Lassi Jakola

I am a philosopher and classicist working at the intersection of ancient and modern philosophy. I am docent of philosophy at the University of Helsinki, and my work is currently funded by the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation. I hold a doctorate in philosophy (D.Soc.Sci, Helsinki, 2023), and an MA in Ancient Greek language and literature (Helsinki, 2014). From 2023 to 2026 I served as Assistant Director of the Finnish Institute at Athens.

My research follows two connected lines: The first concerns G. H. von Wright's philosophy and its roots in Wittgenstein’s thought. In my forthcoming book on von Wright's moral philosophy (under contract with Routledge), I stress his significance as developer of a variety-based, non-formal theory of goodness (‘agathology’), deeply embedded in the Aristotelian tradition of ethics. I am also preparing a comprehensive collection of von Wright’s writings on Wittgenstein (with Bernt Österman, for Wiley). The second line traces the histories of early Greek philosophical concepts, with reference to how Plato and Aristotle gave technical, rule-governed uses to pre-existing Greek terms. This line is represented by a collection of essays that I am co-editing with Mika Perälä, Dunamis in Aristotle (Brill) and my article on pre-Platonic uses of the term ‘sôma’ (2022).

I serve as secretary of the Nordic Wittgenstein Society and as an article editor of Nordic Wittgenstein Review.