Esteem and Self-Esteem in the History of Philosophy

Notes on Contributors

Introduction Andreas Blank and Attila Németh

Part 1: From Poetry to Philosophy

1. Honour, Shame and the Value of a Person in Pre-Platonic Greek Thought Péter Agócs

Part 2: Self-Knowledge and the Normative Foundations of Self-Esteem in Classical Greek Philosophy

2. Self-Esteem and Moral Progress: From Plato to the Stoics Georgia Tsouni

3. Esteem’s Value in Plato Alex G. Long

4. Seeing and Being Seen: The Phainomena of Virtue in Aristotle Philipp Mitsis

Part 3: Interiority and the Transformation of Selfhood in Hellenistic and Late Antique Philosophy

5. The Cultivation and Maintenance of Self-Esteem in Epicurean Philosophy Clive Chandler

6. Freedom and Conscience in Epictetus Attila Németh

7. “They Dishonor Themselves”: Plotinus on Human Value Lloyd Gerson

8. Augustine on “Pride” and Healthy Self-Love Bonnie Kent

Part 4: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Esteem and Self-Cultivation

9. Recognition, Respect, and Reverence in Ancient India Maria Heim

10. Social Esteem Exchange: Gong 恭 in the Mencius Winnie Sung

11. Distorted Selves and the Political Economy of Esteem in the Mozi Alba Cercas Curry

12. Notions of Reverence (kei 敬) and Respect (son 尊) in Tokugawa and Meiji Japan Ferenc Takó

Part 5: Reputation, Virtue, and Moral Theology in the Medieval World

13. Medieval Christian Authors on the Purposes and Perils of Reputation Thomas Williams

14. Magnanimity and Hubris in Dante’s Divine Comedy Jason Aleksander

Part 6: Early Modern Moral Psychology and the Social Dynamics of Esteem

15. Domingo de Soto on Secrets and the Natural Right to Good Reputation Andreas Blank

16. From Générosité to Acquiescentia in se ipso: Descartes and Spinoza on the Self-Consciousness of Freedom Noa Naaman-Zauderer

17. Self-Esteem, Amour-Propre and Amour de Soi: Pascal and Malebranche on Loving Humans and Loving God Syliane Malinowski-Charles

18. Of God, Wolves, Dogs and Monkeys: Esteem in Hobbes, Pufendorf and Thomasius Peter Schröder

19. Esteem and Honor in Early Eighteenth-Century British Philosophy: Shaftesbury, Mandeville, Hutcheson Ryan Patrick Hanley

20. “Nascent Society”: Love, Public Esteem and Morality in Rousseau’s Second Discourse Francesco Toto

Part 7: Gender and the Politics of Self-Worth

21. Tracing the Concept of Self-Esteem in the Long Indian Feminist Tradition: From the Therigatha to Stree Purusha Tulana Priyanka Jha

22. Esteem and Dignity in Feminist Arguments of the Early Modern Period Jacqueline Broad

23. Citizens, Workers, and Organizers: 19th- and early 20th-century American Feminists on the Value of Women Allauren Samantha Forbes

Part 8: Esteem, Community, and Modern Social Theory

24. Self-Esteem as the Foundation of Ethical Life: Moral Sentiment and Ethical Rationality in Eduard von Hartmann’s Phänomenologie des sittlichen Bewusstseins Gennaro Imbriano

25. Esteem and Self-Esteem in Ferdinand Tönnies’ Theory of Community and Society Cristiana Senigaglia

26. Self-Esteem in the Phenomenological Tradition: Else Voigtländer and Max Scheler Íngrid Vendrell Ferran

27. Erich Fromm’s Socio-Psychoanalytical Approach to Self-Esteem Cornelia Stefan.

Index

Biography

Andreas Blank holds a research position at the University of Paderborn, Germany. He is the author of some 100 articles in edited volumes and journals such as Annals of Science, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, European Journal of Philosophy, History of European Ideas, History of Philosophy Quarterly, Journal of Early Modern Studies, Journal of the History of Ideas, Journal of Modern Philosophy, The Monist, Perspectives on Science, and Science in Context.

Attila Németh is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, The Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest, Hungary. He is the author of Epicurus on the Self (Routledge, 2020), co-editor with Dániel Schmal of The Self in Ancient and Early Modern Philosophy (2025), and has published several papers on ancient atomism, Hellenistic philosophy, and Seneca.