Role-Ethics Project

David Machek (Ph.D. University of Toronto)

Principal Investigator

David works in ancient philosophy and normative ethics. His latest book, The Life Worth Living in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, has been published by CUP in 2023. Within the "Role-Ethics" project, David plans to finish a monograph on self-cultivation in Greco-Roman and Chinese ethics, under contract with Bloomsbury Press. This study contends that social roles in these ancient traditions were regarded not only as sources of normative constraints, but also as practical frameworks that structure and support the process of becoming a good human. His next book project, prospectively entitled Playing Roles, Living Well endeavors to develop a new eudaemonist theory inspired by the ancient Stoic view that good human life amounts to a successful enactment of different types of "roles" (personae). This theory will plead for a "role-centered eudaemonism" as a promising alternative to the popular "virtue-centered eudaemonism".

Yuliya Kanygina (Ph.D. Central European University)

Postdoctoral Research Scholar

Yuliya is interested primarily in the relation between narrowly conceived morality and ethics, as well as in the justification of moral responsibility practices, specifically those exercised from the position of a third party. In her published work, Yuliya defends the idea of distinctly moral obligations to the self. She has recently co-edited a special issue of The Monist highlighting recent work on the same topic. Within the Role Ethics project, Yuliya is going to turn her attention to two questions: (1) What is the relation between role-based obligations and well-being? (2) Can the notion of a social role serve as the basis of a substantive moral theory?

Filip Váňa

Doctoral Research Scholar

Filip is currently working on the foundations of ethics and ontology of organisms. In response to the long-standing problem of reconciling normativity and the natural world, his dissertation offers an account of normativity grounded in the concept of life. Within the "Role-Ethics" project, Filip plans to develop (and build on) a key part of that account: humans, as essentially rational, self-conscious organisms, constitute themselves by understanding themselves "in" their various practical identities, or roles. Moreover, this self-understanding is inherently social, mediated by how we are recognized by others, both at the individual level and at the level of social/political institutions. As a result, the very form of self-conscious life—and its satisfaction—turns out to consist in the irreducibly ethical activity of navigating and negotiating these norms (roles/practices), of giving them adequate content, such that they are perceived not as externally imposed and restricting, but freely chosen and enabling.

Václav Valtr

Doctoral Research Scholar

Václav is a sinologist with a specialism in early Chinese philosophy. His research interests lie in the Warring States and the Han dynasty periods, as well as in the Chinese aesthetics and poetry broadly considered. Currently, he works on a dissertation dedicated to the early Chinese text Guanzi. Within the "Role-Ethics" project, he plans to focus on "roles" in the context of early Chinese theory and practice of "ritual" (li 禮), especially in the Book of Rites (Liji 禮記), one of the Confucian classics. The ritualistic endeavour should be understood in a broad manner of specific entanglement of aesthetics and ethics in Chinese culture as a complex approach of moderation of emotions, regulating the society and creating harmony. This concept is not only present in Liji but also in other ancient Chinese texts, which should be taken into consideration in order to grasp the specificities of role-ethics in Chinese culture.