Massimo Pigliucci's Blog, page 4

Practice like a Stoic: 45, Study each impression scientifically

The nature of science, 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. Check th...

Plato on who really loves wisdom

“‘That’s why we’d say that those who are already wise, whether they are gods or men, no longer love wisdom, and that those who are so ignorant that they are bad do not love wisdom either, because no bad or stupid man loves wisdom.

So, we’re left with those who possess that bad thing, ignorance, but have not yet been rendered foolish or stupid by it, in that they still believe they don’t know what they don’t know.

Consequently those who are still neither good nor bad do, in fact, love wisdom; where...

I’m skeptical, not afraid, of AI

The Leader of the Luddites, 1812, hand-colored etching. Image from Wikimedia, CC license.

Summary: Massimo discusses the impact of generative AI (gAI) on academia, particularly in teaching and scholarship. While acknowledging the potential of AI, he highlights concerns about its misuse, including plagiarism and the erosion of critical thinking skills. Massimo contrasts human expertise, which relies on intuition and embodied knowledge, with machine expertise, which operates based on accumulated fa...

Practice like a Stoic: 44, Decompose desired externals

After the banquet, 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. Check the bo...

Plato on why friendship between bad people is not possible

“‘Have you come across the writings of our wisest men, which say that like must always be friend to like? These are, of course, the men who discuss and write about nature and the universe.’

‘That’s true,’ he said.

‘Well,’ I said, ‘are they right?’

‘Possibly,’ he replied. …

[But] ‘We think that the closer one wicked man gets to another wicked man and the more he associates with him, the more he becomes hated by him, because he wrongs him; and it is, of course, impossible for wronger and wronged to be...

The (hermeneutic) circle of understanding

Modern echo chamber, by Midjourney.

Summary: The hermeneutic circle, a philosophical concept, highlights the influence of our biases and predispositions on understanding. While complete escape from these biases is impossible, recognizing them helps us become more aware of their impact on our interpretations. This understanding is crucial for navigating the world effectively, as our innate frameworks, like the concept of causality, shape our perception and reasoning. Relying solely on the hermeneu...

Practice like a Stoic: 43, Challenge your anxious thoughts

Looking in vain into the future, 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...

The Leading Doctrines of Epicurus

The tetrapharmakos as found in the Herculaneum papyrus in the Villa of the Papyri. Image from Wikimedia, CC license.

The Practical Wisdom podcast I produce is not for the faint of heart. Each series of episodes 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 listeners can go back to them at their leisu...

Self-Evident: How Benjamin Franklin’s two-word edit changed American history

The Declaration of Independence.

Summary: Benjamin Franklin’s edit of the Declaration of Independence, replacing “sacred and undeniable” with “self-evident,” shifted the philosophical foundation of the American project from religious conviction to Enlightenment rationality. This change, influenced by Franklin’s empiricist views and the ideas of David Hume, emphasized the importance of reason and self-evident truths in shaping the nation’s principles. Franklin’s edit, while retaining a reference t...

Practice like a Stoic: 42, Retreat to your inner citadel

The inner citadel, 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. Check the bo...