Podcasts about philosophy can lead us

In this episode Michael Shermer speaks with the stoic philosopher and evolutionary biologist Massimo Pigliucci on how to apply the ancient wisdom of stoicism to our personal lives and to our society. Shermer and Pigluicci discuss: his journey from Rome to New York • evolutionary biology • stoic philosophy • can there be a science of meaning and morality? • ultimate questions • desire, action, depression, suicide, anger, anxiety, love, and friendship • practical spiritual exercises • how to react to situations • teaching virtue to politicians • philosophy and politics • character and leadership • the nature of evil. Massimo Pigliucci is the K. D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. The author or editor of sixteen books, he has been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Salon, among others. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. His books include: Making Sense of Evolution; Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk; Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem; Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to a More Meaningful Life; A Field Guide to a Happy Life; A Handbook for New Stoics; How to Be a Stoic; The Quest for Character.

When Greg found out that Massimo Pigliucci had a PhD in biology and a PhD in philosophy, he knew that this was somebody he had to get on the show.Massimo Pigliucci has a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee, and is currently the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His research interests include the philosophy of science, the nature of pseudoscience, and practical philosophies like Stoicism and New Skepticism.At last count, Prof. Pigliucci has published 176 technical papers in science and philosophy. He is also the author or editor of 16 books, including the best selling “How to Be A Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life,” “Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk,” and the most recent “The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders.”Massimo and Greg dig into where morality might come from in a scientific way, the decisions that lead to our lifestyle choices, and “doing your own research.” Episode Quotes:Misconceptions about philosophyWhen people think about philosophy, they think about really complex, abstract process of thinking. But the choices you make on a day-to-day basis, your priorities in life, etc. will be evident to a psychologist, or a behavioral ecologist, or an economist, just by observing what you do. Right? And those choices will reflect an underlying set of values and priorities, which is what I would call a philosophy of life and everyone has it. Science & philosophy are interconnectedI used the word "Sci-Phi" to signify that science and philosophy need to work together to give us the best understanding of not only the world, as it is and as it works. But also how we should behave and what we should do about our lives.There are different paths to living a good lifeSo what an expert can do, is to provide you with options and say, okay, so if your question is how to live a good life as a human being, how to figure out the best way to spend your life, how to figure out your priorities and things like that. There are a number of options. And I, as an expert, can present you with those options and can walk you through those options. But I can't tell you which one you should choose because they are equivalent, meaning there are different paths to living a good life.Show Links:Resources:DARWIN'S DANGEROUS IDEA: EVOLUTION AND THE MEANINGS OF LIFE Chrysippus | Internet Encyclopedia of PhilosophyOn the Ends of Good and Evil: De Finibus Bonorum et MalorumGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at City College of New YorkProfessional Profile at PhilPeopleMassimo Pigliucci WebsiteMassimo Pigliucci on TEDxAthensHis Work:His works on AeonMassimo Pigliucci on Google ScholarPhilosophy as a Way of Life PodcastStoic Meditations PodcastHow to Be a Stoic WebsiteThe Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good LeadersThink like a Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Today's World - AudiobookA Field Guide to a Happy Life: 53 Brief Lessons for LivingHow to Live a Good Life: A Guide to Choosing Your Personal PhilosophyA Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Control—52 Week-by-Week LessonsNonsense on StiltsHow to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life HardcoverAnswers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life

