Expressões da saúde física e psíquica em Plutarco : condições a euthymia

Abstract

Plutarch of Chaeronea (45 - 125), one of the main exponents of Middle Platonism, was a philosopher, biographer and historian. When reflecting on ethics, physis and metaphysics, the philosopher gave greater importance and emphasis to the first, considering it a prerequisite for the correct understanding of the others. Following a Platonic bias, Plutarch attributed to the philosopher the ability to restore thehealth of the soul affected by affections. However, he also attributed to philosophy the role of reflecting on the health and well-being of the body, and, in doingso, it would not be invading the field of medical art, since, in its eyes, they complement each other in the same terrain. By investigating the perspective in which Plutarch considered philosophy a medicine of the soul, we seek to identify the three moments in which the thought and exercise of philosophy in this field is developed, namely, semiology or the study of symptoms, diagnosis or etiology, therapéia that it proposes for the affections of the soul and, finally, its prognosis. Our hypothesis is that the theses related to the theme of health that we find in Precepts for good health, when confronted and read in the light of other treatises by Plutarch such as On tranquility of the soul and On control of anger, or even of some of the biographies listed in Parallel Lives allow us to retrace his conception of human nature and his anthropology and understand under what conditions it is possible for humans to be healthy in their physical and psychic dimension. Socrates, Anaxagoras, Pericles and Alcibiades are some of the characters we chose to examine in order to discuss Plutarch's theses in this area. In other words, we try to show how the states of illness and health of the body and soul are manifested in the modus vivendi of the characters biographed by Plutarch. We endeavored to show what the hope of obtaining good cheer (euthymía) resides, the expression par excellence of the health of the soul. And finally, we are concerned with establishing what is possible to conclude about the individual and collective dimensions of health in Plutarch.