests that…
Being honor bred, with one And yet many people seem to be drawn to philosophy as a “life hack“. For example, there’s Ryan Holiday’s Stoicism: Practical Philosophy You Can Actually Use and Massimo Pigliucci’s blog and forthcoming book How to be a…
