In December 2024, I had a great conversation with Dr. Massimo Pigliucci, a professor of philosophy at City College in New York City, an evolutionary biologist, a scholar of Greco-Roman practical philosophy, and an authority on Stoicism. He is also the author of How to Be a Stoic and The Quest for Character. We covered a wide range of topics, and the full dialogue can be found in the link below:
Continue reading
Nietzsche is one of the most popular and discussed of the modern philosophers. He tends to be highly polarizing: some see him as a kind of secular saint, while others see him as a laughable poseur. I wanted to give my own thoughts on his life, ideas, and place in the history of thought.
Continue reading
Last week the new translation of Cicero’s On The Nature Of The Gods was published. It is available in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle. An audiobook version will come out next month. This podcast explains what the book is about, why it is important, and the special features my translation has. I also read the translation’s Foreword.
Continue reading
Only one name in European history unites the realms of religion, mathematics, and philosophy, and that name is Pythagoras. Yet it is this very achievement that so torments posterity when assessing his legacy. Centuries of speculative accretions, hagiographic mythologizing, and the dubious testimonia of ancient authors have so obscured his original doctrines that the exasperated scholar must, at last, accept that fact and legend are in him inseparably woven.
Continue reading
In his Politics, Aristotle spends a good deal of time discussing the education and training of the youth. One memorable passage contains the following thoughts:
Continue reading
I was recently asked in correspondence to provide some thoughts on the pitfalls and obstacles to the study of philosophy. I have to admit that it was something of a relief to get this request, as it offers me a pretext to describe my own ideas on this subject. All of us seek a greater level of understanding of things; but perhaps few of us give much thought to avoiding the obstacles to understanding. A horse and its equestrian rider, however, cannot clear a hurdle until they have had experience in judging its height and length. Here, then, are some of the most commonly encountered pitfalls of the student of philosophy.
Continue reading
In this podcast I discuss my new translation of Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations. The work deals with five critical problems that face all of us: the fear of death, how to endure pain, how to alleviate mental distress, the various disorders of the mind, and why virtue is important for living a happy life. (A review of the book can be found in the October 2021 issue of The New Criterion). What questions could be more essential and fundamental than these?
Continue reading
Quintus Curtius 
You must be logged in to post a comment.