Massimo Pigliucci is the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at The City College of New York. He holds a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. He commonly publishes work in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications. He is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Contributing Editor to the Skeptical Inquirer. He has published over 180 technical papers on scientific and philosophic topics as well as written or edited 14 books. Some of his books include including the best-selling How to Be A Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life, as well as A Field Guide to a Happy Life, A Handbook for New Stoics, and Nonsense on Stilts. You can follow his work on his wonderful blog, Figs in Winter, joining his philosophy meet-up, called Philosophy Book Club, reading his books, or watching his TED Talk entitled Stoicism as a philosophy for an ordinary life. Books by Massimo Pigliucci: How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life A Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Control—52 Week-by-Week Lessons How to Live a Good Life: A Guide to Choosing Your Personal Philosophy A Field Guide to a Happy Life: 53 Brief Lessons for Living Nonsense on Stilts Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life Books Recommended by Massimo Pigliucci: 1.Discourses and Selected Writings - Epictetus 2. The Demon-Haunted World - Carl Sagan 3. Why I Am Not a Christian - Bertrand Russell 4. Philip K.Dick Collected Works -Philip K.Dick 5. The Odyssey - Homer About the Inquiring Mind Podcast: I created The Inquiring Mind Podcast in order to foster free speech, learn from some of the top experts in various fields, and create a platform for respectful conversations. Learn More: https://www.theinquiringmindpodcast.com/​ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-inquiring-mind-podcast/id1556213826 Spotify Podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/5PkxtA4Gl78yOy4HvD64Wj?si=5alt67VxQnSwQSzwJx7MUw Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCekWTqxDRcQmaou87NKvNZw Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinquiringmindpodcast/

In this episode Julia interviews Massimo about his new book, Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life. Massimo's central idea is that a combination of science and philosophy, what he calls "Sci-Phi," is the best guide to the big questions in life, from issues of morality and justice to the meaning of love and friendship. The book's title derives from the fact that Aristotle was the first philosopher-scientist, adopting the sci-phi framework and posing a number of questions with which we are still struggling. What is the best way to live one's life? What sort of society do we want to live in? How do we relate to our friends and loved ones? Two and a half millennia later, modern science and philosophy have come up with some of the answers to Aristotle's questions, or at the least with a better way to think about them. Sped up the speakers by ['1.15', '1.0']

In this special rebroadcast episode, we go back into the archives for a conversation on the philosophy of Stoicism, and on focusing on what you can control - something of central importance in these trying times of COVID-19. Massimo Pigliucci is a Professor of Philosophy at the City University of New York. His research is concerned with philosophy of science, the relationship between science and philosophy, and the nature of pseudoscience. He received a Doctorate in Genetics from the University of Ferrara in Italy, a PhD in Botany from the University of Connecticut, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. He has published over a hundred technical papers and several books.  Prof. Pigliucci has been awarded the prestigious Dobzhansky Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution. He has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science "for fundamental studies of genotype by environmental interactions and for public defense of evolutionary biology from pseudoscientific attack." In the areas of outreach and critical thinking, Prof. Pigliucci has published in national magazines such as Skeptic, Skeptical Inquirer, Philosophy Now, and The Philosopher's Magazine, among others. He has also been elected as a Consultant for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.  Pigliucci penned the wildly successful "Rationally Speaking" blog and podcast (rationallyspeaking.org) and maintains a blog - the namesake of his latest book -  called How to be a Stoic. Towards the end of the show we started chatting about genetically modified and AI augmented humanity which will form the basis of another chat with Massimo in the future, but for now, please enjoy my conversation on Stoicism and how it can help you in your personal and professional life with the one, the only...Massimo Pigliucci. Topics Discussed: The intersection of philosophy and science Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius How Stoicism can help us lead better professional and personal lives Stoicism in the workplace Does being Stoic make you emotionless? Silicon Valley’s Stoicism movement Living a life of virtue The decoupling of consciousness and intelligence Are human feelings just algorithms Show Notes: Twitter: twitter.com/mpigliucci Rationally Speaking blog: rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com How to be a Stoic blog: howtobeastoic.wordpress.com Footnotes to Plato blog: www.platofootnotes.org Get Massimo's books: How To Be A Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living - https://amzn.to/2MvYuC4 Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk - https://amzn.to/2x9zkV1 Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem - https://amzn.to/2paA4oh Science Unlimited?: The Challenges of Scientism - https://amzn.to/2pbCGTa The Nature of Philosophy: How Philosophy Makes Progress and Why It Matters - https://amzn.to/2xccdJy Evolution, the Extended Synthesis (The MIT Press) - https://amzn.to/2pcD0Rs Tales of the Rational: Skeptical Essays About Nature and Science - https://amzn.to/2pcDze2 Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life - https://amzn.to/2phtOeN Phenotypic Integration: Studying the Ecology and Evolution of Complex Phenotypes - https://amzn.to/2xe2vGm Making Sense of Evolution: The Conceptual Foundations of Evolutionary Biology - https://amzn.to/2MCofka   --- Follow me on Instagram: @thesteveglaveski Like us? ‍ It'd make our day if you took 1 minute to show some love on iTunes, Stitcher or Soundcloud by subscribing, sharing and giving us a 5 star rating. ‍ To sign up to our mailing list head to www.futuresquared.xyz For more information on Collective Campus, our innovation hub, school and consultancy based in Australia and Singapore check out www.collectivecampus.io ‍Future Squared is part of the NoFilter Media network. Find NoFilter online at www.nofilter.media

