How to Be a (Happy) Skeptic

‘How to Be a (Happy) Skeptic is the book we‘ve been waiting for! If you‘ve ever recoiled from Stoicism as too austere, this book offers a sensible, socially responsible middle ground to living the life you want. What‘s more, it is the single best guide now available to the rich body of practical wisdom written by Marcus Tullius Cicero.‘ -MICHAEL FONTAINE, author of How to Have Willpower ‘How to Be a (Happy) Skeptic combines intellectual biography with self-help writing of the best kind, showing us how curiosity and doubt-not certainty, or faith-can be foundational for a rich, fulfilling life.‘ -M. D. USHER, author of Following Nature‘s Lead ‘This book is a wide-ranging introduction to ancient Greco-Roman ethics and a swift history of Cicero‘s life and times. More importantly, it‘s a compelling guide to living well-to thinking reasonably, to savoring friendship, to building a better society, and to facing suffering with dignity and grace.‘ -SCOTT SAMUELSON, author of Rome as a Guide to the Good Life ‘To his talents as a natural writer, expert historian of philosophy, and committed practical ethicist, Massimo Pigliucci here adds the skills of a gifted biographer. His deft interweaving of Cicero‘s life with an inquiry into how to best live our own makes this book a compelling and spiritually uplifting achievement.‘ -JAMES ROMM, author of Dying Every Day ‘Massimo Pigliucci strikes again. No one is better at illuminating the therapeutic power of the history of philosophy, or at showing its continued relevance for knowing what it means to have a life worth living.‘ -ROBIN REAMES, author of The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself: ‘With the help of Pigliucci‘s expert guidance, readers will learn everything there is to know about [Cicero,] one of the most influential figures in Western philosophy, and in the process, they will be rewarded with a renewed understanding of themselves and the world around them.‘ -VITTORIO BUFACCHI, author of Why Cicero