CURRICULUM VITAE RICHARD BETT Department of Philosophy

CURRICULUM VITAE

RICHARD BETT Department of Philosophy

The Johns Hopkins University

Citizen of U.K. Baltimore, MD 21218-2686

Permanent Resident of U.S. Phone: (410) 516-6863

Fax: (410) 516-6848

e-mail: <[email protected]>

EDUCATION

B.A. Oxford University, 1980, Literae Humaniores (Classics and Philosophy). First

Class Honours, Final Examinations, 1980; First Class Honours, Honour

Moderations in Greek & Latin Literature, 1978

Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, 1986, Philosophy. Dissertation Title:

“Moral Scepticism: Why Ask ‘Why Should I be Moral?’”

CURRENT POSITION

Professor of Philosophy, The Johns Hopkins University; secondary appointment in Classics

PREVIOUS POSITIONS

Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Arlington, 1986-1991

Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins, Jan.-June 1991

Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins, 1991-1994

Associate Professor of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins, 1994-2000; secondary appointment in

Classics, 1996-2000

Acting Executive Director, The American Philosophical Association, Jan. 2000-June 2001

PUBLICATIONS

a) Books

Sextus Empiricus, Against the Ethicists (Adversus Mathematicos XI): Introduction,

Translation and Commentary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997, paperback 2000). Pp.

xxxiv + 302

Pyrrho, his Antecedents and his Legacy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000, paperback 2003).

Pp. xi + 264

Sextus Empiricus, Against the Logicians (Adversus Mathematicos VII-VIII): Introduction,

Translation and Notes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005 – hardback &

paperback simultaneous). Pp. xliv + 207

The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Scepticism (editor) (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 2010 – hardback and paperback simultaneous). Pp. xii + 380

(Books, continued)

Sextus Empiricus, Against the Physicists (Adversus Mathematicos IX-X): Introduction,

Translation and Notes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012, paperback

2015). Pp. xxxiii + 178

Sextus Empiricus, Against those in the Disciplines (Adversus Mathematicos I-VI):

Introduction, Translation and Notes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018). Pp. ix +

270. Introduction also in Portuguese translation, Sképsis, no.20 (2020), 55-78, online:

http://philosophicalskepticism.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/5-Richard-Bett-

Introdu%C3%A7%C3%A3o-a-Contra-aqueles-nas-disciplinas-1.pdf

How to be a Pyrrhonist: the Practice and Significance of Pyrrhonian Skepticism (Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2019, paperback 2021) – collection of 11 previously

published essays and 1 new essay. Pp. xvi + 263. This book was the subject of a two-

part book symposium in Sképsis (online: https://philosophicalskepticism.org ), no.s 20

and 21.

How to Keep an Open Mind; An Ancient Guide to Thinking Like a Skeptic – selections from

Sextus Empiricus in translation, with facing Greek text, plus an introduction and notes

(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021). Pp. xlviii + 225. Also available as an

audio book (Highbridge Audio, a division of Recorded Books). Translated into

modern Greek: Πώς να έχεις ανοιχτό μυαλό, Ένας αρχαίος οδηγός ανεκτικότητας και

διαλόγου (Athens: Dioptra, 2022 – translation, Violetta Zeuke). Translated into

Spanish: El arte de cultivar una mente abierta: un manual de sabiduria clásica para

vivir con la serenidad de un escéptico (Badalona, Spain: Ediciones Koan, 2022 –

translation, Jacinto Pariente).

b) Articles

Note: Papers reprinted in How to be a Pyrrhonist: the Practice and Significance of

Pyrrhonian Skepticism are marked with an *asterisk; the page numbers are given, in

parentheses with HTBP, at the end of each entry, in addition to the English title if the paper

was originally published in another language.

“Immortality and the Nature of the Soul in the Phaedrus”, Phronesis XXXI (1986), 1-26;

reprinted in a) Gail Fine, ed., Plato 2: Ethics, Politics, Religion, and the Soul - Oxford

Readings in Philosophy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999), 425-449, b) Ellen Wagner,

ed., Essays on Plato’s Psychology (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2001), 335-362

“Scepticism as a Way of Life and Scepticism as ‘Pure Theory’”, in Whitby, Hardie and

Whitby, eds., Homo Viator: Classical Essays for John Bramble (Bristol Classical

Press and Bolchazy-Carducci, 1987), 49-57

“Is Modern Moral Scepticism Essentially Local?”, Analysis 48 (1988), 102-107

“Carneades’ Pithanon: A Reappraisal of Its Role and Status”, Oxford Studies in Ancient

Philosophy VII (1989), 59-94

“The Sophists and Relativism”, Phronesis XXXIV (1989), 139-169; reprinted in Terence

Irwin, ed., Classical Philosophy: Collected Papers, vol.2 (Garland Publishing, 1995),

189-219

(Articles, continued) 
“Carneades’ Distinction Between Assent and Approval”, The Monist 73 (1990), 3-20;
  reprinted in Terence Irwin, ed., Classical Philosophy: Collected Papers, vol.8 (Garland 
  Publishing, 1995), 19-36 
“Scepticism and Everyday Attitudes in Ancient and Modern Philosophy”, Metaphilosophy  24 
  (1993), 363-381 
“Aristocles on Timon on Pyrrho: the Text, its Logic and its Credibility”, Oxford Studies in 
  Ancient Philosophy XII (1994), 137-181 
“What did Pyrrho Think about ‘The Nature of the Divine and the Good’?”, Phronesis XXXIX 
  (1994), 303-337 
“Sextus' Against the Ethicists: Scepticism, Relativism or Both?”, Apeiron 27 (1994), 123-161 
“Hellenistic Essays Translated”, Review Article on Jacques Brunschwig, Papers in 
Hellenistic Philosophy, Apeiron 29 (1996), 75-97 
Entries on Ancient Skepticism, Carneades and Clitomachus in Donald J. Zeyl, ed., The 
  Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997) 
“A Note on the Text of Stobaeus II.77,11”, Hermes 126 (1998), 385-387 
 “The Sceptics on Emotions”, in Troels Engberg-Pedersen & Juha Sihvola, eds., The 
Emotions in Hellenistic Philosophy (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1998), 197-218 
“Reactions to Aristotle in the Greek Sceptical Traditions”, Méthexis: Revista Internacional de 
  Filosofia Antigua XII (1999), 17-34; invited paper for special issue entitled “La 
  recepción de Aristóteles en el pensamiento post-aristotélico hasta el año 230” 
“What does Pyrrhonism have to do with Pyrrho?”, in Ancient Skepticism and the Skeptical 
  Tradition: Acta Philosophica Fennica 66 (2000), 11-33 
“On the Pre-History of Pyrrhonism”, Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient 
  Philosophy 15 (2000), 137-166 
“Nietzsche on the Skeptics and Nietzsche as Skeptic”, Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 
  82 (2000), 62-86 
“Pyrrho”, in Edward Zalta (ed.), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, online: original 
version 2002, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2002/entries/pyrrho/; revised 
versions 2006, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2006/entries/pyrrho/, 2010, 
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2010/entries/pyrrho/, 2014, 
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/pyrrho/, 2018, 
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/pyrrho/, 2022, 
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pyrrho/ 
“Timon of Phlius”, in Edward Zalta (ed.), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, online: 
original version 2002, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2002/entries/timon-
phlius/, revised versions 2006, 
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2006/entries/timon-phlius/, 2010, 
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2010/entries/timon-phlius/, 2014, 
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/timon-phlius/, 2018, 
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/timon-phlius/, 2022, 
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/timon-phlius/ 
“Is there a Sophistic Ethics?”, Ancient Philosophy XXII (2002), 235-262 
“Rationality and Happiness in the Greek Skeptical Traditions”, in Jiyuan Yu & Jorge J. E. 
  Gracia, eds., Rationality and Happiness: From the Ancients to the Early Medievals 
  (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2003), 109-134 

(Articles, continued)

“L’utilité des technai”, in C. Lévy, B. Besnier & A. Gigandet, eds., Ars et Ratio. Sciences,

arts et métiers dans la philosophie hellénistique et romaine. Actes du Colloque

international organisé à Créteil, Fontenay et Paris du 16 au 18 octobre 1997.

