How to Keep an Open Mind
An Ancient Guide to Thinking like a Skeptic (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers Series)
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Tom Parks
About this listen
How ancient skepticism can help you attain tranquility by learning to suspend judgment
Along with Stoicism and Epicureanism, Skepticism is one of the three major schools of ancient Greek philosophy that claim to offer a way of living as well as thinking. How to Keep an Open Mind provides an unmatched introduction to skepticism by presenting a fresh, modern translation of key passages from the writings of Sextus Empiricus, the only Greek skeptic whose works have survived.
While content in daily life to go along with things as they appear to be, Sextus advocated - and provided a set of techniques to achieve - a radical suspension of judgment about the way things really are, believing that such nonjudging can be useful for challenging the unfounded dogmatism of others and may help one achieve a state of calm and tranquility. In an introduction, Richard Bett makes the case that the most important lesson we can draw from Sextus's brand of skepticism today may be an ability to see what can be said on the other side of any issue, leading to a greater open-mindedness.
How to Keep an Open Mind offers a compelling antidote to the closed-minded dogmatism of today's polarized world.
©2021 Princeton University Press (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
How to Win an Election
- An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians
- By: Quintus Tullius Cicero, Philip Freeman - translator
- Narrated by: Doug Kaye
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How to Win an Election is an ancient Roman guide for campaigning that is as up-to-date as tomorrow's headlines. In 64 BC when idealist Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest orator, ran for consul (the highest office in the Republic), his practical brother Quintus decided he needed some no-nonsense advice on running a successful campaign.
-
-
How to be a politician ...
- By Benedict on 07-31-13
By: Quintus Tullius Cicero, and others
-
Conjectures and Refutations
- The Growth of Scientific Knowledge
- By: Karl Popper
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 22 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Conjectures and Refutations is one of Karl Popper’s most wide-ranging and popular works, notable not only for its acute insights into the way scientific knowledge grows, but also for applying those insights to politics and to history. It provides one of the clearest and most accessible statements of the fundamental idea that guided his work: not only our knowledge but our aims and our standards grow through an unending process of trial and error.
-
-
Essential for Age of AI
- By Chris Mays on 08-08-23
By: Karl Popper
-
The Socratic Method
- A Practitioner’s Handbook
- By: Ward Farnsworth
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
About 2,500 years ago, Plato wrote a set of dialogues that depict Socrates in conversation. The way Socrates asks questions, and the reasons why, amount to a whole way of thinking. This is the Socratic method - one of humanity’s great achievements. More than a technique, the method is an ethic of patience, inquiry, humility, and doubt. It is an aid to better thinking, and a remedy for bad habits of mind, whether in law, politics, the classroom, or tackling life’s big questions at the kitchen table.
-
-
Needs a new version
- By Robin Hampton on 11-01-21
By: Ward Farnsworth
-
Breakfast with Seneca
- A Stoic Guide to the Art of Living
- By: David Fideler
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Breakfast with Seneca, philosopher David Fideler mines Seneca's classic works in a series of focused chapters, clearly explaining Seneca's ideas without oversimplifying them. Best enjoyed as a daily ritual, like an energizing cup of coffee, Seneca's wisdom provides us with a steady stream of time-tested advice about the human condition - which, as it turns out, hasn't changed much over the past 2,000 years.
-
-
A Philosophical Breakfast
- By Ronald William C. Brady Jr. on 03-16-22
By: David Fideler
-
Nonviolent Communication
- Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values
- By: Marshall Rosenberg PhD
- Narrated by: Marshall Rosenberg PhD
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Nonviolent Communication, this renowned peacemaker presents his complete system for speaking our deepest truths, addressing our unrecognized needs and emotions, and honoring those same concerns in others. With this adaptation of the best-selling book of the same title, Marshall Rosenberg teaches in his own words.
-
-
This is an amazing life changing book!!!
- By Olesya on 08-03-16
-
Courage Is Calling
- Fortune Favors the Brave
- By: Ryan Holiday
- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Almost every religion, spiritual practice, philosophy and person grapples with fear. The most repeated phrase in the Bible is “Be not afraid.” The ancient Greeks spoke of phobos, panic and terror. It is natural to feel fear, the Stoics believed, but it cannot rule you. Courage, then, is the ability to rise above fear, to do what’s right, to do what’s needed, to do what is true. And so it rests at the heart of the works of Marcus Aurelius, Aristotle, and CS Lewis, alongside temperance, justice, and wisdom.
-
-
Not his best effort
- By Amazon Customer on 09-30-21
By: Ryan Holiday
-
How to Win an Election
- An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians
- By: Quintus Tullius Cicero, Philip Freeman - translator
- Narrated by: Doug Kaye
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How to Win an Election is an ancient Roman guide for campaigning that is as up-to-date as tomorrow's headlines. In 64 BC when idealist Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest orator, ran for consul (the highest office in the Republic), his practical brother Quintus decided he needed some no-nonsense advice on running a successful campaign.
