Amare o disprezzare il proprio corpo. Riflessioni sul sui amor della lettera 82 a Lucilio

Abstract

The sui amor, an expression that translates the Greek notion of οἰκείωσις, is the natural love one has for one’s body, and which has as an unfortunate consequence a misjudgement of death as a terrible evil. Now, this idea that nature wants us to love our bodies seems to contradict the idea, often repeated in the letters, that contempt for the body is necessary to guarantee happiness and wisdom. In reality, this sui amor is not just a love of the body, but a love of man’s rational nature that puts the exercise of virtue ahead of maintaining the integrity of one’s body.