Massimo Pigliucci

[[File:20110409-542-NECSS2011.jpg|thumb|165px|Pigliucci.]]{{skepnav|1}}
'''Massimo Pigliucci''' {{lived|1964}} is an Italian American [[biology|biologist]] turned [[philosophy|philosopher]], formerly specializing in ecology and [[evolution]] and currently holding a post as a [[philosophy|philosopher]] of biology at the City University of New York, Lehman College.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120124033159/https://www.lehman.edu/deanhum/philosophy/platofootnote/PlatoFootnote.org/Plato_files/curriculum%20vitae.pdf Pigliucci's ''curriculum vitae'']</ref> He was born in Monrovia, [[Liberia]], raised in [[Rome]], and eventually emigrated to the [[United States]].

==''Rationally Speaking''/''Scientia Salon''==
Pigliucci wrote a long-running column for the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry| ''Skeptical Inquirer'']] called "Rationally Speaking". His columns there now go under the name of "Thinking About Science". The column spawned a spin-off blog and a podcast of the same name, which he hosted with [[Julia Galef]] from 2010 to 2015. As of 2014 the Rationally Speaking blog was discontinued (although the archives remain available and the podcast continues) in favor of Pigliucci's new project, ''Scientia Salon''. ''Scientia Salon'', an online magazine edited by Pigliucci, publishes articles by him and other scholars on a wide range of issues, though there is a concentration on science and philosophy. Galef continued the podcast until 2021 but with an increasing emphasis on Effective Altruism and Rationalism.

In August 2016, Pigliucci abandoned ''Scientia Salon'' because it placed great demands on his time and did not provide corresponding rewards.<ref>https://scientiasalon.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/it-has-been-fun/</ref> For a year afterwards he contributed to ''The Philosophers' Magazine'', a print magazine turned web magazine.<ref>https://philosophersmag.com/?s=Massimo</ref>

From circa 2018 to 2022 he ran the ''Stoic Meditations'' podcast with two-to-four-minute lectures from ancient Stoicism.<ref>https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/stoicmeditations/</ref> While some pop Stoicism for rich software developers and financiers is basically an excuse to accept their privileged position and focus on themselves, his form has more of an ethical grounding.<ref>Ada Palmer, "Stoicism’s Appeal to the Rich and Powerful," March 27, 2019 https://www.exurbe.com/stoicisms-appeal-to-the-rich-and-powerful/</ref>

==Evolutionary theory and creationism==
===Debating creationists===
Pigliucci has laid the smackdown on a number of prominent [[creationist]]s, including [[Duane Gish]] ([[Masochism|a total of five times!]]),<ref>[https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2001/over-a-thousand-attend-evolution-debate/ Over a Thousand Attend Evolution Debate], Banner of Truth</ref> [[Jonathan Wells]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130116072057/http://www.hoover.org/multimedia/uncommon-knowledge/26902 Monkey Business: Evolution and Intelligent Design], [[Uncommon Descent]]</ref> and [[Kent Hovind]].<ref>[http://richarddawkins.net/audio/606-evolution-debate-pigliucci-vs-hovind Evolution Debate: Pigliucci vs. Hovind], richarddawkins.net</ref> However, he also charges some defenders of evolution with [[scientism]], putting partial blame on them for the denial of evolution due to their smuggling philosophy into science.<ref>[https://infidels.org/kiosk/article/review-of-massimo-pigliuccis-ia-hrefhttpsecwebinfidelsorgkioskbooksampid856denying-evolutionai/ Review of Massimo Pigliucci's ''Denying Evolution'',] Robert Anderson, Secular Web</ref>

