Moral formation and political action in Seneca: between the princeps and the sapiens

Author(s)

Taynam Santos Luz Bueno

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2016-08-12

Examining board members

Maria das Graças de Souza; Patricia Fontoura Aranovich; Marilena de Souza Chaui; Fábio Faversani; Franklin Leopoldo e Silva

• Advisor: Maria das Graças de Souza

Abstract

This paper has as its object the political thought of Seneca in his relation with stoic moral philosophy. The hypothesis is that the construction of the notion of political power in Seneca occurs through the linking between two key figures of his thought, the wise (sapiens) and the prince (princeps). This is intended to show precisely the reading of the Treaty on clemency (De Clementia), that there is a close relationship between, on the one hand, the moral education of the ruler and on the other, the theoretical formulations of the Stoic doctrine of virtuous man sapiens. The political art par excellence, not to avoid its Ethics (for Stoicism), is based upon the interrelationship between the figure of the princeps and the figure of sapiens, implying therefore the moral education of the ruler as an essential element for the proper exercise of the political power. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/19697-6 - Moral and political action in Seneca: Between the sage and princeps
• Grantee: Taynam Santos Luz Bueno
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate