How do you live a good life? It's a central question to the human experience, and one the ancient Stoic philosophers sought to answer by focusing on virtue, mindfulness, and the things that are and are not within our control.
No matter where you live or what culture you live in, the question of how to lead a good life is central. And there are no shortage of answers, from fundamentalist religion to nihilism. For his part, philosopher Massimo Pigliucci has become a Stoic. Stoicism, he says, isn’t about suppressing or hiding emotions. It’s about mindfulness and virtue. It’s about focusing your efforts only on that which you can control and understanding the truth of death. Pigliucci joins us to discuss why and how to be a Stoic.
Massimo Pigliucci is a professor of philosophy at the City University of New York. He blogs at platofootnote.org and howtobeastoic.org. His latest book is called How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life [Indie bookstores|Amazon|Audible].
