Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English en
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Shaping Ancient Economies: Philosophical Insights and Transformations of 'Oikonomia' from the 4th Century BC to Its Later Development

Objective

This project investigates the philosophical approach to ancient 'oikonomia' through an analysis of classical texts on household management and their influence on modern philosophy. It aims to explore key thematic issues such as the definition of 'household,' the roles of family members, and the treatment of women, children, and slaves in property management. It will examine conceptions of wealth, its limits, and measurement, the role of money and the ancient philosophers' disposition towards it, as well as the ethical and political implications of economic positions, both private and public, and the philosophical perspectives on nature and on the environment behind economic choices.
The project will trace how these ancient conceptions have been integrated into subsequent philosophical thought and contemporary discussions, including environmental ethics, circular economy, and degrowth. Key texts to be analyzed include Xenophon's ‘Economics,’ economic passages in Plato's ‘Republic’ and ‘Laws’, the critique of chrematistics in Book I of Aristotle's ‘Politics’ (from which Marx's critique of the capitalist system originates), the letters of the Pythagorean women (falsely attributed), dealing with the concept of oikos, the evolution of peripatetic ideas in ps.-Aristotle's ‘Oeconomicus’, and the Epicurean philosophical perspective behind economic management in Philodemus of Gadara's ‘Oeconomicus’. The research will be further informed by the study of how these ancient texts have been interpreted by modern thinkers, from Marx to Strauss and Latouche.
By employing an interdisciplinary and diachronic approach that integrates philological, philosophical, and historical methodologies, the project aims to explore the philosophical, ethical, political, and social dimensions underlying each vision of ancient economics and to assess their enduring impact on subsequent philosophical thought, broadening the perspective to political sciences, gender studies and feminist philosophy.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 420 751,08
Address
Piazzale Aldo Moro 5
00185 Roma
Italy

See on map

Region
Centro (IT) Lazio Roma
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Partners (2)

My booklet 0 0