Collection Latomus 273 (2003), 33-48

Entry on Ancient Epistemology in The New Dictionary of the History of Ideas (New York:

Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2005), vol. 2, 687-689

*“Le signe dans la tradition pyrrhonienne”, in José Kany-Turpin, ed., Signe et prédiction dans

l’antiquité (Saint-Étienne: Publications de l’Université de Saint-Étienne, 2005), 29-48

(HTBP 69-88: “The Sign in the Pyrrhonian Tradition”)

“Stoic Ethics”, in Mary Louise Gill & Pierre Pellegrin, eds., A Companion to Ancient

Philosophy (Oxford: Blackwell 2006), 530-548

“Socrates and the Sceptics”, in Sara Ahbel-Rappe and Rachana Kamtekar, eds., A Companion

to Socrates (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006), 298-311

Entry on Plato and his Predecessors in The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics

(Oxford: Elsevier, 2

edition 2006), vol. 9, 633-636

“La double ‘schizophrénie’ d’Adversus Mathematicos I-VI, et son origine historique”, in

Joëlle Delattre, ed., Sur le Contre les professeurs de Sextus Empiricus (Editions du

Conseil Scientifique de l’Université Charles-de-Gaulle – Lille 3: Lille, 2006), 17-34

“Sceptic Optics?”, Apeiron 40, #1 (March 2007), 95-121 (see also Erratum, vol. 40, #2, 122)

“Nietzsche, the Greeks and Happiness”, Philosophical Topics 33, #2 – Nietzsche, ed. Edward

Minar and Randall Havas (2005 – but published in 2008), 45-70

*“What Kind of Self Can a Greek Sceptic Have?”, in Ancient Philosophy of the Self, ed.

Pauliina Remes and Juha Sihvola (Springer: New Synthese Historical Library, 2008),

139-154 (HTBP 133-150)

Entries on Aenesidemus, Diodorus Cronus, Carneades, Sextus Empiricus, Timon, Protagoras

and Louvrensis opticus for Encyclopedia of Ancient Natural Scientists, ed. Paul T.

Keyser and Georgia Irby-Massie (Routledge, 2008)

“Sextus Empiricus”, in History of Western Philosophy and Religion, Volume 1: Ancient

Philosophy and Religion, ed. Nick Trakakis and Graham Oppy (Acumen Publishing

and Oxford University Press, 2009), 173-185

“Stoicism”, in Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, ed. Michael Gagarin

(Oxford University Press 2010, 7 vols.), vol. 6, 389-395 (4000-word article)

Introduction and “Scepticism and Ethics”, in The Cambridge Companion to Ancient

Scepticism, ed. Richard Bett (Cambridge University Press, 2010), 1-10 and 181-194

“Beauty and its Relation to Goodness in Stoicism”, in Ancient Models of Mind: Studies in

Human and Divine Rationality, ed. David Sedley and Andrea Nightingale (Cambridge

University Press, 2010), 130-152

“Socratic Ignorance”, in The Cambridge Companion to Socrates, ed. Donald Morrison

(Cambridge University Press, 2010), 215-236

“Pyrrhonian Skepticism”, in The Routledge Companion to Epistemology, ed. Sven Bernecker

and Duncan Pritchard (Routledge, 2011), 403-413

*“How Ethical Can an Ancient Sceptic Be?”, in Pyrrhonism in Ancient, Modern, and

Contemporary Philosophy, ed. Diego Machuca (Springer, 2011), 3-17 (HTBP 151-67)

“Nietzsche and the Romans”, Journal of Nietzsche Studies 42 (Autumn 2011), 7-31

(Articles, continued)

*“Can an ancient Greek sceptic be eudaimôn (or happy)? And what difference does the

answer make to us?”, Journal of Ancient Philosophy 6, Issue 1 (2012), online:

http://www.journals.usp.br/filosofiaantiga/index (HTBP 189-208)

“Did the Stoics Invent Human Rights?”, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy,

Supplementary Volume 2012, 149-69; also in French translation (“Les Stoïciens ont-

ils inventé les droits de l’homme?”) in Philia et Dikè: Aspects du lien social et

politique en Grèce ancienne, ed. Michel Crubellier, Annick Jaulin et Pierre Pellegrin

(Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2018), 439-62

“Ancient Scepticism”, in Oxford Handbook of the History of Ethics, ed. Roger Crisp (Oxford,

2013), 112-28; also in Spanish translation (“Etica en el Escepticismo Antiguo”) in

Dudas Filosóficas: ensayos sobre escepticismo antiguo, moderno y contemporáneo,

ed. Armando Cintora & Jorge Ornelas (Mexico City: Gedisa Editorial, 2014), 45-72

“Language, Gods, and Virtue: A Discussion of Robert Mayhew, Prodicus the Sophist”,

Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 44 (Summer 2013), 279-311

“A Sceptic Looks at Art (but not very closely): Sextus Empiricus on Music”, International

Journal for the Study of Skepticism 3 (2013), 155-81

*“The Pyrrhonist’s Dilemma: What to Write if you Have Nothing to Say”, in Argument und

Literarischer Form in antiker Philosophie, Akten des 3. Kongresses der Gesellschaft

für antike Philosophie 2010, ed. Michael Erler & Jan Erik Hessler (Berlin: De

Gruyter, 2013), 389-410; also in Portuguese translation (“O dilemma do pirrônico: o

que escrever se não se tem nada para dizer”) in As consequências do ceticismo, ed.

Waldomiro J. Silva Filho & Plinio Junqueira Smith (São Paulo: Alameda, 2012), 17-

43 (HTBP 3-23)

*“Aenesidemus the Anti-Physicist”, in G. Ranocchia, Ch. Helmig & Ch. Horn, eds., Space in

Hellenistic Philosophy: Critical Studies in Ancient Physics (Berlin/Boston: de

Gruyter, 2014), 141-58 (HTBP 89-107)

“Pyrrho and the Socratic Schools”, in Ugo Zilioli, ed., From the Socratics to the Socratic

Schools: Classical Ethics, Metaphysics, Epistemology (Routledge, 2015), 149-67

*“On Pyrrhonism, Stances, and Believing What you Want”, International Journal for the

Study of Skepticism 5 (2015), 126-44 (HTBP 209-25)

“Pyrrhonism in Diogenes Laertius”, in Katja Maria Vogt, ed., Pyrrhonian Skepticism in

Diogenes Laertius, SAPERE Band XXV (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2015), 75-104

“God (M IX.13-194)”, in Sextus Empiricus and Ancient Physics, ed. Keimpe Algra and

Katerina Ierodiakonou (Cambridge University Press, 2015), 33-73

*“Why Care Whether Scepticism is Different from other Philosophies?”, Philosophie antique

15 (2015), 27-52 (Special issue entitled Questions sur le scepticisme pyrrhonien)

(HTBP 24-45)

*“Als Skeptiker leben”, in Gerhard Ernst, ed., Philosophie als Lebenskunst: Antike Vorbilder,

modern Perspektiven (Berlin: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2016), 232-56; also in Portuguese

translation (“Vivendo como um cético”), Sképsis no.13 (2016), 18-39, online:

http://philosophicalskepticism.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2-Richard-Bett-

