Massimo Pigliucci on How to Be a Happy Skeptic | The Power & Joy of Doubt

"I'm a skeptic, which means I'm entitled to change my mind — and that's not a bug, it's a feature." — Massimo Pigliucci Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community!⁠

Check out our new website! www.humanism.now

Skepticism has a reputation problem. To many it sounds like cynicism, a reflex of doubt that drains the colour out of the world. But what if doubt is actually a path to a richer, more honest, happier life? James Hodgson is joined by scientist-turned-philosopher Massimo Pigliucci to reclaim skepticism as a way of life, from its ancient Greek roots to the vaccine debates and demagogues of today.

We trace the two great schools of ancient skepticism, explore why "skeptic" originally meant inquirer rather than denier, and get practical: how to judge expertise when you're not an expert, why changing your mind is a strength, and how doubt and happiness belong together.

About the guest

Massimo Pigliucci is the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York, with doctorates in both evolutionary biology and philosophy. Best known for How to Be a Stoic and his work on philosophy as a way of life, his new book is How to Be a Happy Skeptic: The Power of Doubt in a Meaningful Life.

In this episode

• Who the ancient Skeptics really were, from the Pyrrhonists to the Academic skeptics, and why "skeptic" means inquirer, not cynic
• Proportioning belief to evidence, how to judge expertise when you can't be an expert yourself, and why changing your mind is a feature, not a flaw
• Why doubt and happiness belong together: eudaimonia, "a life worth living," and the ethics of belief

Links and references

• Massimo Pigliucci, How to Be a Happy Skeptic: The Power of Doubt in a Meaningful Life: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/806907/how-to-be-a-happy-skeptic-by-massimo-pigliucci/
• Massimo Pigliucci, How to Be a Stoic: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35102306-how-to-be-a-stoic
• Massimo Pigliucci's writing, Figs in Winter: https://figsinwinter.medium.com
• Massimo in conversation with the Central London Humanists: https://www.meetup.com/central-london-humanists/events/316243117/

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: can you hold doubt and joy?

00:57 Who were the Skeptics? Inquiry, not cynicism

03:52 How skepticism survived: the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Hume

06:30 Pyrrhonists vs Academic skeptics: suspending judgment

10:00 Degrees of belief: Carneades, Cicero and proto-Bayesian reasoning

15:21 The problem of expertise: who to trust

22:30 Why changing your mind is a feature, not a bug

23:47 Certainty, demagogues and the ethics of belief

29:38 Why a "happy" skeptic? Eudaimonia and a life worth living

34:28 The Stoics, the Skeptics and humanism

39:39 Changing Minds Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community!

www.humanism.now Follow @HumanismNowPod | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Threads | X.com | BlueSky

Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live, a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe. Contact us to get started in podcasting today at humanise.live or hello@humanise.live.

Music: Blossom by Light Prism

Podcast transcripts are AI-generated and may contain errors or omissions. They are provided to make our content more accessible, but should not be considered a fully accurate record of the conversation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices