Format: audiobook
Author: Sextus Empiricus, Richard Bett ~ Title: How to Keep an Open Mind ~ Narrator: Tom Parks
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 4 stars

How to Keep an Open Mind is a selection from Sextus Empiricus's main work, Outlines of Pyrrhonism. Sextus's work is the only surviving document from Greek skeptics. Richard Bett is a translator, and he gathered these selections in this (audio)book. He comments on the work and finds parallels with the modern world. Skeptics advocate that a person should be without opinion, and he doesn't judge anything. That's how he can achieve tranquility. This work would be equally good in an ebook or hardcover format. For some, this may be an even better choice. But if you are more into audiobooks and you like philosophy, this is an audiobook for you.

How to Keep an Open Mind is one of the books in the series "Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers" from Princeton University Press.

Tom Parks's narration is very good and suits the genre.Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Interesting, not something id normally get too into bc i frankly find it annoying lol but interesting read

Pretty short, and somewhat interesting, but didn't hold my attention as much as I thought it would. Maybe more depth or a different narrator/way of reading may have helped.

This book was full of so many pithy and helpful statements of wisdom from long ago. I rely enjoyed this book and its illustrative ways of expressing sage counsel. I think I would have preferred reading this book in print, paperback or electronically as opposed to listening as an audio book, simply because the various section headings read aloud became quite repetitious. But thank you for making it available in this format for those who need the audio version.

This is one of those philosophical books that makes you think a bit. Different questions are raised and then Sextus gives a "what if" scenario as to whether or not it can be true. Simple logic is used in that if the question at hand is one thing it cannot be another. The opinions of the various groups and sects of persons of the time is also given. The book itself is a bit complex and hard to follow, but those persons who enjoy reading philosophy will most likely enjoy reading this book in the likes of Aristotle and other great philosophers.

I'm honestly having a difficult time reviewing this book because I think it is a great gloss and explanation on a philosophy that I think is at base pretty silly. The core of Sextus' philosophy of skepticism is that it is preferable to make absolutely no final judgements about anything at all, that judgement should be continuously suspended for greater accuracy and happiness. It is hard to discard my initial feelings that this is a dishonest approach. That said, history and the history of science are littered with examples of discarded theories and even theories that allowed us to make great strides in ability to predict and control the world around us even though they were fundamentally wrong about some or many aspects of reality (looking at you Newton). To that end, Richard Bett's introduction and brief glosses were the best part of the book for me, as they gave me some contextual grounding for seeing Sextus' ideas in context of their times and seeing how a little more suppression of judgement (and a little more openness to engaging with other's arguments) would be useful in our times. I also want to note the excellent narration; Tom Parks was distinctive enough to keep my interest and authoritative to listen to.

How to Keep an Open Mind explores the concept of Skepticism through the writing and teachings of Sextus Empiricus. How to Keep an Open Mind is an essay and analysis of the writings of Sextus Empiricus. Sextus Empiricus was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher whose writings, entitled Outlines, are the most complete collection of the Pyrrhonist thoughts.

These thoughts tech skepticism as a "technique or set of techniques for producing suspension of judgment." Richard Bett selected and translated passages from Outlines and introduced them in such as manner that they can be understood without prior knowledge of ancient Greco-Roman philosophy. While Bett does an excellent job, I would highly recommend having at least a basic knowledge of philosophy in order to best understand the teachings of Sextus Empiricus.

Overall, the book was an excellent learning tool for those interesting in learning more from Greco-Roman philosophers. The audiobook was well done, evenly paced, clearly communicated and the tone was one of an educator interested in their work.