Grounded in Ancient, Modern, and Contemporary Philosophy, and in Classical and Contemporary Psychology, and implemented through successive stages.

It is clear to every thinking person that we need a different way of living from the one we have adopted as the ‘Western way’, a new frame of reference to guide the course of our lives.

Every day we ask ourselves: why? Why? Questions such as: what is fair? What is appropriate? What does equality mean? How will I be deeply satisfied with my life? What is my responsibility toward myself and others? Who is my soul and what does it seek? What is the meaning of my life?

We seek answers to our deepest concerns, yet usually from the safety of familiar ground—from that mental and psychological realm in which we have learned to ‘exist,’ and in ways that do not disturb its precarious balance. Amid the vastness of our thoughts, experiences, and information, we fish for answers that reinforce our existing mental model. We rationalize. We find temporary relief… only for the questions and the discomfort to return with even greater force.

Mental and psychological dead ends… Dead ends are “socially legitimized”, “integrated into our existence”. And the endless and futile, according to the Myth of Sisyphus, effort of man continues. However, as Albert Camus will tell us, in the work The Myth of Sisyphus (1942): “We must imagine Sisyphus happy”.

And Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “Take the path opposite to the usual one, and you will almost always do well.”

The program “Know thyself – pursue the good life” is grounded in the dialectical relationship between Philosophy and Psychology.

Socrates was the first to “declare”: “…the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being”, emphasizing that a transformation of the mind alone is not sufficient to make life meaningful, the transformation of our emotions is also necessary, and this is achieved through the practice of virtue.

From the time of Socrates and the classical conception of self-knowledge to the present day, self-knowledge has remained a timeless philosophical concept—and, more than ever, an essential one.

Philosophy today is, to a great extent, disconnected from our everyday lives. Yet Philosophy was born to enable human beings to understand the nature around them and the nature within themselves; to build bridges of communication with themselves and with their fellow human beings; and ultimately, to fulfill their potential.

Philosophy is contemplation. Before that, however, Psychology, like a benevolent “fairy”, calls thoughts, feelings and behaviors to observation and potential questioning. Philosophy and Psychology become helpers to each other.

The program “Know thyself – pursue the good life” is a Socratic approach to self-knowledge through the cultivation of virtues. It is supported by modern and contemporary philosophy and complemented by classical and contemporary psychology.

The virtues, both intellectual and moral, move the soul into its depths, into the subconscious and the unconscious, where our traumas reside as living experiences of the past. (Carl Jung).

It is intended for adolescents and young people who choose to embark on the journey toward “Ithaca”, as C. P. Cavafy evokes in his relevant poem, inspired by Homer’s renowned epic, “THE ODYSSEY”..