Vivendo-como-um-Cético.pdf (HTBP 168-85: “Living as a Skeptic”)

“Skepticism”, in Daniel Richter and William Johnson, eds., The Oxford Handbook to the

Second Sophistic (Oxford, 2017), 551-62

(Articles, continued) 
“Sextus Empiricus”, in Christoph Riedweg, Christoph Horn & Dietmar Wyrwa, eds., 
Grundriß der Geschichte der Philosophie - Philosophie der Antike, Band 5: 
Philosophie der Kaiserzeit und der Spätantike (Basel: Schwabe, 2018), 216-28; also 
“Skepsis in der Kaiserzeit: Überblick”, part 2, 214-15; Bibliography, Pyrrhoneische 
Skepsis und Sextus Empiricus, 250-3 
“Arkesilaos of Pitane”, in The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, ed. Roger S. Bagnall, Kai 
Brodersen, Craige B. Champion & Andrew Erskine (Wiley, 2018), online: 
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah30439 
“Ancient Skepticism”, in Oxford Bibliographies in Classics, ed. Dee Clayman, (Oxford 
University Press, 2018), online: 
http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195389661/obo-
9780195389661-0311.xml?rskey=oQdrPN&result=12 
“The Cyrenaics and Skepticism”, in Diego Machuca and Baron Reed (eds.), Skepticism: 
From Antiquity to the Present (London/New York: Bloomsbury, 2018), 14-23 
 “Scepticism”, in Tom Angier, ed., The History of Evil in Antiquity (Routledge, 2019), 187-97 
 “Knowledge, theories  of”,  in Oxford  Research  Encyclopedia  of  Classics  (online edition  of 
the  Oxford  Classical  Dictionary)  (Oxford  University  Press,  February  2019),  doi: 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8175 
“Nietzsche and Plato”, in Alan Kim (ed.), Brill’s Companion to German Platonism 
(Leiden/Boston, 2019), 249-70 
“The Modes in Sextus: Theory and Practice”, in Richard Bett, How to be a Pyrrhonist: The 
Practice and Significance of Pyrrhonian Skepticism (Cambridge, 2019), 108-29; also 
in Portuguese translation (“Os Modos em Sexto: Teoria e Prática”), Sképsis, no.21 
(2020), 143-59, online: http://philosophicalskepticism.org/wp-
content/uploads/2020/05/11-Richard-Bett-Os-Modos-em-Sexto-teoria-e-
pr%C3%A1tica.pdf  
*« Le scepticisme ancien est-il viable aujourd’hui ? », in Les raisons du doute: études sur le 
scepticisme antique, ed. Diego Machuca and Stéphane Marchand (Paris: Classiques 
Garnier, 2019), 153-77; also in Portuguese translation (“Podemos ser céticos 
antigos?), Sképsis, no.20 (2020), 38-54, online: http://philosophicalskepticism.org/wp-
content/uploads/2020/03/4-Richard-Bett-Podemos-ser-C%C3%A9ticos-Antigos-1.pdf 
(HTBP 226-43: “Can we be Ancient Skeptics?”) 
*“Humor as Philosophical Subversion, Especially in the Skeptics”, for Laughter, Humor, and 
Comedy in Ancient Philosophy, ed. Pierre Destrée and Franco Trivigno (Oxford, 
2019), 208-26 (HTBP 46-65) 
“The Nature and Purpose of Law in Early Greek Thought”, for The Value and Purpose of 
Law: Essays in honor of M.N.S Sellers, ed. Joshua Kassner & Colin Starger (Franz 
Steiner Verlag, 2019), 31-45 
“What is Ataraxia Like, and Why do Some Schools, and not Others, Aim for it?”, Sképsis, 
no.20 (2020), 1-19, online: http://philosophicalskepticism.org/wp-
content/uploads/2020/03/1-Richard-Bett-What-is-Atarax%C3%ADa-Like-and-Why-
do-Some-Schools-but-not-Others-Aim-for-it-1.pdf 
   

(Articles, continued)

“Reply to my Commentators”, in book symposium on How to be a Pyrrhonist, Sképsis, no.20

(2020), 143-56, online: http://philosophicalskepticism.org/wp-

content/uploads/2020/03/12-Richard-Bett-Reply-to-My-Commentators-1.pdf; see also

“Précis of How to be a Pyrrhonist”, 100-105 in the same volume

“Reply to my Commentators, part 2”, Sképsis, no.21 (2020), 210-15, online:

http://philosophicalskepticism.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/15-Richard-Bett-

Response-to-my-commentators-2.pdf

“Echoes of Sextus Empiricus in Nietzsche?”, in Epistemology after Sextus Empiricus, ed.

Justin Vlasits & Katja Vogt (Oxford, 2020), 271-91

“Is Skepticism Natural? Ancient and Modern Perspectives”, in The Routledge Handbook of

Hellenistic Philosophy, ed. Kelly Arenson (Routledge, 2020), 361-71; slightly

different version in French (“Le scepticisme est-il natural? Perspectives antiques et

modernes”), in Anthropologie sceptique et modernité, ed. Sylvia Giocanti (ENS

Éditions, 2022), 37-49

“Prodicus”, in Early Greek Ethics, ed. David Wolfsdorf (Oxford, 2020), 195-210

“Gorgias’ Περὶ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος and its Relation to Skepticism”, International Journal of

Skeptical Studies 10 (2020), 187-208

“Common Sense in Ancient Greek Philosophy”, in The Cambridge Companion to Common

Sense Philosophy, ed. Rik Peels & René van Woudenberg (Cambridge, 2021), 19-40

“Thinking without Commitment: Two Models”, in Thought: A Philosophical History, ed.

Panayiota Vassilopoulou & Daniel Whistler (Routledge, 2021), 253-65

“Do the Ancients see Value in Humanity?”, in Rethinking the Value of Humanity, ed. Sarah

Buss & Nandi Theunissen (Oxford, 2023), 48-73

“Nature and Norms”, in The Cambridge Companion to the Sophists, ed. Joshua Billings and

Christopher Moore (Cambridge, 2023), 157-78

“The ancient Greek skeptics’ practice and its relation to truth”, in Practices of Truth in

Philosophy: Historical and Comparative Perspectives, ed. Lorenzo Serini and Pietro

Gori (Routledge, 2024), 24-41

“Doing Things with Concepts in Sextus Empiricus”, in The Notion of Concept in Greek

Philosophy, ed. Gábor Betegh & Voula Tsouna (Cambridge, forthcoming)

“The Stoics and Carneades: Dialectic and the Holding of Views”, in The Oxford Handbook of

Hellenistic Philosophy, ed. Jacob Klein & Nathan Powers (Oxford, forthcoming)

c) Book Reviews

G. Sayre-McCord, ed., Essays on Moral Realism: Canadian Philosophical Reviews IX

(1989), 252-4

Leo Groarke, Greek Scepticism: Anti-Realist trends in Ancient Thought: Ancient Philosophy

13 (1993), 243-52

Jonathan Barnes, The Toils of Scepticism: Journal of Hellenic Studies 113 (1993), 199-200

Nicholas Denyer, Language, Thought and Falsehood in Ancient Greek Philosophy: Journal

of Hellenic Studies 113 (1993), 192-3

Julia Annas, Hellenistic Philosophy of Mind: Ancient Philosophy 14 (1994), 192-200

Carlos Lévy, Cicero Academicus: Recherches sur les Académiques et sur la Philosophie

