Maël Goarzin
LausanneMeet Maël Goarzin, a doctoral student and librarian at the University of Lausanne...
Studies, readings, projects... Here is what he has to say!
Could you introduce yourself? What are you currently doing?
I am a doctoral fellow at the University of Lausanne and the École Pratique des Hautes Études. For five years I held the position of graduate assistant in the Chair of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at the University of Lausanne. For nearly a year now, I have been responsible for the philosophy and psychology collections at the University Library in Lausanne. I am also continuing my research and academic blogging, with the aim of sharing my interest in ancient philosophy — and in philosophy as a way of life — with as wide an audience as possible.
What memories do you have of your studies and your teachers?
My final year at lycée, with its seven hours of philosophy a week, was a revelation. Having until then been drawn mainly to literature, I discovered and fell in love with this new discipline — in particular the fact that throughout the year I could explore different ways of approaching a question and thinking about the same subject. This discovery, and my enthusiasm for philosophy, I owe to my teacher at the time, Babeth Le Léon, who was able to combine and kindle in me the intellectual rigour and open-mindedness needed to awaken a teenager's curiosity about the world and help them find their place in it.
After two years of preparatory classes in Paris, I began studying philosophy at the University of Lausanne. It was there, thanks to Alexandrine Schniewind — who would later become my thesis supervisor — that I developed a taste for ancient philosophy and discovered Plotinus, whose thought became the subject of my master's thesis. University gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in the thought of a single author or work over the course of a semester, and I learnt on that occasion the discipline that sustained, close reading of a philosophical text demands.
It was also in Lausanne that I met Philippe Hoffmann, director of studies at the EPHE, who kindled my interest in the Greek language and the philological analysis of ancient texts through his meticulous, word-by-word reading of Plutarch's treatise On Curiosity. He also deepened my interest in philosophy as a way of life, in the tradition of Pierre Hadot.
Which philosophical book have you been particularly passionate about? Is there an author you fell in love with at first sight?
I have already mentioned Pierre Hadot — he is certainly the contemporary author who has made the greatest impression on me, particularly through What is Ancient Philosophy? and his many articles collected in the volume Exercices spirituels et philosophie antique. Reading his interviews with Jeannie Carlier and Arnold Davidson, published as Philosophy as a Way of Life, confirmed my enthusiasm for an author who, as a historian of philosophy and philologist, illuminated the practical and existential dimension of ancient philosophy with extraordinary clarity, and who, as a philosopher, sought to put the ancient models he studied into practice in his own life. It was undoubtedly this book that gave me a taste for the interview as a form of expression.
I was able to share this enthusiasm for Hadot's thought by interviewing Philippe Hoffmann in a series of videos published on YouTube. Through his study of the ancient philosophers, Hadot brought to light the existential dimension of philosophy — understood not only as a body of discourse, but above all as a way of life. To become a philosopher is to make a choice: the choice of a philosophical life. Xavier Pavie, whom I was fortunate enough to meet and interview in a series of videos on ancient and contemporary spiritual exercises, captures this life choice very well.
Have you ever tried your hand at writing? Could you tell us about your work?
My master's thesis — devoted to the role of discursive reason (dianoia) in the soul's spiritual journey towards the One, through a detailed commentary on the first part of Plotinus' treatise 49 [V 3] on self-knowledge — gave me my first experience of academic writing. Enrolling for a doctorate then introduced me to its various forms: articles, reviews, research proposals, and so on. While I have grown accustomed to the article format, which demands great concision and a talent for synthesis, I prefer the more expansive format of the thesis, which allows for deeper reading and commentary without the constraint of a word limit — far less frustrating.
Writing short blog posts — for six years now — is also a way of bringing my research to as many people as possible, freed from some of the constraints of academic writing. Posting on social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, has given me rapid feedback on my ongoing research and allowed me to reach readers who do not follow conventional academic literature. There is a great deal of work to be done in communicating research to a wider public — setting aside jargon and aiming above all for clarity. From this perspective, academic blogging is an excellent means of disseminating knowledge.
What are your projects and research interests?
My main project — currently on hold for family reasons — is the completion of my thesis, devoted to the practical dimension of the Neoplatonic philosophical way of life. Through a study of the lives of philosophers written in late antiquity, I wish to show that the daily life of the philosopher does not exclude care of the body and concern for others, but that these are, on the contrary, two dimensions of the philosophical life that both prepare the soul and reflect its journey towards the divine.
I am also continuing to write my research blog, How to live everyday?, devoted to philosophy as a way of life from antiquity to the present day. The perspective is that of the historian of philosophy — through the reading and interpretation of ancient texts — but I have also emphasised, from the outset, the contemporary relevance (or otherwise) of ancient philosophy, regularly questioning what it might mean for the way we live today.
At the same time, I am involved in developing the Stoa Gallica association, whose aim is to promote the study and dissemination of Stoicism in the French-speaking world. Much like the recent surge of interest in contemporary Stoicism in the English-speaking world, Stoa Gallica invites those who wish to take the Stoic way of life seriously. For the time being, exchanges take place on the Stoa Gallica Facebook group, but the association's website is under construction, along with a journal to publish the fruits of our work.
Finally, I am working on a project to promote exemplary lives, carried out in collaboration with Alexandre Rigal, a sociologist whose own thesis focused on changing habits linked to mobility. Our joint work broadens this perspective by applying it to all aspects of daily life. In antiquity as today, the role of role models is crucial when it comes to conversion or a change of lifestyle. Bringing these examples to light invites us to follow them, or at least to reflect on our current way of living, and thus to inhabit a world — in which so many decisions are beyond our control — with ever greater awareness.
Thank you, Maël, for sharing your story!
> Explore other philosophical journeys in the agora...