Valetudinarius Seneca. Sénèque le Philosophe était-il un malade imaginaire ?
Seneca wrote a philosophical work in which his own physical ailments are omnipresent. This constant concern, hardly consistent with Stoic orthodoxy that says that physical suffering has no moral value, has often been misunderstood. Thus, some have suggested the hypothesis that his work could be, bey...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | fra |
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Presses universitaires du Midi
2012-05-01
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| Series: | Pallas |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/pallas/2478 |
| _version_ | 1811167862900916224 |
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| author | Jean-Christophe Courtil |
| author_facet | Jean-Christophe Courtil |
| author_sort | Jean-Christophe Courtil |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Seneca wrote a philosophical work in which his own physical ailments are omnipresent. This constant concern, hardly consistent with Stoic orthodoxy that says that physical suffering has no moral value, has often been misunderstood. Thus, some have suggested the hypothesis that his work could be, beyond any system of Stoic thought, the result of a hypochondriac obsession of his author. After establishing the basic distinction between hypochondria, sham illness and exaggeration, we will try to demonstrate that the assumption of hypochondria, such as the one of sham illness, must both be excluded. In contrast, the author has certainly used his frail health as an excuse to escape the dangers he faced. The emphasis of his physical ailments led to the construction of a stereotypical picture of the philosopher struggling with pain and disease, even if this requires to over-interpret information given by his work. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T16:16:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bca5129dfbbe49278d5c10c370b02823 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0031-0387 2272-7639 |
| language | fra |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T16:16:18Z |
| publishDate | 2012-05-01 |
| publisher | Presses universitaires du Midi |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pallas |
| spelling | doaj.art-bca5129dfbbe49278d5c10c370b028232023-02-09T16:31:32ZfraPresses universitaires du MidiPallas0031-03872272-76392012-05-01888310210.4000/pallas.2478Valetudinarius Seneca. Sénèque le Philosophe était-il un malade imaginaire ?Jean-Christophe CourtilSeneca wrote a philosophical work in which his own physical ailments are omnipresent. This constant concern, hardly consistent with Stoic orthodoxy that says that physical suffering has no moral value, has often been misunderstood. Thus, some have suggested the hypothesis that his work could be, beyond any system of Stoic thought, the result of a hypochondriac obsession of his author. After establishing the basic distinction between hypochondria, sham illness and exaggeration, we will try to demonstrate that the assumption of hypochondria, such as the one of sham illness, must both be excluded. In contrast, the author has certainly used his frail health as an excuse to escape the dangers he faced. The emphasis of his physical ailments led to the construction of a stereotypical picture of the philosopher struggling with pain and disease, even if this requires to over-interpret information given by his work.http://journals.openedition.org/pallas/2478Senecastoicismancient medicineillnesshealthhypochondria |
| spellingShingle | Jean-Christophe Courtil Valetudinarius Seneca. Sénèque le Philosophe était-il un malade imaginaire ? Pallas Seneca stoicism ancient medicine illness health hypochondria |
| title | Valetudinarius Seneca. Sénèque le Philosophe était-il un malade imaginaire ? |
| title_full | Valetudinarius Seneca. Sénèque le Philosophe était-il un malade imaginaire ? |
| title_fullStr | Valetudinarius Seneca. Sénèque le Philosophe était-il un malade imaginaire ? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Valetudinarius Seneca. Sénèque le Philosophe était-il un malade imaginaire ? |
| title_short | Valetudinarius Seneca. Sénèque le Philosophe était-il un malade imaginaire ? |
| title_sort | valetudinarius seneca seneque le philosophe etait il un malade imaginaire |
| topic | Seneca stoicism ancient medicine illness health hypochondria |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/pallas/2478 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jeanchristophecourtil valetudinariussenecasenequelephilosopheetaitilunmaladeimaginaire |