Sherman has conducted research in general ethics, the history of philosophy, and moral psychology. In recent years her research has been primarily focused on
military ethics and related matters. She has worked and published extensively on such issues as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), military suicide, and the honor, guilt, and shame associated with war. Sherman has written about how ancient theories of
stoicism may be modified and helpfully applied to the modern world and the modern soldier. Her conclusions have been criticized on the basis that such applications may be actively counterproductive. Sherman writes about courage and the use of emotions from a soldier's point of view in her book
Stoic Warriors. She asserts that soldiers returning home often receive insufficient care, leaving them ill-prepared for non-violent civilian life. Following this, she considers post-traumatic stress disorder), comparing the dysfunctional anger shown by some soldiers after they come home from war to the anger that may be functional on the battlefield as a way of summoning courage. Though the relationship of anger to courage may be deemed controversial to stoic views of the perfect warrior, Sherman sees this as a relationship in displaying courage since soldiers must suppress their anger, fear, and other battlefield emotions, inducing a disorder that releases these emotions after a battle, in non-violent situations. Thus the process by which courage is summoned and displayed on the battlefield can lead directly to PTSD when they return home—a process that can be addressed effectively by proper care upon their return. In her most recent book
Stoic Wisdom, Sherman argues for a credible modern Stoicism based on ancient Greek and Roman texts. She makes the case that Stoicism is not a philosophy of acquiescence or retreat, but a practical philosophy of engagement in the world that requires cultivated emotions and a commitment to the common good. In a talk for House of SpeakEasy’s Seriously Entertaining program, Sherman said, “Stoic philosophy sort of captured, I think terrifically by Seneca, who says, at the very end of
On Anger, this wonderful treatise, he says, ‘Let us cultivate humanity.’ And essentially, that's the rallying call for it, for this idea of the Stoics, are worth reading, it's because they exhort us to rise to our fullest potential through reason, cooperation, and, you know, and a sense of selflessness when it's required.” In her previous book
Afterwar, Sherman explores questions of moral injury and healing in war. The moral dimensions of returning soldiers' psychological injuries—guilt, shame, feeling responsible for doing wrong or being wronged—are often ignored and elude conventional treatment. ==Publications==