Cicéronienne: Philosophical Review 103 (1994), 572-4

(Book Reviews, continued)

Paul Oskar Kristeller, Greek Philosophers of the Hellenistic Age: Journal of the History of

Philosophy XXXIII (1995), 514-16

Jacques Brunschwig & Martha C. Nussbaum, eds., Passions and Perceptions: Studies in

Hellenistic Philosophy of Mind: Ancient Philosophy 15 (1995), 283-6

Julia Annas and Jonathan Barnes, Sextus Empiricus: Outlines of Scepticism: Journal of

Hellenic Studies 115 (1995), 211-12

Julia Annas, The Morality of Happiness: International Studies in Philosophy 28 (1996), 108-9

José Raimundo Maia Neto, Machado de Assis, the Brazilian Pyrrhonian: Manuscrito (Brazil)

XIX, no.1 (April 1996), 257-67

“Once again on Maia Neto, Machado, Montaigne, Pascal and Sextus”, comments on author's

reply to the previous item: Manuscrito XIX, no.2 (October 1996), 225-32

Sesto Empirico, Contro gli etici: Introduzione, edizione, traduzione e commento a cura di

Emidio Spinelli: Review of Metaphysics 50 (1996), 182-3

Myles Burnyeat & Michael Frede, eds., The Original Sceptics: A Controversy: Philosophy

in Review (formerly Canadian Philosophical Reviews) 18 (1998), 402-4

Sextus Empiricus, Against the Grammarians, translated with an introduction and commentary

by David Blank: Classical World 92 (1999), 465-6

Voula Tsouna, The Epistemology of the Cyrenaic School: Ancient Philosophy 19 (1999), 404-

Lawrence Becker, A New Stoicism: Mind 109 (2000), 559-61

Richard Sorabji, Emotion and Peace of Mind: From Stoic Agitation to Christian Temptation:

Mind 111 (2002), 714-18

Charles Brittain, Philo of Larissa: The Last of the Academic Sceptics: Bryn Mawr Classical

Review (2002), online: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2002/2002-07-08.html

Alan Bailey, Sextus Empiricus and Pyrrhonean Scepticism: Philosophical Review 112 (2003),

100-2

Nicholas White, Individual and Conflict in Greek Ethics: Philosophy and Phenomenological

Research 71, no.1 (July 2005), 246-8

Tad Brennan, The Stoic Life: Emotions, Duties, and Fate: Philosophy and Phenomenological

Research 76, no.2 (March 2008), 504-6

Richard Dufour, ed., Chrysippe: oeuvre philosophique, vol.s I and II: Archiv für Geschichte

der Philosophie 90 (2008), 235-8

Dorothea Frede and Brad Inwood, eds., Language and Learning: Philosophy of Language in

the Hellenistic Age: Phoenix LXII, no.s 1-2 (Spring/Summer 2008), 216-18

Margaret Graver, Stoicism and Emotion: Classical Review 59, no.1 (2009), 77-9

Dee Clayman, Timon of Phlius: Pyrrhonism into Poetry: Gnomon 84 (2012), 107-12

Anna Maria Ioppolo, La testimonianza di Sesto Empirico sull-Accademia Scettica: Gnomon

84 (2012), 9-14

Lorenzo Corti, Scepticisme et langage: Ancient Philosophy 32 (2012), 217-23

Katja Maria Vogt, Belief and Truth: A Skeptic Reading of Plato: Ancient Philosophy 33

(2013), 438-42

Christopher Beckwith, Greek Buddha: Pyrrho’s Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central

Asia: Common Knowledge 22 (2016), 50

(Book Reviews, continued)

Stefan Sienkiewicz, Five Modes of Scepticism: Sextus Empiricus and the Agrippan Modes:

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (2019), online: https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/five-

modes-of-scepticism-sextus-empiricus-and-the-agrippan-modes/

Stéphane Marchand, Le scepticisme: vivre sans opinions: International Journal for the Study

of Skepticism 11 (2021), 53-8

Christopher Moore, Calling Philosophers Names: On the Origin of a Discipline:

Philosophical Review 131 (2022), 103-6

d) Other

Contribution to “Forum Follow-up: How do we Teach?”, The Teaching Professor 2, no.7

(July 1988), 4

Introduction to Selections from Sextus Empiricus, in Steven M. Cahn, ed., Classics of

Western Philosophy (Hackett: 6th edition, 2002, and following editions)

CONFERENCE TALKS, PAPERS PRESENTED, ETC.

“Immortality and the Nature of the Soul in the Phaedrus”, University of Texas-Arlington,

March 1986

“Carneades' Pithanon: A Reappraisal of Its Role and Status”, Classical Association of the

Middle West and South (CAMWS), Apr. 1988

“Can Carneades Live His Scepticism?”, American Philosophical Association (APA) (Pacific

Div.), Mar. 1989

“The Sophists and Relativism”, CAMWS, Mar. 1989

“The Sophists and Relativism”, University of Kansas, January 1990

“The Sophists and Relativism”, Johns Hopkins University, February 1990

David Hoekema, Rights and Wrongs (Author Meets Critics), APA (Pacific Div.), Mar. 1990

“Insulation in Ancient and Modern Philosophy”, APA (Central Div.), Apr. 1990

Comments on Debra Modrak, “Can the Dualist Answer Sextus?”, APA (Pacific Div.), Mar.

1991

Comments on James Celarier, “Matter and Individuation in Aristotle”, Tri-College

Colloquium, Johns Hopkins U., May 1991

“Doubts about Empirical Knowledge in Early Greek Philosophy, and their Relation to the

Birth of Scepticism”, Princeton Classical Philosophy Colloquium, Dec. 1991

Comments on Kurt Pritzl, “Opinions as Appearances: Endoxa in Aristotle”, APA (Eastern

Div.), Dec. 1992

“Sextus' Against the Ethicists: Scepticism, Relativism or Both?”, APA (Pacific Div.), Mar.

1993

“Nietzsche on the Sceptics and Nietzsche as Sceptic”, Paris, June 1996: Conference title - “Le

défi sceptique: Variantes antiques, modernes et postmodernes”.

“What does Pyrrhonism have to do with Pyrrho?”, Helsinki, Aug.1996: Conference title -

“Ancient Scepticism and the Sceptical Tradition”.

(Conference Talks, Papers Presented, etc., continued)

Comments on Edward Blatnik, “On How to Approach the Pyrrhonist”, APA (Eastern

Div.), Dec. 1996

Comments on Joseph Huster, “Responding to Immoralism”, APA (Pacific Div.), Mar. 1997

“What does Pyrrhonism have to do with Pyrrho?”, Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy,

Mar. 1997

“L'utilité des technai”, Paris, Oct. 1997: Conference title - “La représentation théorique des

sciences, des arts et des métiers dans la philosophie hellénistique et romaine”

“What does Pyrrhonism have to do with Pyrrho?”, Chicago, Apr. 1998: Conference title -

“Ancient Epistemologies”

“On the Pre-History of Pyrrhonism”, Harvard U., Dec. 1998; presented as part of the 1998-

1999 program of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy. This visit also

included seminars delivered to the Classics Dept. (“Pyrrho the Non-Sceptic”) and to

the Philosophy Dept. (“Pyrrho and Pyrrhonism: Differences and Similarities”)

Comments on Harald Thorsrud, “Pyrrhonian and Academic Skeptics on the Purpose of

Inquiry”, APA (Eastern Div.), Dec. 1998

Presentation for symposium (with Lawrence Becker and Nancy Sherman) entitled “Classical

Moral Philosophy: Contemporary Applications”, Catholic U., Feb. 1999

“Nietzsche on the Sceptics and Nietzsche as Sceptic”, School of Philosophy, Catholic U.,

Feb. 1999

“Pyrrho, his Antecedents and his Legacy: Some Central Themes”, Dept. of Philosophy, U. of

York (England), July 1999

“Is there a Sophistic Ethics?”, Dept.s of Classics & Philosophy, U. of Leiden, Nov. 1999

“On the Pre-History of Pyrrhonism”, Joint Research Institute in Philosophy, Universities of

Leiden and Utrecht, Nov. 1999

“The Sophists as Social Scientists”, Dept. of Philosophy, U. of Helsinki, Nov. 1999

“Pyrrho, his Antecedents and his Legacy: Some Central Themes”, Dept. of Philosophy, U. of

Helsinki, Nov. 1999

“Y a-t-il une éthique sophiste?”, Centre d’études sur la philosophie hellénistique et romaine,

U. of Paris, Nov. 1999

“Is there a Sophistic Ethics?”, Dept. of Greek & Latin, University College London, Nov.

