Character Education and Communal Flourishing: Reimagining Education through an Aristotelian Framework

Speaker:
Thomas Giourgas
Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Deree – The American College of Greece
& Fellow of the Institute for Hellenic Culture and the Liberal Arts

When:
Friday, December 5, 2025 | 18:00

Where:
Deree Faculty Lounge, The American College of Greece

Organized by:
The Institute for Hellenic Culture and the Liberal Arts – The American College of Greece

About the seminar:

This talk examines character education through an Aristotelian lens, arguing that the cultivation of virtue is essential for both individual and collective flourishing. Character understood as a set of moral dispositions that shape emotion, motivation, and conduct is not just a private attribute but a social achievement. For Aristotle, virtues such as justice, generosity, and courage are formed and exercised within relationships and civic life, making flourishing inseparable from the communities that sustain it. Against educational models focused on individual success or market competitiveness, the talk contends that nurturing moral character and civic virtue is crucial for fostering the shared conditions in which people and societies genuinely thrive.

For more information, please contact us at [email protected]

About the speaker:

Thomas Giourgas received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh in 2008. Since 2019 he has been Assistant Professor in Philosophy at Deree – The American College of Greece and Fellow of the Institute for Hellenic Culture and the Liberal Arts. Previously, from 2008 to 2015, he taught courses in Ethics, Ancient Philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphysics, and Political Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He was a researcher in the project “Aitherion” (in collaboration with NCSR “Demokritos”), which aimed at promoting cultural experiences and critical thinking related to ancient Greek philosophy. His main research interests focus on Applied Ethics and the Philosophy of Education, with an emphasis on character education. He is a member of the European Character and Virtue Association (ECVA).