ABSTRACT

The Introduction comprises a full-length summary of the key themes of the study, which proposes that cultivation of all aspects of our characters should be of serious interest to moral philosophers. While I note that the philosophical traditions of moral and prudential self-cultivation have recently gained welcome attention in the contemporary ethical literature, the topic of how we cultivate our passionate characters has been almost completely neglected, despite the fact that this topic was traditionally important in the ancient philosophical traditions. By reappraising the resources of Hellenistic philosophy, moral philosophers have a way to enrich their account of the cultivation of human flourishing by explaining the practical processes through which we could be said to cultivate our passionate attachments. This is best done, I contend, by examining the rich account of the Hellenistic self-cultivation that 20th-century French thinkers such as Hadot and Foucault offer. Starting a conversation between thinkers in the Francophone and Anglophone philosophical traditions allows the former to reinvigorate the latter’s ideas about flourishing, showing how self-directed practical processes are integral to cultivating our passionate attachments effectively. Introduction to these themes is followed by a comprehensive chapter outline.