===Extended Synthesis and Pigliucci's view of evolution===
Pigliucci is a proponent of approaches to evolutionary theory that have come to be known as the "[[Extended Synthesis]]," which he distinguishes as being not a replacement of the "Modern Synthesis," but merely a modification (albeit a rather major one) to it. The Extended Synthesis seeks to incorporate new findings from fields such as evolutionary-developmental biology and epigenetics.<ref>Massimo Pigliucci. [https://philpapers.org/archive/PIGAES.pdf An Extended Synthesis for Evolutionary Biology.] The Year in Evolutionary Biology 2009: Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1168: 218–228 (2009).</ref> The concept of the Extended Synthesis has generated some controversy in the field of evolutionary biology -- its critics include some well-known scientists such as [[Richard Dawkins]] and Douglas Futuyma. Critics generally contend that the current Modern Synthesis can accommodate this new research without modification or that some phenomena, such as epigenetic inheritance, are transient enough not to have a large impact on evolutionary theory.<ref>Bob Grant. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150417021150/http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/27894/title/Should-Evolutionary-Theory-Evolve-/ Should Evolutionary Theory Evolve?] ''The Scientist'', Jan. 1 2010</ref>

==Debating atheists==
Pigliucci has been critical of "[[New Atheists]]" including [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Jerry Coyne]], and [[Sam Harris]] on a number of topics.<ref>[http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2009/10/on-scope-of-skeptical-inquiry.html On the Scope of Skeptical Inquiry], Rationally Speaking</ref> He has variously accused them of mixing atheism with [[scientism]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150417021146/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2010/05/03/massimo-pigliucci-criticizes-scientism/ Massimo Pigliucci Criticizes "Scientism"], The Friendly Atheist</ref> Specifically, he has criticized Dawkins' concepts of the "selfish gene" and [[memes]],<ref>[http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2007/10/dawkins-trilogy.html The Dawkins Trilogy], Rationally Speaking</ref> Harris' claims about [[science]] and [[morality]] in ''The Moral Landscape'',<ref>[http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2010/04/about-sam-harris-claim-that-science-can.html About Sam Harris Claim That Science Can Answer Moral Questions], Rationally Speaking</ref> and [[Jerry Coyne#Coyne vs. Pigliucci (on new atheism, the nature of science, and free will)|Coyne's arguments]] against [[free will]].<ref>[http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-coyne-on-free-will.html Jerry Coyne on Free Will], Rationally Speaking</ref>

==Engagement with Eliezer Yudkowsky==

Pigliucci is one of the very few people with academic credentials outside the rationalist movement who has engaged with [[Eliezer Yudkowsky]]. In a 2010 video debate<ref>https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/2561</ref> and 2013 blog post he was not impressed.<ref>https://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2010/09/eliezer-yudkowsky-on-bayes-and-science.html</ref> "I debated singularitarian guru Eliezer Yudkowsky on BloggingHeadsTV on the same topic. My later encounters with that particular group of techno-optimists and futurists have not improved my opinion of the whole shebang a bit."

==Publications==
*''Phenotypic Evolution'' (with Carl Schlichting) (1998)
*''Tales of the Rational'' (2000)
*''Phenotypic Plasticity'' (2001)
*''Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science'' (2002)
*''Phenotypic Integration'' (2003)
*''Making Sense of Evolution'' (with Jonathan Kaplan) (2006)
*''Rationally Speaking: Skeptical Essays on Reality as We Think We Know It'' (2009) [[Special:Booksources/9781689600729|ISBN 9781689600729]]
*''Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk'' (2010) [[Special:Booksources/9780226667850|ISBN 9780226667850]]
*''Evolution: The Extended Synthesis'' (editor, with Gerd B. Muller) (2010)
*''Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life'' (2012) [[Special:Booksources/‎978-0465021383|ISBN ‎978-0465021383]]
*''Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem'' (editor, with Maarten Boudry) (2013)

==See also==
*[[Stefaan Blancke]]

==External links==
*[http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/ Rationally Speaking blog]
*[http://www.rationallyspeakingpodcast.org/ Rationally Speaking podcast]
*[http://scientiasalon.wordpress.com/ Scientia Salon]
*[http://www.platofootnote.org/ Plato Footnote], Pigliucci's academic papers and articles
*[http://www.csicop.org/author/massimopigliucci Pigliucci's articles in the ''Skeptical Inquirer'']

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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Categories: Atheists, Biologists, New York, Philosophers, Philosophy of science, Living people