-
-
How to be a politician ...
- By Benedict on 07-31-13
By: Quintus Tullius Cicero, and others
-
Conjectures and Refutations
- The Growth of Scientific Knowledge
- By: Karl Popper
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 22 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Conjectures and Refutations is one of Karl Popper’s most wide-ranging and popular works, notable not only for its acute insights into the way scientific knowledge grows, but also for applying those insights to politics and to history. It provides one of the clearest and most accessible statements of the fundamental idea that guided his work: not only our knowledge but our aims and our standards grow through an unending process of trial and error.
-
-
Essential for Age of AI
- By Chris Mays on 08-08-23
By: Karl Popper
-
The Socratic Method
- A Practitioner’s Handbook
- By: Ward Farnsworth
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
About 2,500 years ago, Plato wrote a set of dialogues that depict Socrates in conversation. The way Socrates asks questions, and the reasons why, amount to a whole way of thinking. This is the Socratic method - one of humanity’s great achievements. More than a technique, the method is an ethic of patience, inquiry, humility, and doubt. It is an aid to better thinking, and a remedy for bad habits of mind, whether in law, politics, the classroom, or tackling life’s big questions at the kitchen table.
-
-
Needs a new version
- By Robin Hampton on 11-01-21
By: Ward Farnsworth
-
Breakfast with Seneca
- A Stoic Guide to the Art of Living
- By: David Fideler
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Breakfast with Seneca, philosopher David Fideler mines Seneca's classic works in a series of focused chapters, clearly explaining Seneca's ideas without oversimplifying them. Best enjoyed as a daily ritual, like an energizing cup of coffee, Seneca's wisdom provides us with a steady stream of time-tested advice about the human condition - which, as it turns out, hasn't changed much over the past 2,000 years.
-
-
A Philosophical Breakfast
- By Ronald William C. Brady Jr. on 03-16-22
By: David Fideler
-
Nonviolent Communication
- Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values
- By: Marshall Rosenberg PhD
- Narrated by: Marshall Rosenberg PhD
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Nonviolent Communication, this renowned peacemaker presents his complete system for speaking our deepest truths, addressing our unrecognized needs and emotions, and honoring those same concerns in others. With this adaptation of the best-selling book of the same title, Marshall Rosenberg teaches in his own words.
-
-
This is an amazing life changing book!!!
- By Olesya on 08-03-16
-
Courage Is Calling
- Fortune Favors the Brave
- By: Ryan Holiday
- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Almost every religion, spiritual practice, philosophy and person grapples with fear. The most repeated phrase in the Bible is “Be not afraid.” The ancient Greeks spoke of phobos, panic and terror. It is natural to feel fear, the Stoics believed, but it cannot rule you. Courage, then, is the ability to rise above fear, to do what’s right, to do what’s needed, to do what is true. And so it rests at the heart of the works of Marcus Aurelius, Aristotle, and CS Lewis, alongside temperance, justice, and wisdom.
-
-
Not his best effort
- By Amazon Customer on 09-30-21
By: Ryan Holiday
-
Lectures & Fragments
- By: Musonius Rufus
- Narrated by: Robin Homer
- Length: 2 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gaius Musonius Rufus was a Roman Stoic philosopher of the first century AD. He has been referred to as the Roman Socrates and is also remembered for being the teacher of Epictetus. He taught philosophy in Rome during the reign of Nero and so was sent into exile in 65 AD, returning to Rome only under Galba. Twenty-one of his lectures survive together with a few fragmentary notes from others, all of which are contained in this narration.
-
-
Amazing timeless wisdom
- By Rosy on 08-16-22
By: Musonius Rufus
-
Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
- By: Diogenes Laertius, Pamela Mensch - translator, James Miller - editor
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 28 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This anthology is a miscellany of maxims and anecdotes that generations of Western readers have consulted for edification as well as entertainment ever since Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, first compiled in the AD third century, came to prominence in Renaissance Italy. To this day, it remains a crucial source for much of what we know about the origins and practice of philosophy in ancient Greece.
-
-
Could be worse ....
- By Mohad Cheridi on 01-31-19
By: Diogenes Laertius, and others
-
Dominion
- How the Christian Revolution Remade the World
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland, Mark Meadows
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion - an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus - was to be worshipped as a god. Dominion explores the implications of this shocking conviction as they have reverberated throughout history.
-
-
Only the forward is narrated by Holland.