1999

“Is there a Sophistic Ethics?”, Dept. of Classics, Pennsylvania State U., Nov. 2000

“Is there a Sophistic Ethics?”, Dept. of Philosophy, U. of Virginia, Jan. 2001

Comments on Timothy O’Keefe, “The Cyrenaics on Pleasure, Happiness and Future-

Concern”, APA (Central Div.), May 2001

Comments on Martha Nussbaum, “Duties of Justice, Duties of Material Aid: Cicero’s

Problematic Legacy”, Roberts Lecture, Dickinson College, Sep. 2001

“Rationality and Happiness in the Greek Skeptics”, Dept. of Philosophy, U. of Utah, Nov.

2001

Panelist for invited Symposium, “The Global Role of U.S. Philosophy”, APA (Pacific Div.),

March 2002

Comments on Michael Papazian, “The ‘Ontological’ Argument of Diogenes of Babylon”,

APA (Central Div.), April 2002

“Le signe dans la tradition pyrrhonienne”, Centre d’études sur la philosophie hellénistique et

romaine, U. of Paris, May 2002

(Conference Talks, Papers Presented, etc., continued)

“Rationality and Happiness in the Greek Skeptics”, Oxford U. (Corpus Christi College), May

2002

Comments on Eric Brown, “Minding the Gap in Plato’s Republic” (Symposium Paper), APA

(Pacific Div.), March 2003

“La double ‘schizophrénie’ d’Adversus Mathematicos I-VI, et son origine historique”, U. of

Lille, March 2003: Conference title – “Sextus Empiricus et le Contre les

professeurs”(keynote speaker)

“Le signe dans la tradition pyrrhonienne”, U. of Lille, April 2003

Response to 3 papers, Ancient Studies Colloquium, Johns Hopkins U., May 2003:

Colloquium title – “Ancient Databases”

“The Double ‘Schizophrenia’ of Adversus Mathematicos 1-6, and its Historical Origins”,

Dept. of Philosophy, U. of Texas at Austin, July 2003

“What Kind of Self is a Greek Sceptic Entitled to?”, U. of Helsinki, August 2003:

Conference Title – “The Self in Ancient Thought”

“The Sophists on Language and Thought”, Dept.s of Philosophy & Classics, U. of Toronto,

Oct. 2003

Comments on Nicholas Smith, “Socrates on how Wrongdoing Damages the Soul”,

International Socrates Symposium, Texas Christian University, April 2004

“Greek Scepticism and the Self”, Philosophy in Assos (Turkey), July 2004: Conference Title

– Ancient Scepticism

“Socrates and the Sceptics”, 10

Annual Arizona Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy,

February 2005: Conference Title – The Socratic Legacy

“Scepticism, Rationality and a Happy Life”, Facoltà di Filosofia, U. of Rome “La Sapienza”,

March 2005

“Greek Skepticism and Indian Philosophy: Similarities, Influences or What?”, Society for

Indian Philosophy and Religion, APA (Pacific Division), March 2005

“Sextus Empiricus and Religion”, Dept. of Philosophy, U. of Iceland, November 2005

Panelist for “What Keeps Going Wrong with the APA?”, Special Session Arranged by the

APA Committee on the Status and Future of the Profession and the Society of

Philosophers in America, APA (Eastern Division), Dec. 2005

“Ancient Scepticism and (Ancient) Religion”, Dept. of Philosophy, U. of North Carolina-

Wilmington, April 2006

“Le bon et le beau selon les Stoiciens”, Centre d’études sur la philosophie hellénistique et

romaine, U. of Paris, June 2006

“The Stoics on Beauty and Goodness”, Institute of Classical Studies, U. of London, June

2006

Comments on Tony Roark, “On a Moment’s Notice: Aristotle on Perceiving Instants in

Time”, APA (Pacific Division), April 2007

Invited participant, and Discussion Leader for 1 session, Mayweek Seminar, Faculty of

Classics (ancient philos. section), U. of Cambridge, May 2007. Text – Diogenes

Laertius book 9

“Can an ancient Greek sceptic be eudaimôn (or happy)? And what difference does the

answer make to us?”, Philosophy in Assos (Turkey), July 2007: Conference Title –

The Concept of Happiness in Ancient Philosophy and Contemporary Ethics

(Conference Talks, Papers Presented, etc., continued)

“Against the Physicists on Gods (M IX.13-194)”, Symposium Hellenisticum, Delphi

(Greece), August 2007: Conference Topic – Sextus Empiricus, Against the Physicists

“Beauty and its Relation to Goodness in Stoicism”, Berkeley, CA, September 2007:

Conference Title – Models of Mind (conference in honor of Tony Long)

“Sextus Empiricus and Religion”, Dept. of Philosophy, Purdue University, February 2008

“How Ethical can an Ancient Sceptic Be?”, Center for Hellenic Studies (Washington, DC

Area Symposium in Ancient Philosophy), February 2008

“Beauty and its Relation to Goodness in Stoicism”, Dept. of Classics, Northwestern

University, May 2008

“How Ethical Can an Ancient Sceptic Be?”, NYU La Pietra Conference (Florence, Italy),

June 2008: Conference title – Skepticism: Ancient Modern and Contemporary

“How Ethical Can an Ancient Sceptic Be?”, Universidad Nacional de Lanús, Buenos Aires,

August 2008: Conference title – Ancient Pyrrhonism and its Influence on Modern and

Contemporary Philosophy

“Socratic Ignorance”, Towson University Undergraduate Philosophy Conference (keynote

speaker), April 2009

“Les Stoïciens ont-ils inventé les droits de l’homme?”, Séminaire de philosophie ancienne

(Univ. Paris 1/CNRS/Univ. Lille 3), Lille, France, May 2009: Topic of this meeting –

Philia & Dikê in Hellenistic Philosophy

“Socratic Ignorance”, Dept. of Philosophy, St. Michael’s College, Vermont, Sept. 2009

“Sextus Empiricus and Religion”, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Vermont, Sept. 2009

“Beauty and its Relation to Goodness in Stoicism”, Dept. of Philosophy, University at

Buffalo-SUNY, December 2009

“Did the Stoics Invent Human Rights?”, 15

Annual Arizona Colloquium in Ancient

Philosophy: The Work of Julia Annas, U. of Arizona, February 2010

“The Pyrrhonist’s Dilemma: What to Write if you Have Nothing to Say”, XIII Colóquio

Nacional sobre Ceticismo, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, August 2010

“The Pyrrhonist’s Dilemma: What to Write if you Have Nothing to Say”, Gesellschaft für

antike Philosophie, triennial meeting, Würzburg, Germany, Oct. 2010

“Can an ancient Greek sceptic be eudaimôn (or happy)? And what difference does the

answer make to us?”, UC Irvine Scientia Workshop in the History of Philosophy, May

