Ancient Wisdom, Modern Insights | Philosophy of Meditation #6 with Massimo Pigliucci

In Episode 6 of the "Philosophy of Meditation" series, John Vervaeke and Rick Repetti discuss with guest Massimo Pigliucci how stoicism and meditation intertwine. Massimo, an acclaimed philosopher, delves into his transition from evolutionary biology to philosophy and Stoicism. The conversation covers key aspects of Stoicism, including the practice of mindfulness, attention (prosoche), and the Stoic approach to life's challenges. They discuss the parallels and differences between Stoic practices and Buddhist meditation, emphasizing the importance of rationality and judgment in Stoicism. The episode also touches on mindfulness in modern contexts, comparing it to classical practices, and concludes with Massimo sharing his personal Stoic meditative practices and reflections on life and death.
Massimo Pigliucci is a distinguished philosopher and author renowned for his work in the philosophy of science and his advocacy for Stoicism as a practical philosophy for modern life. He is a key figure in the modern revival of Stoicism, contributing significantly through his writings, talks, and as a certified philosophical counselor.
Glossary of Terms
Stoicism: An ancient Greek philosophy that emphasizes rationality, virtue, and resilience.
Mindfulness: The practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences.
Prosoche: A Stoic term for attentive mindfulness, focusing on rational judgment and action.
John Vervaeke:
Website: johnvervaeke.com/
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Rick Repetti:
Website: www.rickrepetti.com/
Instagram: / rickrepetti
X: / rickrepetti
Facebook: / philosophicalpractitioner
Massimo Pigliucci:
Substack: figsinwinter.substack.com/
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The Vervaeke Foundation - vervaekefoundation.org/
Awaken to Meaning - awakentomeaning.com/
Books, Articles, and Publications
Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation - Rick Repetti
www.amazon.com/Routledge-Hand...
A Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Control―52 Week-by-Week Lessons - Gregory Lopez, Massimo Pigliucci www.amazon.com/Handbook-New-S...
Quotes
"But meditating in Stoicism is a kind of activity that is very much philosophical in nature... But it's most certainly is a type of philosophizing." - Massimo Pigliucci [00:11:11]
"This is a place where it's converging with sort of cutting edge CogSci, which is the importance of attention to being reasonable that the training of attention is as important as the training of argumentation." - John Vervaeke [00:20:40]
"What can I do better the next time? Again, the idea being your mind needs to be prepared. If you're prepared, you're going to react better the next time around." - Massimo Pigliucci [00:53:15]
Chapters
[00:00:00] - Introduction to the Episode by John Vervaeke
[00:01:21] - Massimo Pigliucci's Background and Journey to Stoicism
[00:04:44] - Pigliucci’s Current Work and Philosophical Interests
[00:08:03] - Discussing the Philosophy of Meditation
[00:14:47] - Exploration of Stoic Principles: Physics, Logic, and Ethics
[00:17:00] - Massimo Pigliucci Discusses the Broader Understanding of Ethics in Stoicism
[00:24:40] - Stoic Perspectives on Choice, Good and Evil, and Social Relationships
[00:31:09] - Comparing and Contrasting Buddhism and Stoicism
[00:43:30] - Massimo's Personal Stoic Meditative Practices
[00:53:15] - Massimo Pigliucci's Closing Thoughts on Practical Philosophy

[@mikegarrigan5182]

Thank you, gentlemen, another exceptional episode in this series. As a untrained plebeian I didn’t realize my attraction to stoicism. After watching this episode, I’m now adding stoicism to my frame of reference.

[@colorfulbookmark]

When reading on ethics textbook tailored by pedagogy I was 💤💤💤 When I watch on ethics insight from Dr.Vervaeke's video I am ❤❤❤💯

[@warrenlockie3154]

Thanks for your contributions to a better life for one as an individual and social. I work in education. Your work helps me frame important questions for my students. Your good intentions are getting out there.

[@missh1774]

Wow I'm a Stoic! 25:00 I love Italian definitions for words relating to careful thought 💛 but you have to use different search engines to get the best translations. Thank you for presenting this content!

