Voluntas amica. La natura e il ruolo della volontà nel De beneficiis di Seneca
Abstract
The object of this paper is the relevance of uoluntas in Seneca’s De beneficiis, a topic seldom considered by scholars, notwithstanding the importance of this problematic notion in Seneca’s treatment of benefits. Our analysis of this issue, conducted in light of the considerations on charity by other ancient thinkers, will lead us to grasp the complex nature of the will involved in Seneca’s conception of beneficia: with reference to this domain, uoluntas denotes the attitude of both the benefactor and their recipient, which, according to Seneca, ought to be virtuous and emotionally involved in the act of giving and accepting a benefit.
Submitted: Sept. 10, 2024 | Accepted: Oct. 1, 2024 | Published March 13, 2025 | Language: it
Keywords Seneca • Stoicism • Beneficium (Benefit) • Voluntas (Will) • Gaudium (Joy) • Aristotle • De beneficiis
Copyright © 2025 Gabriele Flamigni. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-902-3/005