Philosophies of Pleasure and of Character | Prof. Massimo Pigliucci
Vedanta Talks - Swami Sarvapriyananda
Vedanta Society of New York
4.8 • 714 Ratings
🗓️ 22 December 2025
⏱️ 109 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Professor Massimo Pigliucci, K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy, The City College of New York. Professor Massimo Pigliucci is an American philosopher and biologist who is professor of philosophy at the City College of New York, former co-host of the Rationally Speaking Podcast, and former editor in chief for the online magazine Scientia Salon. He is a critic of pseudoscience and creationism, and an advocate for secularism and science education. His recent work has focused on stoicism.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning, everybody, and welcome. |
| 0:23.2 | We welcome today the return of Professor Massimo Piliucci, the KD. Iranian Professor of Philosophy at the City University of New York. |
| 0:34.9 | He's back by popular demand. Raised in Rome, Italy, Professor Piliucci received a doctorate in genetics from the University of Ferrara, |
| 0:47.3 | holds a PhD in evolutionary biology from the University of Connecticut, and a PhD in philosophy from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in philosophy from the University of Tennessee, |
| 0:59.0 | Knoxville. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, |
| 1:05.0 | which recognized him for his major contributions to studies of gene environment interactions and his educational |
| 1:14.3 | efforts to counter widespread pseudo-scientific beliefs. In 1997, he was awarded the prestigious |
| 1:24.6 | Dobzansky Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution. |
| 1:30.3 | Pellucci has written regularly for a skeptical inquirer on topics such as climate change denial and intelligent design. |
| 1:39.3 | As a philosopher, he's interested in the structure and foundations of evolutionary theory, |
| 1:46.5 | the relationship between science and philosophy, and the relationship between science and religion. |
| 1:54.6 | He's written, wait for it, for the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, |
| 2:00.8 | been interviewed by PBS, the New York Times, The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, been interviewed |
| 2:01.8 | by PBS, the BBC, NBC News, the Boston Globe, The Guardian, the Atlantic, Newsweek, |
| 2:09.9 | the Economist, Forbes, and Scientific American, and made a guest appearance on the Colbert Report. |
| 2:18.2 | He's published over 170 technical papers in science and philosophy and is the author or |
| 2:25.9 | editor of 16 books, including the best-selling How to Be a Stoic, using ancient philosophy to live a modern life. |
| 2:37.3 | This past January, another book, Beyond Stoicism, |
| 2:41.5 | A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans and Other Ancient Philosophers |
| 2:48.6 | was published. That was just in January. |
| 2:51.4 | He produces a podcast called Stoic Meditations, |
| 2:56.0 | and his writings and musings can be found |
... |
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