Category: videos

In his book The Quest for Character, Massimo Pigliucci asks: can good character be taught? Through an exploration of Greek and Roman philosophy, and especially the interaction of Socrates and Alcibiades, Pigliucci helps us understand what makes a good leader, and how we can educate others, and ourselves, to be better people and citizens. Produced…

How can we be more virtuous? Can we teach our children virtue? And what about politicians? Well, the latter is probably the most difficult, but continuing our current cycle of cynicism isn’t exactly helping us out either… So what can we actually do to make a better society for ourselves… and for the next generation?…

How to Grieve: From Cicero and Stoicism to Modern practices, How can philosophy help us handle loss? A panel discussion. In 45 BCE, the Roman statesman Cicero fell to pieces when his beloved daughter, Tullia, died from complications of childbirth. But from the depths of despair, Cicero fought his way back. In an effort to…

Is moral responsibility a mere illusion? Massimo Pigliucci, Galen Strawson and Sarah Garfinkel debate the essence of innocence and guilt. (Watch the full debate here.) Some argue behaviour is a product of our genes. Others that upbringing and environment play the primary role in determining who we are. So do we carry no responsibility for…

A conversation between Skye Cleary and Massimo Pigliucci on Massimo’s book, The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders (Basic Books, 2022).

What Socrates’s greatest failure says about a 2,000-year-old question: is it possible to teach ourselves and others to become better people? A conversation I had with Times Radio, published by The Times of London.

What is the best life we can live? How can we cope with whatever the universe throws at us and keep thriving nonetheless? The ancient Greco-Roman philosophy of Stoicism explains that while we may not always have control over the events affecting us, we can have control over how we approach things. In this short…

Well, people have asked for it, so I have reactivated and revamped my YouTube channel. Comments are turned off, because I’m weary of social media. But if you’d like to talk about any of the videos featured on the channel, feel free to do it here. The channel contains the following lists: How to Live…

Philosophy News talks with Massimo Pigliucci on Stoicism, Skepticism, and how to have productive conversations in today’s polarized world. In this interview, we talk with Dr. Pigliucci about how Stoicism differs from a more rationalist mindset and how Stoicism relates the skepticism. We cover topics in some of his recent articles about skepticism and how…

Most of us consider ourselves to be “good” but how do we truly know? Is there any objective standard? I had much fun talking to Rabbi Adam Jacobs about this sort of questions. Even when he, inevitably, tried to push a theistic interpretation on me… (watch the video here.)