The Political Philosophy in the work of Seneca, Kardamitsas Book Institute, Athens 2020 [512 pages].

THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE WORK OF SENECA The Political Philosophy in the Work of Seneca, attempts to answer questions that refer to the particular issue as well as to address some misconceptions of the international literature on the social and political views of this philosopher of the Hellenistic era. The Hellenistic period is a particularly difficult one to approach. The great variety of philosophical doctrines, the interaction among the philosophical schools, the (often not ungrounded) accusations for eclecticism, not only in the Imperial Stoa, but also in the Middle Stoa, in the teachings of Posidonius and Panaetius, to whom much of Seneca’s reflections are owed, create a difficult, unavoidably critical, environment for any scholar who aspires to carefully consider their respective theories. As regards the philosophical writings of Seneca, the researcher also feels obliged to cope with the following primary questions: a) Is the philosopher from Cordoba an authentic thinker? And (b) is his life in accordance with his philosophical views? Seneca is, undoubtedly, an original thinker. One of the problems presented, however, in the study of his work is that the writings of the philosopher from Cordoba are non-systematic, in the sense that his views on several concepts and issues which are important for the Stoics are found inside a plethora of different passages. The researcher needs to gather Seneca’s views on a subject, from many of his letters and treatises, so that one could become finally aware of the fact that his perceptions are, in general, not really contradictory. Frequently though, his philosophical theories have been accused of eclecticism. With the present monograph, The Political Philosophy in the Work of Seneca, and the previous one, The Moral Philosophy in the Work of Seneca, we aim to aid in the re-evaluation of the political and ethical works of the Roman philosopher, under our central hypothesis that Seneca is normatively integrated into the circle of Stoic thinkers and is not a case of an eclectic writer. Seneca is concerned with a difficult task: the acquisition of virtue, so that man can be led to the eudemonistic way of life by living according to nature, based on his inherent capacity for right reason. In addition to the general proclamation of this plan, and with the obvious difficulties that are contained in it, there is still the problem that, in the centuries during which the Roman intellectual produces his philosophical work, the former "innocence," vitality and zeal of ancient Greek philosophy seem to have been significantly diminished. The Epicureans propose that man withdraws from all activities, suggesting that a kind of hesychasm and the peaceful enjoyment of pleasure will end the human concerns, the Cynics encourage the return of a more "rigid" and ascetic way of living and criticize the institutions of their contemporaries, the Peripatetic School has practically confined itself to defending and commenting on the Aristotelian teachings, and the younger Skeptics refer, for the most part, to the Pyrrhonic rather than to their Academic heritage and speak now, mainly in favour of treatment rather than of right theory. In all schools, more emphasis is gradually placed on moral philosophy. The Roman senator has set out for himself a clear philosophical mission: to lead people to a radical change of perception regarding their living conditions. This philosophical task is carried over, to a greater extent, in his moral philosophy. First of all, he is attracted by the relationship of man to his own self, by the processes in the psychological-mental sphere, and only subsequently -and subject to the solution of the original problem- by the relationship of man with the world around him, in a subject-object connection. But this does not signify that politics is inferior, or "ancilla Ethicae": in Seneca’s practical philosophy, living according to nature contin