Stoic Moral Philosophy: Seneca

Specialization / Direction

The course is also offered to exchange programme students.

“Listen to me, as if I were speaking to my own self: I allow you to enter the sanctuary of my soul, and in your presence, I offer advice to my own self. There is only one thing I wish to show you clearly: that I truly feel everything I say—not only do I feel it, I also love it. Let this be our ultimate purpose: to speak what we feel and to feel what we speak; let our words harmonize with the way we live.” These are the words of the Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca (4 BC–65 AD) to his friend Lucilius, highlighting the practical role of philosophy, which is aimed at every individual with the ultimate goal of achieving happiness. This intention, his eloquent rhetoric, and the need for techniques and advice for a good life have made Seneca and other philosophers (such as Epicurus, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius) popular once again today. The purpose of the course is the interpretative presentation of the moral philosophy of an important representative of the New (Roman) Stoa, Seneca, with a focus on his anthologized texts from his treatises and letters. The later Stoic philosophy is examined as an attempt to answer the central question of the Hellenistic-Roman era regarding the possibility and conditions for achieving a happy life for the individual living within the globalized (for those times) Roman Empire. The (Latin) texts of Seneca will be read in translation and will be commented on with the main purpose of: (a) analyzing and evaluating the central tenets of Stoic ethics and the arguments that support them, and (b) integrating their philosophical and historical implications and making understandable both their problematic and their positions through their dialogue with other philosophical schools, earlier or contemporary. After the introductory presentation of the main features and problems of approaching Hellenistic philosophy, the Hellenistic and Stoic conception of the role of philosophy will be examined, the relationship between Roman and Greek philosophy, and the philosophical background of Stoic ethics (logical and natural). Key themes of Seneca to be analyzed include: the good, the bad, and the indifferent. Duties and accomplishments. Virtues and vices, the relationship of virtue and pleasure. Desires, passions, and vulnerabilities. Necessity and freedom of the will and action: ethical responsibility. Evil. The rational life of the wise. Friendship, love. Social life, individual and society. Gods, fate, providence, fortune. Death and suicide. Students will become acquainted with ancient philosophical discourse by reading Seneca's texts and will become familiar with later Stoicism and Roman philosophy. They will be able to understand (ancient) philosophy as a way of life that seeks to establish ethics within a broader system of thought (with physics and logic playing a central role) as a set of rules and as an approach and resolution to specific ethical problems.

Ancient Philosophy, Roman Philosophy, Stoicism, Seneca, Moral Philosophy

11-09-2024