- By Honora on 06-16-20
By: Tom Holland
-
The Communist Manifesto
- By: Karl Marx
- Narrated by: Greg Wagland
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
‘It was a sweet finish after the bitter pills of floggings and bullets with which these same governments, just at that time, dosed the German working-class risings’. The Communist Manifesto is, perhaps surprisingly, a most engaging and accessible work, containing even the odd shaft of humour in this translation by Samuel Moore for the 1888 English edition.
-
-
Forcibly over throw anyone who owns land?
- By Austin Hair on 02-13-20
By: Karl Marx
-
Epicurus of Samos: His Philosophy and Life
- All the Principal Source Texts
- By: Epicurus, Crespo
- Narrated by: James Gillies, Jonathan Booth
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Epicurus of Samos (341-270 BCE) was the founder of the philosophical system to which he gave his name: Epicureanism. It is a label that is often misused and misunderstood today, with ‘a life of pleasure’ as the key aim misinterpreted as a life of indulgence. In fact, the philosophy of Epicurus demonstrated also by his life, was anything but! He established a school in Athens called The Garden, underpinned by his system of ethics.
-
-
Not What It Seems And Full Of Hypocrisy
- By Jock Little on 05-27-22
By: Epicurus, and others
-
Existential Physics
- A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions
- By: Sabine Hossenfelder
- Narrated by: Gina Daniels
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. The notion that there are universes within particles, or that particles are conscious, is ascientific, as is the hypothesis that our universe is a computer simulation. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely.
-
-
Unscientific and unengaging
- By Jase G on 03-29-23
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
How to Win an Election
- An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians
- By: Quintus Tullius Cicero, Philip Freeman - translator
- Narrated by: Doug Kaye
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How to Win an Election is an ancient Roman guide for campaigning that is as up-to-date as tomorrow's headlines. In 64 BC when idealist Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest orator, ran for consul (the highest office in the Republic), his practical brother Quintus decided he needed some no-nonsense advice on running a successful campaign.
-
-
How to be a politician ...
- By Benedict on 07-31-13
By: Quintus Tullius Cicero, and others
-
How to Have a Life
- An Ancient Guide to Using Our Time Wisely (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers Series)
- By: Seneca, James S. Romm - editor
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who doesn't worry sometimes that smart phones, the Internet, and TV are robbing us of time and preventing us from having a life? How can we make the most of our time on earth? In the first century AD, the Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger offered one of the most famous answers to that question in his essay "On the Shortness of Life"—a work that has more to teach us today than ever before.
-
-
Relevant 2,000 Years After It Was Written
- By Abdur on 08-19-24
By: Seneca, and others
-
How to Say No
- An Ancient Guide to the Art of Cynicism (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers Series)
- By: Diogenes, M. D. Usher - translator
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 2 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How to Say No is a delightful collection of brief ancient writings about Cynicism that captures all the outrageousness, wit, and wisdom of its remarkable cast of characters—from Diogenes in the fourth century BCE to the column-stander Symeon Stylites in late antiquity.
By: Diogenes, and others
-
How to Do the Right Thing
- An Ancient Guide to Treating People Fairly (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers Series)
- By: Seneca, Robert A. Kaster - editor translator introduction
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are times when we've all felt that we haven't been treated as we deserve—that we've been misjudged, shortchanged, or given a raw deal. And, at one time or another, other people have probably felt that we've treated them just as unfairly. How to Do the Right Thing draws on the principles of ancient Stoicism as articulated by the Roman statesman and philosopher Seneca to help listeners better navigate one of the most important practical questions of daily life—how to do right by others.
-
-
Unnecessary citations
- By Jose on 05-05-24
By: Seneca, and others
-
The Socratic Method
- A Practitioner’s Handbook
- By: Ward Farnsworth
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
About 2,500 years ago, Plato wrote a set of dialogues that depict Socrates in conversation. The way Socrates asks questions, and the reasons why, amount to a whole way of thinking. This is the Socratic method - one of humanity’s great achievements. More than a technique, the method is an ethic of patience, inquiry, humility, and doubt. It is an aid to better thinking, and a remedy for bad habits of mind, whether in law, politics, the classroom, or tackling life’s big questions at the kitchen table.
-
-
Needs a new version
- By Robin Hampton on 11-01-21
By: Ward Farnsworth
-
How to Grieve
- An Ancient Guide to the Lost Art of Consolation (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers Series)
- By: Marcus Tullius Cicero, Michael Fontaine - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Richards
- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 45 BCE, the Roman statesman Cicero fell to pieces when his beloved daughter, Tullia, died from complications of childbirth. But from the depths of despair, Cicero fought his way back. In an effort to cope with his loss, he wrote a consolation speech—not for others, as had always been done, but for himself. And it worked. Cicero's Consolation was something new in literature, equal parts philosophy and motivational speech.
