PhD Research at CEFRES
Seneca, Tragedy & Judgement
Research Area 2: Norms & Transgressions
The research project seeks to analyse the stakes behind the concept of judgement in the light of Seneca’s tragedies. In such works, judgement stands as a decision-making process within the frame of Stoicism, as a decision of the judicial authority under the Roman Empire and last, as a part of tragedy as genre. Legal procedure formalising the decision making, the new constellation of the judicial field in the imperial era raised new questions about the nature of judgement in general, including that of moral and aesthetical judgement. The aim of this research is to explore how the formalising of assessing and decision making processes, especially in legal procedure, are being questioned–since they are at the origin of European law. This will lead to reflecting upon judicial authority and judgement. Grounded in the study of classics, this survey of the judgement in the works of Seneca should enable to look into the precondition of social sciences topics and the study of law, without being embedded in their methodology.