[@themoralcube]

I really enjoy that there is a variety in answers from the same questions. It would be interesting to perhaps dictate a mindmap of each of the answers against the question. It might visually give us a chance to analyze and compare the answers and look for a more universal truth between them.

[@oxy5100]

I always zen out with these conversations.

[@mellonglass]

There’s a speed option in the settings? 2x is sometimes difficult, but definitely 1.5 works comfortably.

[@RealVladPutin]

@@mellonglass *woosh*

[@CrowMagnum]

Maybe a course in engineering control systems, PID controllers and such, would be a helpful perspective

[@woodandwandco]

I think the nuance about judgement that was elaborated by traditional Buddhism was more so about not judging one's own thoughts, emotions, and physical manifestation, or those of others, but instead, to observe these aspects of self without judging the content. In that sense, they are not advocating mindlessness or mindfulness, but rather, the observation of mind itself, as it is, such that one can come to experientially understand what mind is, which is the only way it can be know, and to transcend its limited nature. What they discovered was that by doing so, one could subordinate the mind to awareness. The way this translates into daily living is simply to transcend the reactive state, where one is constantly reacting to their thoughts and emotions as they manifest, and becoming in a state of non-judgement equates to being responsive rather than reactive, which translates into embodying the observer rather than the observed. It was the understanding of the early Buddhists that reasoning is a phenomenon bound by time, and that which is bound by time is ephemeral, and that only awareness is untethered from time. The ultimate state of awareness would be the awareness of no-thing, which is the natural state of the mind at rest. When the mind is at rest, there is neither mindfulness nor mindlessness. There is only awareness then, which is not of the mind.

[@jonyspinoza3310]

🌞

[@oliverjamito9902]

Pops what is a Seat? Seat will say who settteth can Seat here all day and everyday...nor day and night! He who rebuked and who chaseth? Is like...how much are ye ALL truly worth? Creation itself can't compare! Who I rebuked and chaseth...made for Thee! Till can hold still...holding thy hands! Yes, one another's hands unto one another! How many hands do ye all see? Even though if blind folded! Shepherds knows HIS VOICE. Likewise follow my Shepherds voice! Shared HIS "i" AM. Who love with patience, mercy, and grace! Judgment and Justice salvation the redeemer sitteth upon. Sincere conversations or foolish conversations = indeed can learn from the past. Pop is like thy little child "i" longing to LEARN. Where increase belongs? Thank you again for attending...love ye Three pops!

[@TimCCambridge]

👍👍

[@dalefavier2949]

On a lighter note, it's pretty funny when Pigliucci says, "... it depends on what you mean by 'philosophy'...." and all three philosophers' heads bob as one 🙂

[@mellonglass]

Guess what, if peeps meditated for Twitter, which is an immense population the size of a country, the propositional professors who can’t dance, may realize a different experience of ‘love thy neighbour’ ‘feed the poor’ ‘heal the sick’ ‘welcome the stranger’. If books truly meant something, it would become conversation and not lecture and conjecture. Here’s a question: Is question period, judgement time? One is linear, another is revolutionary.

[@Just_Call_Me_Frank]

Why did he say that about X. Could have debased significantly what he had to say after that.

[@RealVladPutin]

Triggered snowflake.

[@mellonglass]

Is stoic in these conversations, an inability to learn yet be curious of conspiracy? You do know there are several thousand hours of virology to learn, that would upgrade the previous popular version from 1956 to present day teraflops calculations to justify the ‘existence’ of a protein programmed virus event, relationship? In clinical terms it doesn’t even register of significant or reliable infectivity when compared to other clinical events, do you recall the test happening quickly, or over one year before tests were available? What happened in the space of a year? Politics as usual? Stoics before science. Anxiety before mediocrity in sheeple and crazy dance manoeuvres. Why professor, you could have just gone next door to the advanced biology department and asked?

[@mellonglass]

Graves don’t speak, so the romance is our imaginary version, the best version is to visit the dying, while they are dying, as well as witness the birth, not the pervasive romance of birth. Maturity is in essence being of the world, not the imagination.

[@Angel-cu5mf]

meditation won't save you from hell. which is forever

[@christopherhamilton3621]

LOL!!!!!!

[@serenity9984]