2011

Comments on Don Baxter, “Assent in Sextus and Hume” (Symposium Paper), APA (Central

Division), February 2012

“Aenesidemus the Anti-Physicist”, International Symposium on Space in Hellenistic

Philosophy, Anacapri, Italy, April 2012

“On Pyrrhonism, Stances, and Believing What you Want”, Workshop on Ancient Scepticism,

Voluntarism and Science, Notre Dame University, May 2012

Session Leader, New York Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, Oct. 2012: Text – Plato,

Protagoras, up to 328d

“The Pyrrhonist’s Dilemma: What to Write if you Have Nothing to Say”, Dept. of Classics,

Rutgers University, Oct. 2012

“A Sceptic Looks at Art (but not very closely): Sextus Empiricus on Music”, Curitiba, Brazil,

May 2013: Conference Title – Neopyrrhonism Ancient and Contemporary

(Conference Talks, Papers Presented, etc., continued)

“On the Possible Relations between Pyrrho and the Socratic Schools”, Soprabolzano, Italy,

September 2013: Conference title – The Philosophical Relevance of the Minor

Socratic Schools

“Pyrrhonism in Diogenes Laertius”, Columbia University, October 2013: Conference Title –

Pyrrho: Pyrrhonian Skepticism in Diogenes Laertius

”Living as a Sceptic”, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, September 2014:

Conference Title – The Art of Living: Ancient Paradigms, Modern Perspectives

“Spiritual Exercises and Care of the Self: Hadot’s Take on Ancient Greek Philosophy”:

workshop on Spiritual Exercises, Humanities Center, Johns Hopkins, December 2014

Panelist in “Funding for Philosophy: APA Grants”, session organized by the APA Committee

on Lectures, Publications and Research, APA (Eastern Division), December 2014

“Living as a Sceptic”, Dept. of Philosophy, UC Santa Barbara, March 2015

“Socratic Ignorance”, Adventures in Antiquity Symposium, University of Texas-Arlington,

April 2015

“Can we be Ancient Sceptics?”, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil, June 2015

“Living as a Sceptic”, Dept. of Philosophy, University of São Paulo, Brazil, June 2015

“What’s so Special about Ataraxia?”, Philosophy in Assos (Turkey), July 2015: Conference

Title – The Concept of Ataraxia in Stoicism, Epicureanism and Scepticism

“Sextus Empiricus Adversus Mathematicos 1-6: Approaches, Themes, Problems”, University

of Toronto, November 2015

“Do the Ancients see Value in Humanity?”, Johns Hopkins University, April 2016:

Conference Title – The Value of Humanity

“Humor as Philosophical Subversion”, University of Oslo, June 2016: Conference Title –

Laughter and Comedy in Ancient Philosophy

“Do the Ancients see Value in Humanity?”, History of Philosophy Roundtable, UC San

Diego, September 2016

“Living as a Sceptic”, Dept. of Philosophy, UC San Diego, September 2016

Comments on Lorenzo Corti, “Sextus and the One: Adversus Mathematicos IV.11-18”,

Workshop in Ancient and Contemporary Philosophy, Columbia University, October

2016

“Echoes of Sextus Empiricus in Nietzsche?”, UC Berkeley, March 2017: Conference Title –

Epistemology after Sextus Empiricus

“Metaphysics Γ: Aristotle’s Approach, his Targets, and his Relations with Skepticism and its

Opponents”, Dept. of Philosophy, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, June 2017

“Sextus Empiricus, Against Those in the Disciplines: Approaches, Themes, Problems”,

Universidade Federal do ABC, São Paulo, Brazil, June 2017

“Sextus Empiricus, Against Those in the Disciplines: Approaches, Themes, Problems”,

Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, June 2017

“Skepticism as a Way of Life”, University of Baltimore, October 2017

“Sextus Empiricus, Against Those in the Disciplines: Approaches, Themes, Problems”, APA

Central Division (Invited Symposium Speaker), February 2018

“Law and its Purpose in Early Greek Thought”, International Association for the Philosophy

of Law and Social Philosophy, University of Baltimore Law School, July 2018:

Conference Title – The Nature and Purpose of Law

(Conference Talks, Papers Presented, etc., continued)

“Dogma and Dialectic”, workshop for The Oxford Handbook of Hellenistic Philosophy,

Colgate University, August 2018

“Can we be Ancient Skeptics?” Maimonides Lecture on Scepticism, Maimonides Centre for

Advanced Studies, Hamburg University, Germany, November 2018

“Le scepticisme est-il naturel? Perspectives antiques et modernes”, Lyon, France, March

2019: Conference Title – Anthropologie sceptique et modernité

“The Modes in Sextus: Theory and Practice”, Sorbonne, Paris, March 2019

“Humor as Philosophical Subversion”, Dept.s of Philosophy and Classics, University at

Buffalo-SUNY, April 2019

“Thinking without Commitment: Two Models”, University of Liverpool, June 2019:

Conference Title – Thinking: Scenes from its Philosophical History

“Nature and Norms”, workshop for The Cambridge Companion to the Sophists, Princeton

University Classics Dept., December 2019

Session Leader, New York Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, May 2020 (virtual meeting):

Text – Gorgias, On What Is Not

“Attitudes towards Common Sense in Ancient Greek Philosophy”, Oxford University

Workshop in Ancient Philosophy, October 2020 (virtual meeting)

Session Leader, Anonymus Iamblichi Reading Group (international Zoom reading group

organized by Rachel Barney (U. of Toronto)), July 2021: Text – Anon. Iambl. Fr.3.3-6

Comments on Lianghua Zhou, “The Stoics on Nonrational Impulsive Representation”, APA

Central Division, February 2022

Comments on Grant Dowling, “A Weaker Argument is Sufficient for them to Achieve their

Purpose”, Stanford University, Ethics & Politics Ancient & Modern series, November

2022 (virtual meeting)

Response to Plínio Junqueira Smith, Sextus Empiricus’ Neo-Pyrrhonism: Skepticism as a

Rationally Ordered Experience; Philosopher Meets Critics series, University of

Cologne, Germany, December 2022 (virtual meeting)

“Skepticism and Resilience”, Plato’s Academy Centre, May 2023: Conference Title –

Philosophy and Resilience: Choose not to be Harmed (virtual meeting)

Session Leader, workshop for Public Philosophy in Classical Greece: 470-370 BCE,

Princeton University Classics Dept., December 2023; Topic – “Nature”

“Studying Indian Philosophy at a Research University: Opportunities and Obstacles”, Society

for Indian Philosophy and Religion, APA Central Division, February 2024

“Sextus Empiricus, Philosopher-Doctor: One Vocation or Two?”, Hellenistic Philosophy

Society, APA Pacific Division, March 2024

OTHER PARTICIPATION AT INVITATION-ONLY CONFERENCES OR WORKSHOPS

Workshop for contributors to Ueberwegs Grundriss Antike, Neubearbeitung Band 5:

Kaiserzeit und Spätantike, Klassisch-Philologisches Seminar, U. of Zürich, March

2005

Virtue Ethics workshop, Institute of Humane Studies (George Mason U.), March 2006

