Brad writes: Like his teacher Plato, Aristotle taught that to really flourish as a human being, you need to harmonize the potentially conflicting parts of your human psyche and thereby develop good ethical character. These views are founded on deep assumptions about human nature and our shared human potentials - assumptions that are both attractive and contentious, not least because they are more optimistic than the pessimistic Judeo-Christian views that dominate much of western thought. This lecture introduces Greek views of human nature, flourishing, and good character and puts them into conversation with psychoanalytic views. First, I argue that psychoanalysis raises distinctive doubts about Aristotle's and Plato's theories of human nature. Second, I explore related psychoanalytic doubts about Greek accounts of psychic harmony leading to human flourishing and good character. Third, and more positively, I consider how things might look if we subbed in a psychoanalytic account of human nature for the Greek ones. Specifically, I ask: Can we expect psychoanalytic treatment to facilitate positive (ethical) character change and flourishing?  If so, does this lead to an implicit critique of moralistic views, which associate ethical development with the efficient operation of a strong super-ego?

 

Bradford Cokelet, PhD teaches at the University of Kansas. His primary research is on virtue, ethics, and the good life. He works with psychologists to understand and measure good character traits, writes and teaches contemporary philosophic ethics (including medical ethics), and is committed to opening up cross-cultural dialogue between eastern and western philosophers. Brad has a long-standing interest in psychoanalysis and was honored to become an ethics advisor to NPSI in 2018.

 

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