Books
I have published a number of books on practical philosophy, living a meaningful life, critical thinking, and pseudoscience. Check them out at your leisure via the links below!
(And here is my GoodReads page, just in case.)
Beyond Stoicism—A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers, with Gregory Lopez and Meredith Alexander Kunz, The Experiment, 2025.
A refreshing example of a too-rare form of self-help, in which the goal isn’t success or happiness but becoming a better human being. (The Wall Street Journal)
Books That Matter: Meditations, The Teaching Company, 2025. (Video course here.)
One day, about 18 centuries ago, a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders wrote some notes to himself in a journal. What would a truly good life look like? How did he feel about death? Over several years, he would fill a dozen notebooks with thoughts on these and similar questions. The author of these journals never intended to publish a book. He gave it no title, no internal structure, and took no care to remove his many redundancies. But none of that mattered. He wrote for himself, and his only goal was self-improvement.
The Quest for Character—What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders, Basic Books, 2022.
With a deft but magically light hand, Pigliucci turns to case studies from Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, and more to pose the most pressing question of our time: How do we put competent and wise leaders in office? A wonderful raconteur, Pigliucci brings the historical and philosophical texts of Greco-Roman antiquity to life with lessons about good character and leadership, whether we aspire to political office or not. (Nancy Sherman, author of Stoic Wisdom)
Think like a Stoic—Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, The Teaching Company, 2021. (Video course here.)
Distilled to its essence, the ancient Greco-Roman philosophy known as Stoicism is a philosophy of personal betterment. Professor Pigliucci, who knows firsthand just how transformative a Stoic approach to life can be, has designed these 25 lessons as an enlightening introduction to the basics of Stoic philosophy and ways to incorporate its lessons into your own life.
A Field Guide to a Happy Life—53 Brief Lessons for Living, Basic Books, 2020.
A shrewd take on Stoic philosophy that's one part inspiration and one part manual for cultivating resilience in daily life. Pigliucci's prudent advice will have broad appeal among philosophically inclined readers of self-help. (Publishers Weekly)
How to Live a Good Life—A Guide to Choosing Your Personal Philosophy, co-edited with Skye Cleary and Daniel Kaufman, Penguin, 2020.
An anthology of philosophical and religious approaches to the question ‘How ought I to live?’ may sound like heavy going, but the editors have chosen contributors who are able to present the views they favor in a style that is not only clear and informative, but in many cases, entertaining as well. This is an excellent introduction to the field of ‘philosophies of life.’ (Peter Singer, author of The Most Good You Can Do)
A Handbook for New Stoics—How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Control, 52 Week-by-Week Lessons, with Gregory Lopez, The Experiment, 2019.
A wonderfully simple approach to the core concepts and techniques of Stoicism, A Handbook for New Stoics gives readers an easy way to train themselves in Stoic practices, broken down into weekly exercises spanning a whole year. Through this book, Pigliucci and Lopez have managed to make Stoicism accessible to anyone.(Donald Robertson, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist and author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor)
Nonsense on Stilts—How to Tell Science from Bunk, University of Chicago Press, 2018.
Brilliant . . . required reading for, well, everyone. (New Scientist)
How to Be a Stoic—Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life, Basic Books, 2017.
In this thought-provoking book, Massimo Pigliucci shares his journey of discovering the power of Stoic practices in a philosophical dialogue with one of Stoicism's greatest teachers. (Ryan Holiday, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Stillness is the Key)
Science Unlimited? The Challenges of Scientism, co-edited with Maarten Boudry, University of Chicago Press, 2017.
Science Unlimited? tries to establish a clarity to the debate over the scope and limits of scientific knowledge, and whether there are forms of knowledge other than the scientific. With breadth and topicality, the contributors’ arguments critical of and defending scientism ring true. This book will appeal to a wide range of scholars, including those working in the fields of (obviously) philosophy, but also the sciences themselves, religion-based specialties, and the humanities in general. (John S. Wilkins, author of Species: A History of the Idea)
Philosophy of Pseudoscience—Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem, co-edited with Maarten Boudry, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
A remarkable contribution to one of the most vexing problems in science: the 'demarcation' problem, or how to distinguish science from non-science. (Francisco J. Ayala, author of Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion)
Answers for Aristotle—How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life, Basic Books, 2012.
[Pigliucci] is that rare academic…who is both an evolutionary biologist and philosopher (he has doctorates in both fields), and so he knows, better than most, that both science and philosophy are essential to understanding ourselves and our world.... [A] lively discussion. (Skeptical Inquirer)
Denying Evolution—Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science, Oxford University Press, 2002.
The book is written for an audience who needs no background in the subject to begin enjoying it; once finished, however, readers will have extensive knowledge. It is multifaceted, fascinating, and essential. Everyone involved in science research, science education, and education policy (including politicians) should not only read the work, but encourage others to do likewise. (Brian Alters, The Quarterly Review of Biology)