Dottorato in FILOLOGIA E STORIA DEL MONDO ANTICO

Titolo della tesi: Se necare. Il suicidio in Seneca filosofo: retorica e pragmatica

The aim of the thesis is to give a complete picture of Seneca’s view on suicide. For this purpose, all passages from his philosophical works dealing with the topic will be discussed in detail. The approach used in the analysis is rhetorical and pragmatic. The view adopted in this thesis is that ancient rhetorical theory and modern pragmatics share a focus on the text-context relationship, which is constructed in two complementary directions: the influence of the context on the text and the influence of the text on the context. In this sense, Seneca’s texts are communicative acts that can be interpreted as springing from and directed to the debate on suicide in the Julio-Claudian era; in this hot debate, the philosophical and the political aspects are deeply intertwined. After a close analysis of all Seneca’s passages on suicide and voluntary death, the philosopher’s position on questions such as the legitimacy of self-killing, human responsibility in remaining alive or choosing to die, the dialogical relationship between philosophical schools, and suicide as a political act will be outlined.