Symposium Hellenisticum, Pont-à-Mousson, France, July 2013: Conference Title –

Dialectic and Rhetoric

WORK IN PROGRESS 
 
Relativity in Early Pyrrhonism”, for Truth and Relativism in Ancient Philosophy, ed. Tamer 
Nawar and Matthew Duncombe 
“Sextus Empiricus, Philosopher-Doctor: One Vocation or Two?”, for Skepticism and 
Medicine, ed. Otávio Bueno and Luciana Garbayo (Springer) 
“Skepticism in Rome”, for Early Christian Centers, vol.2: Rome, ed. Jan Rüggemeier and 
Sabine Feist (Mohr Siebeck) 
Translations of selected texts of Xenophon for Public Philosophy of Classical Greece, 470-
370 BCE: A New Sourcebook, ed. Christopher Moore and Mirjam Kotwick 
(Cambridge) 
A paper on differences between Pyrrhonism and the skeptical Academy, for a Companion to 
Cicero’s Academica, ed. Francesco Verde (De Gruyter) 
A paper on the neo-Pyrrhonism of Oswaldo Porchat, for a volume on Porchat’s philosophy, 
ed. Plínio Smith (Springer) 
Translation, with Commentary, of Sextus Empiricus’ Outlines of Pyrrhonism (contract with 
Princeton University Press) 
 
 
OUTREACH 
 
“Inside the APA: Eastern Division Secretary-Treasurer Retrospective”, invited post on Blog 
of the APA, March 2016: https://blog.apaonline.org/2016/03/10/inside-the-apa-
eastern-secretary-treasurer-retrospective/ 
“Statement from the Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University”, 
APA blog, January 2018: https://blog.apaonline.org/2018/01/19/statement-from-chair-
of-the-department-of-philosophy-at-johns-hopkins-university/  
Interview with The Quietus on the heavy metal band Pyrrhon and its connections (if any) with 
ancient Pyrrhonism, July 2020: https://thequietus.com/articles/28620-pyrrhon-
interview  
Letter to the Editor, The Washington Post, January 23, 2021 
“Minds Wide Open”, Princeton University Press website, April 2021: 
https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/minds-wide-open 
Interviews on How to Keep an Open Mind with: a) UK Royal College of Psychiatrists, 
http://rajpersaud.libsyn.com/how-to-keep-an-open-mind (now a podcast for their 
eLearning Hub, Continued Professional Development); b) Classical Wisdom Speaks, 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygx0bX52wqw ; c) Sahar Joakim Public 
Philosophy Interviews, https://youtu.be/1cqyS2IWmAc (Spring 2021) 
Interview about my work with Plato’s Academy Centre, December 2022: 
https://platosacademycentre.substack.com/p/richard-
bett?r=1s4xzv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web 
Interview, Theory of Change Podcast with Matthew Sheffield, on skepticism and its limits,  
June 2023: Theory of Change #077: Richard Bett on how to be a skeptic - YouTube 
Appearance in “Meet the APA” series, APA blog, July 2023:  
https://blog.apaonline.org/2023/07/24/meet-the-apa-richard-bett/ 
 

COURSES TAUGHT

a) Johns Hopkins University (Spring 1991-present)

Introductory: Greek Philosophy, Greek Conceptions of Human Nature and Society (freshman

seminar), Good and Bad in Ancient Greece (freshman seminar), Highlights of Ancient

Greek Philosophy (freshman seminar), Socrates in Context (freshman seminar), Great

Books (team-taught, interdisciplinary: including as lead faculty member)

Intermediate: Hellenistic Philosophy, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Plato and his Predecessors,

Aristotle’s Ethics (team-taught), Ancient Greek Ethics (seminar for philosophy

majors)

Graduate: Ancient Scepticism, Plato, Free Will (portion of jointly taught seminar for entering

students), The Sophistic Era, Early Greek Ethical and Political Thought, Stoic Ethics,

Reading the Presocratics in Greek (Classics Dept.), History of Scepticism (team-

taught)

b) U.T. Arlington (Fall 1986-Fall 1990)

Introductory: Contemporary Moral Problems, Philosophical Writers, Critical Thinking

Honors: The Greeks (team-taught, interdisciplinary)

Advanced Undergraduate: Ancient Philosophy (Thales to Aristotle), Hellenistic & Roman

Philosophy, Ethics, Nietzsche & his Influences

Graduate (Humanities): Plato, History of Ethics, Greek Philosophy & Literature

c) U.C. Berkeley (as Graduate Student Instructor, Spring 1986)

Introductory: Moral and Political Philosophy

OTHER ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

Affiliate faculty member, Singleton Center for the Study of Pre-Modern Europe, 2008-

Editorial/Advisory Board member, Apeiron, 2000-; International Journal for the Study of

Skepticism, 2010-; Cogent OA, 2014-18; Sképsis 2016-; Open Philosophy (De

Gruyter), 2017-; Politeia – International Interdisciplinary Philosophical Review,

2019-

Associate Editor, Encyclopedia of Skepticism in the Jewish Tradition (Brill), 2021-

External evaluator for faculty promotions and appointments, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2005 (2),

2006, 2007 (3), 2008 (3), 2009, 2011 (2), 2012, 2013, 2014 (3), 2015, 2018, 2019,

2020, 2023, 2024

Manuscript evaluator, Penn State Press (2006), Cambridge University Press (2003, 2011),

Oxford University Press (1997, 2006, 2007), Johns Hopkins University Press (1996),

Ardsley House Publishers (1993), Princeton University Press (2014, 2017)

Proposal evaluator, Cambridge University Press (2003, 2013), Acumen Publishing (2004,

twice; 2007), Blackwell Publishing (2007), Oxford University Press (2007, 2010,

2019 (twice), 2020, 2021 (twice)), Routledge (2020)

Consultant on a proposal for a new journal, Routledge (2009), Brill (2010)

Referee for Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie (1999, 2000, 2006, 2010 (twice), 2013,

2019), Polity (1998), Manuscrito (1997, 1998), Ancient Philosophy (1997, 1999,

2001, 2003, 2005 (twice), 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016), Apeiron (1995, 1997, 2000, 2001

(3 times), 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2014 (twice), 2016 (twice), 2019, 2021, 2022

(twice), 2023), Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy

(1994), Journal of the History of Philosophy (1990-4 (4 times), 2002, 2005, 2007,

2012, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022), Nous (2002), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

(2002), Hume Studies (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008), Phoenix (2003), Journal of

Philosophical Research (2008, 2012 (twice), 2021), Classical Journal (2008), Journal

of Nietzsche Studies (2009 (twice), 2023), Classical Philology (2009), Classical

Quarterly (2009, 2016, 2022), European Journal of Philosophy (2011 (twice), 2021

(twice)), International Journal for the Study of Skepticism (2011, 2012, 2016, 2017

(twice), 2019, 2021, 2023 (twice)), Philosophical Quarterly (2012, 2013), Journal of

Hellenic Studies (2013), Logical Analysis and History of Philosophy (2015 (twice),

2019), British Journal for the History of Philosophy (2015, 2016, 2017, 2021), Cogent

OA (2015, 2016), Philosophy East and West (2015), Mnemosyne (2018, 2022),

Synthese (2018, 2021, 2022), Phronesis (2021, 2023 (twice)), Dialogoi: Ancient

Philosophy Today (2021), Review of Metaphysics (2021, 2022), Pacific Philosophical

Quarterly (2022), Analysis (2022), Southern Journal of Philosophy (2022),

Philosophia (2023), Nietzsche-Studien (2023), Philosophies (2023)

International referee, Academy of Finland Research Council for Culture and Society, 2001,

2009 (Panel Chair)

External reviewer, Academy of Finland Programme for Centres of Excellence in Research,

2004, 2006

Peer Reviewer, European Research Council, 2009-2013

International referee, Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences, 2010

Expert evaluator, Aix-Marseille University Excellence Initiative, 2014

Research Proposal Reviewer, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, 2016

Reviewer of postdoctoral research proposal, DAAD, 2022

Selection Panelist, ACLS Fellowship Program, 2007, 2008, 2009

Invited participant, JHU Center for Talented Youth and Squire Family Foundation Philosophy

Curriculum Conference, 2008

Evaluator of application for Killam Research Fellowship, 1993

APA Colloquium Chair, 1988 (Pacific Div.), 1999 (Central Div.), 2001 (Pacific Div.), 2004

(Pacific Div.), 2006 (Central Div.), 2022 (Eastern Div., multiple sessions, in-person

and virtual), 2024 (Pacific Div.)

