Care Of The Self: Central European Value Studies

Taking care of the self (epimeleia heautou) is not just one of a great many topics associated with ancient ethics. Echoing Michel Foucault, we could say that the care of the self applies to all problematizations of life. Our relationship to our self, working on oneself, or making efforts to change one’s life are all motifs that were pondered by many ancient thinkers, from Socrates to the Roman Stoics. Ancient intellectuals created “a culture of the self” that would be developed by many other cultures, although they were not always aware of borrowing the concept. To understand the concept of ancient education, we ought to pay attention to – among other things – what the Greeks called askēsis, i.e. practices of the self, which they developed and applied to give their lives the right direction. The studies included in this book focus on different manifestations of “taking care of the self” present in ancient and contemporary thought. Each of these studies approaches the issue of taking care of the self from a different perspective: Chapter 1 focuses on Socrates’ therapeutic education; Chapter 2 centres on Diogenes’ ascetic practices; and Chapter 3 concentrates on Henri Maldiney’s existential phenomenology. Highlighting the therapeutic approach to reading Socratic literature of the 4th century bce, the first chapter is based on the assumption that the Socrates portrayed in the Socratic dialogues is not only a tireless examiner and a model of ethical conduct, but also a soul healer. Socratic dialogues frequently refer to therapeia when they attribute to Socrates the ability to heal, i.e. to help himself and others take care of themselves through conversations. Socrates encourages his associates to jointly examine life based on excellent conduct. Rather than seeking to gain knowledge of what excellence is, however, he engages his interlocutors to strengthen their wisdom. Socrates often stresses that he is not a teacher because he does not offer any ready-made knowledge.…