The wonderful Aeon magazine (for which I published one of their early essays, on the unity of knowledge), just released an interview Nigel Warburton (of the Philosophy Bites podcast) did with me on the topic of death and Stoicism.

The 5-minute video is here. And here is the brief accompanying description:

Founded in Athens during the 3rd century BC, Stoicism flourished for some 500 years throughout Greece and then Rome, and was shaped by the teachings of such philosophers and leaders as Zeno of Citium, Seneca, Cato the Younger, and Marcus Aurelius. Preceded and inspired by the Cynics, the Stoics valued reason, virtue and an acceptance of circumstance. More than just a mental exercise, Stoicism was intended as a practical tool for shaping its adherents’ approach to the many challenges of life and the inevitability of death. In this Aeon Video original interview, the City University of New York professor of philosophy – and practising Stoic – Massimo Pigliucci discusses how the Stoical view of death still carries meaning in a modern context, from questions of suicide to how to engage in the world and appreciate the good things in life.