I'm looking for a word which describes a person or ethical/religious code or whatever which emphasises self-improvement. That is, that the point of it is to fix one's flaws and vices and whatnot.
I've found two words which are close but not exactly what I mean - ascetic might work except that suggests a real strictness about it, whilst virtuous might be something to strive towards, and not the actual belief in wanting to become one.
There is self religion:
A self religion (or self-religion) is a religious or self-improvement group which has as one of its primary aims the improvement of the self
Also stoicism has self-help (self-improvement) ideology in it.
The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.
Philosophy for a Stoic is not just a set of beliefs or ethical claims, it is a way of life involving constant practice and training (or askesis, see asceticism)
A word for a person or concept that puts emphasis on self-improvement would be "flourishing".
In positive psychology, flourishing is “to live within an optimal range of human functioning, one that connotes goodness, generativity, growth, and resilience.”
Thus, eudaimonia or eudaimonism is a related concept. It is a Greek word but it is also a loan word in English. In modern psychology, it is conceptualized in six factors, one of which is personal growth.
Eudaimonia, sometimes anglicized as eudaemonia or eudemonia , is a Greek word commonly translated as happiness or welfare; however, "human flourishing" has been proposed as a more accurate translation.
Etymologically, it consists of the words "eu" ("good") and "daimōn" ("spirit"). It is a central concept in Aristotelian ethics and political philosophy, along with the terms "aretē", most often translated as "virtue" or "excellence", and "phronesis", often translated as "practical or ethical wisdom".
One that improves one's mind, character, etc., through one's own efforts.
You might describe such a person, code, or whatever as being morally or ethically aspirational.
Reformation would be the process of reforming.
the action or process of reforming an institution or practice.
make changes in (something, typically a social, political, or economic institution or practice) in order to improve it.
It is a word that is used in a lot of religious contexts but also works for everyman context.
In a much simpler context you could say that you are trying to better yourself.
You might consider self-actualization or self-actualizer.
Definition of SELF-ACTUALIZE
: to realize fully one's potential
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selfactualization?show=0&t=1402005353
Self-communion n. Communion with one's self; thoughts about one's self. [1913 Webster]
Even ecclesiastically, 'self-communion' is to acknowledge and mend
How about perfectionism?
perfectionism: a doctrine in certain religions that moral or spiritual perfection can be achieved before the soul has passed into the afterlife