You're listening to the Stoic Solutions Podcast - practical wisdom for everyday life. Today's special guest Massimo Pigliucci joins me to talk about practical applications of Stoicism, how Stoic Philosophy can benefit us in modern times, and address misconceptions about Stoicism. We explore whether Stoicism encourages us to suppress or ignore emotions; what it means to be virtuous; what a good life looks like; Stoics' view on wealth; whether Stoics are killjoys; social approval; insults; being offended; regret; toleration; and friendship among other topics. Prof. Pigliucci has a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. He currently is the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His research interests include the philosophy of biology, the relationship between science and philosophy, the nature of pseudoscience, and the practical philosophy of Stoicism. In the area of public outreach, Prof. Pigliucci has published in national and international outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post , and the Wall Street Journal, among others. He is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Contributing Editor to Skeptical Inquirer. He publishes two blogs: Plato’s Footnote ( platofootnote.org ), on general philosophy, and How to Be a Stoic ( howtobeastoic.org ), on his personal exploration of Stoicism as practical philosophy. He is also the author or editor of 13 books (full list: https://platofootnote.wordpress.com/books/), most recently of the best selling How to Be A Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (Basic Books). Other titles include Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to a More Meaningful Life (Basic Books); Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk (University of Chicago Press), and Science Unlimited? The Challenges of Scientism (co-edited with M. Boudry, University of Chicago Press). Visit my website at stoicsolutionspodcast.com where you can connect with me on social media and listen to past episodes. Support my work by becoming a donor through Patreon or Paypal to access special rewards including the ability to have upcoming guests answer your questions, custom podcast episodes, group conversations with me and podcast listeners, and one-on-one discussions. Join my new Discord chat server for interactive discussion with me and people interested in Stoicism. Share, comment, like, subscribe, and leave reviews to help support my efforts and keep this project going. Email me with your thoughts – justinvacula at gmail.com. Support through Patreon and Paypal Donate: http://justinvacula.com/donate/ Find Justin Vacula online and listen to past content: Main website: http://www.stoicsolutionspodcast.com SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/justinvacula iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/stoic-philosophy/id1264404483 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/justinvacula Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/justin-vacula/stoic-philosophy Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?authuser&u=0#/ps/I4gq7yzmfr63glwfvin2kmciifq Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StoicSolutionsPodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/StoicSolutions Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/justinvacula Engage at home or on-the-go with podcast listeners and people interested in Stoicism & Philosophy in my new interactive easy-to-use Discord chat channel: http://justinvacula.com/2018/04/02/stoic-solutions-podcast-discord-chat/ Podcast music, used with permission, is from Fairyland's album 'Score to a New Beginning.' View their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Groupe.Fairyland.Officiel/ Resources: Stoic Philosophy Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Stoicism/ Modern Stoicism http://modernstoicism.com Massimo Pigliucci blog 'How to be a Stoic' https://howtobeastoic.wordpress.com