By: Marcus Tullius Cicero, and others
-
How to Win an Election
- An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians
- By: Quintus Tullius Cicero, Philip Freeman - translator
- Narrated by: Doug Kaye
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How to Win an Election is an ancient Roman guide for campaigning that is as up-to-date as tomorrow's headlines. In 64 BC when idealist Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest orator, ran for consul (the highest office in the Republic), his practical brother Quintus decided he needed some no-nonsense advice on running a successful campaign.
-
-
How to be a politician ...
- By Benedict on 07-31-13
By: Quintus Tullius Cicero, and others
-
How to Have a Life
- An Ancient Guide to Using Our Time Wisely (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers Series)
- By: Seneca, James S. Romm - editor
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who doesn't worry sometimes that smart phones, the Internet, and TV are robbing us of time and preventing us from having a life? How can we make the most of our time on earth? In the first century AD, the Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger offered one of the most famous answers to that question in his essay "On the Shortness of Life"—a work that has more to teach us today than ever before.
-
-
Relevant 2,000 Years After It Was Written
- By Abdur on 08-19-24
By: Seneca, and others
-
How to Say No
- An Ancient Guide to the Art of Cynicism (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers Series)
- By: Diogenes, M. D. Usher - translator
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 2 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How to Say No is a delightful collection of brief ancient writings about Cynicism that captures all the outrageousness, wit, and wisdom of its remarkable cast of characters—from Diogenes in the fourth century BCE to the column-stander Symeon Stylites in late antiquity.
By: Diogenes, and others
-
How to Do the Right Thing
- An Ancient Guide to Treating People Fairly (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers Series)
- By: Seneca, Robert A. Kaster - editor translator introduction
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are times when we've all felt that we haven't been treated as we deserve—that we've been misjudged, shortchanged, or given a raw deal. And, at one time or another, other people have probably felt that we've treated them just as unfairly. How to Do the Right Thing draws on the principles of ancient Stoicism as articulated by the Roman statesman and philosopher Seneca to help listeners better navigate one of the most important practical questions of daily life—how to do right by others.
-
-
Unnecessary citations
- By Jose on 05-05-24
By: Seneca, and others
-
The Socratic Method
- A Practitioner’s Handbook
- By: Ward Farnsworth
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
About 2,500 years ago, Plato wrote a set of dialogues that depict Socrates in conversation. The way Socrates asks questions, and the reasons why, amount to a whole way of thinking. This is the Socratic method - one of humanity’s great achievements. More than a technique, the method is an ethic of patience, inquiry, humility, and doubt. It is an aid to better thinking, and a remedy for bad habits of mind, whether in law, politics, the classroom, or tackling life’s big questions at the kitchen table.
-
-
Needs a new version
- By Robin Hampton on 11-01-21
By: Ward Farnsworth
-
How to Grieve
- An Ancient Guide to the Lost Art of Consolation (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers Series)
- By: Marcus Tullius Cicero, Michael Fontaine - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Richards
- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 45 BCE, the Roman statesman Cicero fell to pieces when his beloved daughter, Tullia, died from complications of childbirth. But from the depths of despair, Cicero fought his way back. In an effort to cope with his loss, he wrote a consolation speech—not for others, as had always been done, but for himself. And it worked. Cicero's Consolation was something new in literature, equal parts philosophy and motivational speech.
By: Marcus Tullius Cicero, and others
What listeners say about How to Keep an Open Mind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M. Deshaies
- 09-30-23
Clear, revealing look at Skepticism
This book is an interesting description and translation of Sextus Empiricus books on skeptic philosophy. It is a revealing take on how someone from around the year 200 viewed skepticism in contrast to other Hellenistic schools, and while the treatment of the philosophy is straightforward, I felt that the skeptics were not as complete of a school as the stoics or the epicureans, (At least not as portrayed in this Sextus Empiricus work. ). But that’s not the fault of the author as he’s just translating the work of a late antiquity doctor. This audio version of the book is very clear despite the work being translated being sometimes rather dry. Since the topic is a little confusing, I plan to listen to it again to try to understand have the material better.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 12-03-21
Open minds
Open minded logic and common sense which isn't common anymore. Great read thus book is a keeper.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anony 2112
- 01-18-24
A good introduction to Sexstus' Skepticism
The title is a selection of Sextus' ideas with some context from the translator. It is a good entrance into Sextus' thoughts and skepticism, but I must say I found the arguments semantic and unpersuasive. The narration is simple and clear, but somewhat lifeless.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Shane Ravenbane
- 11-19-23
Complete and utter drivel.
The title is misleading. Sextus seems to be attempting to make an art of denial and cowardice. However, this is compiled of excerpts of his writings, so it is just possible that they are being taken out of context.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!