The development of a practical moral identity in Seneca's Epistulae morales 1-29

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:In the Epistulae Morales Seneca presents his moral philosophy. Scholars such as Hadot,Mans and Smuts have studied Seneca's moral philosophy in the Epistulae Morales. Thequestion is, how does Seneca present and develop his moral philosophy in the EpistulaeMorales, i.e. what literary technique does he use? Scholars have pointed out that Seneca'suse of the epistolary form is an integral part of this literary technique. The epistolary formwas an ideal medium for conveying his moral philosophy: [Seneca] presented himself as aspiritual guide, and for that purpose he made use of the literary form of letters ... In thisform Seneca was able to give a detailed presentation of the course of moral education(Misch 1950:419). The more specific question is thus: how does Seneca use the epistolaryform to present and develop his moral philosophy in the Epistulae Morales?In order to answer how Seneca employs the epistolary form, it is necessary to understandwhat Seneca's goal was with the Epistulae Morales. I suggest that the goal of Seneca'smoral philosophy in the Epistulae Morales is the development of a practical moral identity.Seneca's choice of the letter as the form of his philosophical discussion enabled him tocreate certain fictional personae. The three main personae of the Epistulae Morales are theIdeal Persona (the embodiment of Seneca's moral philosophy), the persona Seneca and thepersona Lucilius. These personae demonstrate the phases of moral progress. The IdealPersona is the ideal, which the personae Seneca and Lucilius must strive towards becoming.The persona Seneca acts in the role of the mentor, advising the persona Lucilius on how toachieve this ideal, but he is himself still struggling towards it. The persona Lucilius is justbeginning to walk the road of moral progress at the beginning of the Epistulae Morales.The phases of moral progress, which are enacted by the three personae, are also the phasesof the development of a practical moral identity. The practical moral identity should thusbe viewed both as a goal and as a process in the letters.Epistulae Morales 1-29 form a separate whole, as scholars have pointed out. These lettersalso supply sufficient evidence of Seneca's literary technique of developing a practicalmoral identity in the Epistulae Morales. A close reading of Epistulae Morales 1-29 inChapter 2 analyses this literary technique. Chapter 3 involves a systematic exposition ofthe practical moral identity in terms of certain themes. The themes represent the main aspects of moral development, i.e. the main aspects of the development of a practical moralidentity in Epistulae Morales 1-29.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University