Massimo Pigliucci is a Professor of Philosophy at the City University of New York. His research is concerned with philosophy of science, the relationship between science and philosophy, and the nature of pseudoscience. He received a Doctorate in Genetics from the University of Ferrara in Italy, a PhD in Botany from the University of Connecticut, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. He has published over a hundred technical papers and several books.  Prof. Pigliucci has been awarded the prestigious Dobzhansky Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution. He has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science "for fundamental studies of genotype by environmental interactions and for public defense of evolutionary biology from pseudoscientific attack." In the areas of outreach and critical thinking, Prof. Pigliucci has published in national magazines such as Skeptic, Skeptical Inquirer, Philosophy Now, and The Philosopher's Magazine, among others. He has also been elected as a Consultant for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.  Pigliucci penned the wildly successful "Rationally Speaking" blog and podcast (rationallyspeaking.org) and maintains a blog - the namesake of his latest book -  called How to be a Stoic.   Towards the end of the show we started chatting about genetically modified and AI augmented humanity which will form the basis of another chat with Massimo in the future, but for now, please enjoy my conversation on Stoicism and how it can help you in your personal and professional life with the one, the only...Massimo Pigliucci.   Topics Discussed: The intersection of philosophy and science Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius How Stoicism can help us lead better professional and personal lives Stoicism in the workplace Does being Stoic make you emotionless? Silicon Valley’s Stoicism movement Living a life of virtue The decoupling of consciousness and intelligence Are human feelings just algorithms   Show Notes: Twitter: twitter.com/mpigliucci Rationally Speaking blog: rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com How to be a Stoic blog: howtobeastoic.wordpress.com Footnotes to Plato blog: www.platofootnotes.org Get Massimo's books: How To Be A Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living - https://amzn.to/2MvYuC4   Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk - https://amzn.to/2x9zkV1   Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem - https://amzn.to/2paA4oh   Science Unlimited?: The Challenges of Scientism - https://amzn.to/2pbCGTa   The Nature of Philosophy: How Philosophy Makes Progress and Why It Matters - https://amzn.to/2xccdJy   Evolution, the Extended Synthesis (The MIT Press) - https://amzn.to/2pcD0Rs   Tales of the Rational: Skeptical Essays About Nature and Science - https://amzn.to/2pcDze2   Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life - https://amzn.to/2phtOeN   Phenotypic Integration: Studying the Ecology and Evolution of Complex Phenotypes - https://amzn.to/2xe2vGm   Making Sense of Evolution: The Conceptual Foundations of Evolutionary Biology - https://amzn.to/2MCofka   --- ‍Join the conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/futuresquared/where you can discuss episodes, request guests, propose questions for forthcoming guests and access exclusive content and special offers! Listen on iTunes @ goo.gl/sMnEa0 Listen on Spotify @ spoti.fi/2G2QsxV Listen on Stitcher @ www.stitcher.com/podcast/future Listen on Google Play @ bit.ly/FSGoog ‍ If you've got any questions on this podcast feel free to send an email to steve@collectivecamp.us or tweet me on Twitter @steveglaveski or @future_squared Follow me on Instagram: @thesteveglaveski Like us? ‍ It'd make our day if you took 1 minute to show some love on iTunes, Stitcher or Soundcloud by subscribing, sharing and giving us a 5 star rating. ‍ To sign up to our mailing list head to www.futuresquared.xyz For more information on Collective Campus, our innovation hub, school and consultancy based in Australia and Singapore check out www.collectivecampus.io ‍

