Project Details
Projekt
Moral Self-Education. The Stoic Theory of Virtue Attainment (TP 1)
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Anna Schriefl
Subject Area
History of Philosophy
Term
since 2026
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 539990504
The Stoics repeatedly describe ethical progress and the attainment of virtue as the forming of oneself or the shaping of one’s soul. Such formulations can be found in the texts of the Roman Stoics as well as in our sources from Hellenistic Stoicism. The overarching objective of this research project is to take these formulations seriously and reconstruct the Stoic view of virtue attainment as a theory of self-formation. The concept "self-formation" highlights a central element of Stoic ethics, which is connected to other important tenets of Stoic philosophy, including the view that ethical progress "depends on us" (eph’ hêmin, in nostra potestate), and that it involves physical changes in the (corporeal) soul. However, the Stoic conception of ethical self-formation raises important questions, particularly concerning its "makeability". On the one hand, the Stoics hold that ethical self-formation, since it depends on us, is open to everybody, regardless of their origin, gender, and other uncontrollable conditions. On the other hand, they describe the attainment of virtue as an extremely demanding process, which succeeds only in rare exceptions, if at all. The aim of this project is to systematically investigate the conditions that, according to the Stoics, facilitate or impede the attainment of virtue, and the limits that are set to ethical self-formation, in their view. The project investigates the following central questions: (1) How does the general goal of ethical self-formation - virtue - relate to the multiplicity of ways of life, which depend on social roles, gender, and individual characteristics or circumstances? The project will study evidence for Stoic theories on the variability of virtue, which include reflections on social roles, on varieties of expert knowledge, and the denial of Platonic Forms. (2) To what extent and in what way can social relationships contribute to ethical self-formation? The Stoics emphasize not only the individual responsibility for self-education but also the positive impact of role models, instruction, and communal learning. The project will investigate whether and to what extent social relationships, from a Stoic perspective, promote ethical self-formation or even constitute necessary conditions for it. (3) How do the Stoics conceptualize the physical aspects of self-formation? Stoic descriptions of virtue as a "formed" soul (Diog. Laert. 7.89), and of self-education as the "shaping" and "forming" of one’s soul (Sen., Epist. 94.48; 50.5-6) are based on their view that the soul is corporeal and undergoes physical changes through ethical progress. However, it is not immediately clear how the Stoics understand the details of the relevant physical and causal processes. This project will examine how, according to the Stoics, the philosophical content conveyed through texts and discourse can causally affect and improve the physical disposition of the soul.
DFG Programme
Research Units
