VILLA STEINER ENRICHMENT PROGRAM | Seminar 1

Person, Freedom, and Flourishing

Understanding the human person in a changing world

This one-week seminar for students explores what it means to be human under conditions of change—where questions of freedom, responsibility, and human flourishing can no longer be taken for granted.

Dates:  14–20 June 2026  ·  Vienna, Austria   

Format:  Small group · Intensive study · Integrated action learning

Fee:  €1,200 · Rolling admissions until May 15

For those who resist superficial answers and seek to develop sound judgment and personal orientation.

Viktor Frankl emphasized that the human person cannot be reduced to biology, psychology, or circumstance. Even under pressure, human beings remain capable of freedom—the freedom to seek meaning, assume responsibility, and orient their lives beyond mere adaptation.


This seminar takes this insight seriously. Under the guiding perspective of Person, Freedom, and Flourishing, it brings together philosophy, psychology, psychiatry, ethics, and anthropology to explore what it means to be human in a changing world.


Participants examine questions of identity and agency, vulnerability and resilience, and the conditions under which human beings can flourish—across work, relationships, and adversity.

What Participants Gain

  • Clarity about meaning, purpose, and responsibility— across study, work, and personal decisions.

  • Stronger judgment in complex situations
    — beyond rules, opinions, or quick answers.

  • Sustained attention and habits for serious work
    — intellectual, professional, and personal.

  • A small learning community
    — one that often leads to lasting personal friendships.

What You'll Study

Four interconnected strands that explore personhood, freedom, and human flourishing from philosophical, psychiatric, and ethical perspectives. 20 hours academic core.

6 HOURS

Being Human: Foundations in Philosophical Anthropology

Central themes of philosophical anthropology—rationality, agency, relationality, and embodiment—are traced from Aristotle to contemporary thought. Different accounts of the human person are examined in their implications for ethics, culture, and social life, highlighting why debates about human nature remain decisive for questions of dignity, freedom, and responsibility.

OUTCOME

Clarity about personhood and why different accounts of the human person matter for dignity, freedom, and responsibility.

4 HOURS

Freedom and Determinism: Brain, Decision, and Human Agency

Building on key philosophical concepts of freedom like the one of Hannah Arendt, this session examines central insights from contemporary neuroscience as they relate to human agency and decision-making. Beginning with an overview of brain function and neural plasticity, it explores the tension between neural determinism and human freedom and engages with classic decision-making experiments.

OUTCOME

Clarity on freedom and human agency at the intersection of neuroscience and philosophy, and technology.

4 HOURS

AI and the Self: Rethinking Humanity in the Age of Algorithms

Advances in AI raise fundamental questions about ethics, human–machine relationships, and self-understanding. This session explores the foundations of AI ethics and examines how interactions between humans and artificial systems reshape our assumptions about agency, meaning, and responsibility. It reflects on what distinguishes human cognition, creativity, and relationality from algorithmic processes.

OUTCOME

A differentiated view of human agency and judgment in a technologically mediated world.

6 HOURS

Meaning, Freedom, and Human Flourishing

Meaning, freedom, and responsibility are considered as integrated dimensions of a well-lived human life. Human flourishing is approached not as optimization or success, but as orientation over time—across work, relationships, failure, and decision-making—connecting philosophical anthropology, mental health, and technological change.

OUTCOME

Orientation toward freedom and responsibility as lived capacities across work and relationships.

Aloysius Ventham

Academic Director Villa Steiner Enrichment Program

Claudia Navarini

Professor of Moral Philosophy at Università Europea di Roma.

Flavio Keller

Professor of Human Physiology at Campus Bio-Medico di Roma

Action Learning

Learning in this seminar does not stop at conceptual understanding.

Alongside academic sessions, Action Learning connects reflection with lived experience.

Action Learning is integrated into each seminar week (12 hours). It connects the academic core with real questions from participants’ own context—through guided reflection, dialogue, and shared examination of experience.

Action Learning at Villa Steiner

SEMINAR Context & Framework

  • Who is this seminar for?

    This seminar is designed primarily for university students and recent graduates who are seeking intellectual depth beyond their regular course of study.


    It is especially suited to participants who are willing to engage seriously with fundamental questions and to work intensively in a small, discussion-based setting.

  • What academic background is expected?

    Participants are expected to have a solid academic foundation, typically at an advanced undergraduate or early graduate level.


    No specific discipline is required. What matters most is intellectual curiosity, the ability to read and discuss complex texts, and a readiness to think carefully and independently.

  • What is the time commitment?

    The seminar runs as a one-week intensive in a residential format. Full participation is expected throughout the week, including sessions, discussions, and shared meals as part of the common academic life.

  • What is the workload of the seminar?

    Each one-week seminar is structured around approximately 20 hours of academic sessions and 12 hours of Action Learning.


    Academic sessions include lectures, guided discussions, close reading of texts, and individual reflection.

    Action Learning is integrated into the rhythm of the week and includes structured reflection, dialogue in small groups, encounters with practice, and cultural formats such as Coffeehouse Reading and Culture and the City.


    The workload is intensive but deliberately paced to allow for sustained attention, serious study, and meaningful exchange over the course of the week.

  • Is accommodation included?

    Accommodation, including meals, is included in the seminar fee and provided as full board during the seminar week.

    Personal expenses, such as local transport or cultural activities, are covered by participants.

  • What does the fee include?

    The fee of €1,200 covers the full academic program, accommodation, meals, and all core seminar activities throughout the week.

    Personal expenses—such as local transport or tickets to museums or cultural events—are covered by participants.

  • How selective is admission?

    Admission is selective and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Particular attention is given to motivation, intellectual engagement, and the overall composition of the group.

  • Are scholarships available?

    A limited number of merit-based scholarships are available. Applicants may indicate their interest during the application process.

FAQs

Answers to common questions about the seminar.

NEXT STEPS

Apply for Person, Freedom, and Human Flourishing

Applications close May 15, 2026. Rolling admissions—early application recommended.

Apply for June 2026