This episode is brought to you by the CIO Scoreboard Massimo Pigliucci has a Doctorate in Genetics from the University of Ferrara (Italy), a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. He has done post-doctoral research in evolutionary ecology at Brown University and is currently the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His research interests include the philosophy of biology, the relationship between science and philosophy, the nature of pseudoscience, and the practical philosophy of Stoicism. Prof. Pigliucci has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In the area of public outreach, Prof. Pigliucci has published in national outlets such as the NewYork Times, Philosophy Now and The Philosopher's Magazine among others. I have linked in the show notes to a great article he wrote recently in the New York times. Pigliucci publishes two blogs: Plato's Footnote (platofootnote.org), on general philosophy, and How to Be a Stoic (howtobeastoic.org), on his personal exploration of Stoicism as practical philosophy. At last count, Prof. Pigliucci has published 146 technical papers in science and philosophy. He is also the author or editor of 10 technical and public outreach books, most recently of Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to a More Meaningful Life (Basic Books) Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem (University of Chicago Press), co-edited with Maarten Boudry. Other books include Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to a More Meaningful Life (Basic Books) and Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk (University of Chicago Press). We explored quite a few topics on Ethics and AI, Types of Ethical Philosophies, the difficulty of programming ethics, stoicism. I also asked him how to pose great questions to stir great conversation at the table with my kids... There is a bunch of resources that we discussed. Check them out on redzonetech.net. Major Take-Aways From This Episode: 1) 3 Major Types of Ethical Philosophies. 2) Ancient Virtue Ethics and Philippa Foot .The answer is always well it depends, what would a good person do? Human judgment is needed + nuance. 3) Modern Kantian (Started by Immanuel Kant) Deontological Ethics Rule-based ethics. 4) Modern John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism Ethics is whatever increases the happiness of the largest number of people. 5) Why there is no such thing as Intuition and how understanding Intuition and Science can make you aware of how to make yourself better as a person and leader. 6) 3 Steps to augmenting intuition using Stoicism. 7) AI vs. Smart Intelligence versus consciousness a. Trolley dilemma; b. Throw-man-off-bridge dilemma; c. Autonomous cars (programming a car to avoid a human being). 8) The different types of philosophy. 9) Kids and Philosophy resources to get your kids into good dinner table debates. 10) The Stoic Philosophy between (preferences and desires) and examples. 11) Skill acquisition and developing expertise using Stoic Philosophy. 12) Types of Philosophy of Science (Mathematics, Logic, Stoic). The role of Logic. 13) Why Stoicism is gaining popularity. 14) Stoicism for kids. Ways to connect with Massimo Pigliucci: Email Facebook Website: Plato’s Footnote Access all of Massimo’s Web Sites Teachings, event and news updates Plato’s Footnote How to Be a Stoic Rationally Speaking (archives, Massimo’s first blog, which ran from August 2005 to March 2014) Podcast: Rationally Speaking (archives) Books and Publications:  Books written or edited by Massimo Pigliucci Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to a Meaningful Life (mentioned in the interview) Video Resources: Massimo’s Youtube Channel Massimo’s Talks AI Conversation Resources Mentioned: Stoicon How to be a stoic One of his best articles from the New York Times – How to Be A Stoic  A great interview with Ryan Holiday on Stoic Philosophy Book Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman Pythagorous cave in Greece Kids Philosophy Resources: Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder About Everything! Philosophy for Teens: Questioning Life's Big Ideas Big Ideas for Little Kids: Teaching Philosophy through Children's Literature The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-Eight Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning Young Person’s Guide to Philosophy Other Resources:  Wikipedia City University of New York Profile Scientia Salon Essays This episode is sponsored by the CIO Security Scoreboard, a powerful tool that helps you communicate the status of your IT Security program visually in just a few minutes. Credits: Outro music provided by Ben’s Sound   Other Ways To Listen to the Podcast  iTunes | Stitcher | Libsyn | Soundcloud | RSS Feed | LinkedIn Leave a Review If you enjoyed this episode, then please consider leaving an iTunes review here. Click here for instructions on how to leave a review if you’re doing this for the first time. About Bill Murphy Bill Murphy is a world renowned IT Security Expert dedicated to your success as an IT business leader. Follow Bill on LinkedIn and Twitter.  

