How to Be a (Happy) Skeptic

Celebrated CUNY philosopher Massimo Pigliucci investigates the practical applications of Cicero’s skepticism, weaving together ancient wisdom, personal narrative, and practical insights to help readers find meaning through doubt

You may have picked up this book because you’re searching for a philosophy of life. Beware that it is dangerous to accept a philosophical or religious practice without questioning it. Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers believed that, without a healthy amount of doubt, you could be tricked into thinking you have found the ultimate Truth—and the danger of absolute faith is no less threatening today.

In How to Be a (Happy) Skeptic, philosopher Massimo Pigliucci reveals the way to a meaningful, happy life through the power of curiosity and doubt with the ancient Roman public advocate, orator, statesman, and thinker Marcus Tullius Cicero as his guide. Cicero lived in turbulent times at the end of the Roman Republic. Though he mostly lived as a Stoic, Cicero also followed Plato’s Skeptical Academy, believing a spirit of inquiry and an open-minded attitude were the secrets to living well.

Weaving Cicero’s biography with deep investigations of his published works, Pigliucci explores the foundations for a good life: from how to formulate our values to how to nurture friendships; from being a good citizen and fighting for social justice to handling grief, pain, and even death. Taking a page from Cicero’s book, we, too, can adopt a practical philosophy of reason and common sense.