“LE ANIME SONO SANGUE” (REF. I 22,5 = 340 USENER). UNA TESTIMONIANZA 'IPPOLITEA' SULLA PSICOLOGIA DI EPICURO

Abstract

In this paper I aim at analysing one passage of the Refutatio omnium haeresium (I 22, 5 = 340 Usener) to understand whether it is consistent with the Epicurean doctrine of soul. First, I provide an account of the historical context of the Refutatio. Secondly, I provide a comparison between the content of the passage and the Epicurean psychology. As a result, the theory according to which “souls are blood”, which occurs in the passage, appears to be inconsistent with the main Epicurean theories about the soul. Nevertheless, some doctrines which the author refers to are consistent with the Epicurean psychology. It is likely that the meaning of the theory of the soul-blood has to be understood in a metaphorical sense. Through this analogy the author probably aimed at showing the main features of Epicurus’ materialistic psychology, even if he diverges from it, consciously or not, in some essential elements.