Massimo Pigliucci's Blog, page 3

Let’s talk about (biological) sex—part I

[Welcome to Vegas!, photo by the Jennifer Sears.]

Summary: Let’s jump into a fascinating ongoing scientific dust-up between biologists and philosophers about what biological sex actually means. Most biologists keep it simple: males make small reproductive cells (sperm), females make big ones (eggs). But two philosophers of science are pushing back hard, saying we should ditch the whole concept of biological sex because it’s too messy and problematic. It’s a bit like past debates about whether ato...

Practice like a Stoic: 48, Counter anger with maxims

Maintaining calm while meditating on a maxim, by Midjourney.

[This series of posts is based on A Handbook for New Stoics—How to Thrive in a World out of Your Control, co-authored by yours truly and Greg Lopez. It is a collection of 52 exercises, which we propose reader try out one per week during a whole year, to actually live like a Stoic. In Europe/UK the book is published by Rider under the title Live Like A Stoic.Below is this week’s prompt and a brief explanation of the pertinent philosophic...

Plato’s Lysis

Lysis, as portrayed in the lekythos (a vessel to store oil, usually associated with funerary rites) for his son Timokleides (4th century BC). Image from Wikimedia, CC license.

Each series of the Practical Wisdom podcast I produce presents a deep dive into a single text from the Greco-Roman wisdom tradition. From time to time, as in the case of this post, it may helpful to pause and collect together all the entries referring to the same piece of classical writing, so that those interested can go b...

How to be queer with Sappho and Plato

[Based on How to be Queer: An Ancient Guide to Sexuality, by Sappho, Plato, and other lovers, translated by Sarah Nooter. Full book series here.]

Summary: The essay explores the complex relationship between love, lust, and romance, examining their biological, psychological, and philosophical aspects. It highlights the three-phase model of love proposed by Helen Fisher and contrasts it with the Stoic perspective, which categorizes lust and romance as unhealthy emotions. The discussion then delves ...

Practice like a Stoic: 47, Analyze anger

Getting angry at one’s computer, by Midjourney.

[This series of posts is based on A Handbook for New Stoics—How to Thrive in a World out of Your Control, co-authored by yours truly and Greg Lopez. It is a collection of 52 exercises, which we propose reader try out one per week during a whole year, to actually live like a Stoic. In Europe/UK the book is published by Rider under the title Live Like A Stoic.Below is this week’s prompt and a brief explanation of the pertinent philosophical background...

Plato on being friends without knowing what friendship is

“‘Shall we assume, then, that … the bad is akin to the bad; the good to the good; and what is neither good nor bad to what is neither good nor bad?’

They said they thought it was so: each was akin to its counterpart.

‘In that case, boys,’ I said, ‘haven’t we fallen back into those first statements of ours about friendship, which we rejected, since one unjust man will be a friend to another unjust man, a bad man to another bad man, no less than one good man to another good man?’

‘It would appear so,...

Video: John Sellars on Stoicism and Epicureanism

Welcome to another entry in our occasional series of video chats with authors and translators who have written about the philosophy, culture, and history of the Greco-Roman tradition.

In this episode I talk to my colleague and friend John Sellars from the University of London. John is one of the shakers and movers of the Modern Stoicism movement, as well as a faculty of the Stoa Nova school.

John has ongoing scholarly interests both in ancient philosophy, especially Stoicism, and in Renaissance ph...

Practice like a Stoic: 46, Pause when angry

Socrates walking with friends while wearing a helmet, by Midjourney.

[This series of posts is based on A Handbook for New Stoics—How to Thrive in a World out of Your Control, co-authored by yours truly and Greg Lopez. It is a collection of 52 exercises, which we propose reader try out one per week during a whole year, to actually live like a Stoic. In Europe/UK the book is published by Rider under the title Live Like A Stoic.Below is this week’s prompt and a brief explanation of the pertinent phi...

Plato on loving things for the sake of other things

“‘All right then,’ I said. ‘Now that we’ve got as far as this, boys, let’s be careful not to be deceived.’ …

‘Let’s consider the following case: medicine, we say, is a friend for the sake of health.’

‘Yes.’

‘Is health a friend too, then?’

‘Of course.’

‘If it is a friend, it is so for the sake of something.’

‘Yes.’

‘And that something is a friend, if it is to be consistent with what we admitted earlier.’

‘Of course.’

‘And that too, in its turn, will be a friend for the sake of a friend?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well then, ...

How to make money with Pliny & co.

[Based on How to Make Money: An Ancient Guide to Wealth Management, by Pliny & co., translated by Luca Grillo. Full book series here.]

Summary: Ancient Roman attitudes towards wealth and its acquisition were complex, reflecting tensions between practical necessity and ethical ideals. While service to the state and farming were idealized, lucrative occupations like usury and tax collection were often disdained. Despite societal hierarchies, social mobility was possible for both men and women, even...