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/has-science-replaced-philosophy. Modern science has made astounding progress in our understanding of ourselves and the universe. Physics, neuroscience, and psychology now tackle questions that a few decades ago could only be explored through philosophical speculation. So some vocal members of the scientific community, and even members of the general public, have suggested that philosophy itself has become a superfluous, archaic practice. Is philosophy useful and applicable today? Or has it been reduced to a dissociated game of mental aerobics, a mere ping-pong game of arguments and counter-arguments? John and Ken question the modern-day viability of philosophy with Massimo Pigliucci from the City University of New York, author of "Answers to Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life."

Episode # 40 Running Time: 43:27 Podcast Relevance: Professionals In this episode R. Trent Codd, III, Ed.S. interviews Massimo Pigliucci, PhD about various Philosophy of Science matters including: Whether Philosophy of Science matters for the practice of science, including psychological science Objections raised by various scientists regarding the importance of Philosophy of Science, and Dr. Pigliucci's responses to those objections Whether Philosophy of Science makes progress What the demarcation problem is and the current status of the literature on demarcation How scientists and philosophers of science might optimize collaboration Massimo Pigliucci, PhD Biography Prof. Pigliucci has a Doctorate in Genetics from the University of Ferrara (Italy), a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. He has done post-doctoral research in evolutionary ecology at Brown University and is currently the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His research interests include the philosophy of biology, the relationship between science and philosophy, and the nature of pseudoscience. Prof. Pigliucci has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science “for fundamental studies of genotype by environmental interactions and for public defense of evolutionary biology from pseudoscientific attack.” In the area of public outreach, Prof. Pigliucci has published in national outlets such as the New York Times, Philosophy Now and The Philosopher’s Magazine among others. He is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Contributing Editor to Skeptical Inquirer. Dr. Pigliucci publishes two blogs: Plato’s Footnote (platofootnote.org), on general philosophy, and How to Be a Stoic (howtobeastoic.org), on his personal exploration of Stoicism as practicalphilosophy. At last count, Prof. Pigliucci has published 144 technical papers in science and philosophy. He is also the author or editor of 10 technical and public outreach books, most recently of Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem (University of Chicago Press), co-edited with Maarten Boudry. Other books include Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to a More Meaningful Life (Basic Books) and Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk (University of Chicago Press).   Episode-Related Links Books: Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem   What is this thing called Science?   Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy can lead us to a more meaningful life   Dr. Pigliucci's websites: Plato's Footnote How to Be a Stoic  

This week on Skepticality, Derek interviews Massimo Pigliucci about his latest book, Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life, discussing what lead him to write the book, and getting his personal take on the modern skeptical movement.

In this episode Julia interviews Massimo about his new book, Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life. Massimo's central idea is that a combination of science and philosophy, what he calls "Sci-Phi," is the best guide to the big questions in life, from issues of morality and justice to the meaning of love and friendship. The book's title derives from the fact that Aristotle was the first philosopher-scientist, adopting the sci-phi framework and posing a number of questions with which we are still struggling. What is the best way to live one's life? What sort of society do we want to live in? How do we relate to our friends and loved ones? Two and a half millennia later, modern science and philosophy have come up with some of the answers to Aristotle's questions, or at the least with a better way to think about them.

Host: Chris Mooney Our guest this week is a return guest of the show, Massimo Pigliucci. We last heard about his book Nonsense on Stilts, which was about how to distinguish between science and pseudoscience. But his newest effort is in some ways even more ambitious. It's called Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to a More Meaningful Life. And in it, Pigliucci lays out an approach that he calls "sci-phi." It involves assessing the science of an issue—like, say, the biology of romance—and then also weighing an array of philosophical considerations, before figuring out how to negotiate this life domain. It's quite the heady undertaking—but, well, that never stopped us here before.... Massimo Pigliucci is a professor in the Philosophy Program at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and was formerly a biology professor at Stony Brook University. He is the author or editor of eight previous books, most recently Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk. He lives in New York City.