TMC Alumnus Brendan Johnson, MTS ’21, and Current TMC Fellow, Phifer Nicholson, Co-Author Article for AMA Journal of Ethics
“Since the time of the ancient philosophers, the task of inner self-transformation (in Greek, askesis) has been consistently recognized as an essential component of the ethical life. But just as consistently, there have been disagreements over the means to and ends of such a change. Classical Stoic philosophers sought self-discipline and cultivated a “negative” apatheia—minimizing the influence of external events on one’s emotional life6—but today we require a “positive” transformation toward compassion, solidarity, and agency. These qualities, although “public” in nature, require one’s inward journey of askesis to be tied to the world around one and to the people in it. Inner transformation comes through both inward reflection and external interaction, leading one to further engage with one’s neighbor.”