His latest podcast Stoic Meditations[19] consists of readings from the ancient Stoics, followed by his commentary to interpret the reading and put it into context.[20]
Pigliucci is an atheist,[21] but does not believe that science necessarily demands atheism, because of two distinctions: that between methodological naturalism and philosophical naturalism, and that between value judgements and matters of fact. He believes that many scientists and science educators fail to appreciate these differences.[9] Pigliucci has criticized New Atheist writers for embracing what he considers to be scientism (although he largely excludes philosopher Daniel Dennett from this charge).[22] In a discussion of his book Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to a More Meaningful Life, Pigliucci told Skepticality podcast host Derek Colanduno, "Aristotle was the first ancient thinker to really take seriously the idea that you need both empirical facts, you need an evidence-based approach to the world and you need to be able to reflect on the meaning of those facts... If you want answers to moral questions then you don't ask the neurobiologist, you don't ask the evolutionary biologist, you ask the philosopher."[23]
Pigliucci describes the mission of skeptics, referencing Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World saying "What skeptics are about is to keep that candle lit and spread it as much as possible".[24] Pigliucci serves on the board of NYC Skeptics and on the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America.[8]
Massimo Pigliucci criticized the newspaper article by Pope Francis entitled, "An open dialogue with non-believers". Pigliucci viewed the article as a monologue rather than a dialogue and, in a response personally addressed to Pope Francis, wrote that the Pope only offered non-believers "a reaffirmation of entirely unsubstantiated fantasies about God and his Son...followed by a confusion between the concept of love and truth, the whole peppered by a significant amount of historical revisionism and downright denial of the ugliest facets of your Church."[27]
Stoicism
Pigliucci became a popularizer of Stoicism and one of the driving forces in Stoicism's resurgence in the United States in the early twenty-first century. His 2015 essay for The New York Times on the topic was one of the most shared articles to date.[28] Pigliucci said he always felt Stoicism was part of his Italian heritage, but he came to practice it after being disenchanted with Buddhism, though he finds both schools of thought to share similarities.
I actually tried to study Buddhism for a bit, but the parts I managed to get exposed to felt too alien, couched in cultural, linguistic, and conceptual terms that did not resonate with me. By contrast, when I picked up Epictetus, or Marcus, or Seneca, I immediately felt at home.[29]
Neoskepticism
In 2021 Pigliucci announced[30] a shift of interest away from Stoicism and towards, as he said, "a new synthesis, something that I have called Neoskepticism, and which uses the combined insights of the ancient Skeptics and Stoics to craft a better way to think about and especially live one’s life."
On consciousness
Pigliucci has criticized David Chalmers' hard problem of consciousness, and he similarly is a critic of panpsychism. While he is a realist about consciousness, he thinks that claiming there is a distinction between the so called hard and easy problems of consciousness is a category error.[31]
Rationally Speaking
In August 2000 Pigliucci started a monthly internet column called Rationally Speaking. In August 2005, the column became a blog,[32] where he wrote posts until March 2014.[33] Starting in February 2010, he co-hosted the bi-weekly Rationally Speaking podcast with Julia Galef, whom he first met at the Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, held in September 2009.[34] The podcast is produced by the New York City Skeptics. The show has had many guests—scientists, philosophers—discussing matters of reason, skepticism and rationality. In 2010, Neil DeGrasse Tyson explained on the show his justification for spending large amounts of government money on space programs. He eventually printed the transcript of his performance as a guest on the show in his book Space Chronicles as a full chapter covering eight pages.[35] Another episode in which Tyson explained his position on the label "atheism" received attention on NPR.[36] Pigliucci left the podcast in 2015 to pursue his other interests. Galef continued to host the podcast solo.[37]
Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science. (Sinauer, 2002) ISBN0-87893-659-9: This book covers the evolution-creation controversy, better science teaching, and why people have difficulties with critical thinking.
Making Sense of Evolution (with Jonathan Kaplan, University of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN978-0-226-66837-6): A philosophical examination of the fundamental concepts of evolutionary theory and practice.
^Moreland, J.P. (2013). Debating Christian Theism. US: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0199755431.
^Pigliucci, Massimo (September 20, 2013). "Dear Pope". Rationally Speaking. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
^Stiefel, Todd; Metskas, Amanda K. (May 22, 2013). "Julia Galef"(podcast). The Humanist Hour. Episode 083. The Humanist. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
^Culp, Jennifer (2014). Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Great Science Writers Series. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 74. ISBN978-1477776926.
^Pigliucci, Massimo and Galef, Julia (February 27, 2015). "RS128 – 5th Anniversary Live Show". Rationally Speaking (Podcast). New York City Skeptics. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2015.{{cite podcast}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
