Mercy and Justice in Political Life: Augustine, Seneca, and Nussbaum – Prof. Sarah Byers

This lecture was given on January 23rd, 2026, at University of Toronto.

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About the Speaker:

Sarah Byers is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boston College. Her interests include St. Augustine, Hellenistic philosophy, and the history of ancient and medieval ethics and metaphysics. She is responsible for many publications, including Perception, Sensibility, and Moral Motivation in Augustine: A Stoic-Platonic Synthesis, a book that argues that Augustine assimilated the Stoic theory of perception into his philosophy.

Keywords: Augustine, Compassion, Justice, Mercy, Martha Nussbaum, Neoplatonism, Political Life, Seneca, Stoicism, Virtue Ethics