APA Symposium Chair, 2000 (Pacific Div.), 2022 (Eastern Div.), 2024 (Central Div.)

APA Dewey Lecture Chair, 2020 (Central Div., Richard Kraut), 2021 (Central Div., Robin

Smith)

Johns Hopkins Dissertations, 1992-present: Primary adviser for 8 Ph.D. dissertations (all

completed); secondary adviser for 15 Ph.D. dissertations (all completed); 3

inside

member for 8 Philosophy Ph.D. Oral Defense Committees; outside member of 22

Ph.D. Oral Defense Committees (Pol. Sci., N. E. Studies, Hist. of Art, Humanities

Center, Classics, Modern Languages and Literatures, History, English – 6 times as

Committee Chair)

Dissertations at other universities: Outside adviser for 3 Ph.D. dissertations, all completed (U.

of Texas, 2003, 2015; UC Santa Barbara, 2018); preliminary examiner and outside

“opponent” for 1 Ph.D. dissertation (U. of Helsinki, 2007-8); external examiner for 2

Ph.D. dissertations (University of Sydney, 2008; Oxford University, 2020)

ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS

a) Johns Hopkins University

Chair, Philosophy Dept., 2013-19; Acting Chair, 2009-10

Homewood Academic Council, 2011-13, 2020-24; member of Council Appointments and

Promotions Committee, 2011-13 (Chair, Spring and Fall 2012); Secretary of the

Council, Spring 2013, Spring 2023, Fall 2023; Nominating Committee 2013, 2021;

member of Administration and Bylaws Committee, 2020-24 (Chair, 2023-4);

Recorder of minutes, Fall 2020; member of review committee for Chemistry Dept.,

Fall 2022; chair of review committee for Mind/Brain Institute, Fall 2023

Academic Council review of Political Science Dept., 2015-16: non-Council member of

internal review committee

Bryan-Naiman Committee on Tenure and Promotions Procedures, 2011-13

Chair, KSAS Committee on “What Counts as a Course”, 2014

School of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Teaching Fellowship Committee, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

School of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee, 2006-8

Undergraduate Academic Ethics Board, 2001-4

Governance Board, Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies Ph.D. Program, 2017-

Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows Program Final Selection Committee, 2014; also member of

departmental selection committee, 2014, 2015, 2016

Homewood Schools ad hoc appointment/promotion committees, 2001-2, 2002-3, 2007-8

(Chair), 2009 (Chair), 2011, 2014-15, 2017-18 (Chair)

Committee on Interdisciplinary Major in Science, Medicine and Humanities, 2013-15

Arts and Humanities Initiative working group, 2012

Advisory Board, Great Books course, 2009-

Arts & Sciences Minority Graduate Student Recruitment Committee, 1992-4, 1995-6

Director of Graduate Studies, Philosophy Dept., 2003-13 (Acting DGS, 2017-18)

Placement Coordinator, Philosophy Dept., 2003-9, 2012-13

Chair, Philosophy Graduate Admissions Committee, 1991-4, 1995-9, 2007, 2010, 2011,

2014-16, 2018; also served on the Committee Spring 1991, 2000-2002, 2006, 2008,

2009

Philosophy Department Miller Appointment Search Committee, 2018-20

Chair, Ancient Philosophy Replacement Search Committee, 1994

Philosophy of Mind Replacement Search Committee, 1998

Ethics Replacement Search Committee, 1999

Senior Ethics Search Committee, 2002-3, 2008-9

Peterson Visiting Assistant Professor Search Committee, 2005, 2008, 2010

History of Modern Philosophy Search Committee, 2007-8

History of Philosophy Postdoc Search Committee, 2022-3

Chair, Committee to Revise Philosophy Ph.D. Program, 2002-3

Philosophy Dept. liaison to ad hoc appointment/promotion committee, 2010, 2016-17

Faculty advisor, Prometheus (undergraduate philosophy journal), 2001-3, 2006

Thalheimer Selection Committee, Philosophy Dept., 1994, 1996

Miller Prize Selection Committee, Philosophy Dept., 1997, 2002, 2005, 2012-19

Philosophy Dept. Administrator Search Committee, 2021, 2022

Board of Directors, Sachs Fellowship Fund, 2002-19

Philosophy Dept. Library Liaison, 2010-19

Department Liaison, Philosophy/Classics/Art History Librarian search, 1998

Organizer of Philosophy Dept. Colloquium, Spring 1993, 1997-8

Recorder of minutes for Philosophy Dept. meetings, 1991-4, 1995-6

Senior Latinist Search Committee, Classics Dept., 2014

Junior Hellenist Search Committee, Classics Dept., 2014-15

b) American Philosophical Association

Vice-Chair, APA Board of Officers, 2013-

Chair, APA Committee on Divisional Coordination, 2014-

APA Board Committee on Public Statements, 2018-

Chair, APA ad hoc Committee on voting rights, 2019

APA Board Steering Committee for Strategic Planning, 2019

Secretary-Treasurer, APA Eastern Division, 2003-13

Assistant to the Chair of the Board, APA, Nov.-Dec. 1999

Acting Executive Director, APA, Jan. 2000-June 2001

Board member, National Humanities Alliance, Jan.-May 2000

Chair, APA Executive Director Search Committee, 2002; Member, APA Executive Director

Search Committee, 2005-6, 2011-12

Chair, Committee for Revision of APA Constitution and Bylaws, 2002

Chair, APA Committee on Standardization, 2004

Chair, APA Eastern Division Executive Committee sub-Committee on Investments, 2005-6,

2010

APA Eastern Division Executive Committee sub-Committee on Program Improvement, 2004

APA Board of Officers Transition Committee, 2005

APA Board of Officers Committee on Revision of APA Constitution and Bylaws, 2005-6

APA Board of Officers Committee on Committee Budgets, 2006

Committee on Reappointment of APA Executive Director, 2010

APA Board of Officers Task Force on Governance and Structure, 2011-12

Advisory Committee to Chair of APA Board of Officers 2011-13

Sub-committee on APA National Office IT issues, 2011-12

Secretary-Treasurer Replacement Search Committee, 2012

APA Board of Officers Task Force on Succession and Crisis Planning, 2013-14

APA Finance and Coordination Committee, 2012-14

Search Committee for APA National Office Finance Manager, Spring 2013

c) U. of Texas, Arlington

Philosophy Dept. Student Advisor, 1987-90

Philosophy Dept. Representative on Faculty Senate, 1987-90

Faculty Senate Standing Committee on Research and Development, 1987-90

Faculty Senate Nominating Committee, 1989

Philosophy Dept. Tenure and Promotion Committee, 1989-90

Recorder of minutes for Philosophy Dept. meetings, 1987-90

AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS

Dean’s Award for Service, Johns Hopkins, 2017

Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, Johns Hopkins, 2014

Fellowship, Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington DC, 1994-1995

Scholar of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 1976-80

SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS: American Philosophical Association

Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy

North American Nietzsche Society

American Association of Philosophy Teachers

American Association of University Professors

Hellenistic Philosophy Society