Increscit dolor et fervet odium. Seneca: la dimensione psico-fisica della passione

Thanks to the analysis of some Senecan tragedies, we come to understand the concept of hatred within Stoic philosophy. A quick comparison with Plutarch's assumptions allows us to highlight the fact that hatred is attributable to man and that it is not possible to reduce its power. Hatred is motivated by the desire to do evil. According to Seneca, hatred either arises from an offense (and therefore can be avoided when one learns not to provoke anyone) or it is gratuitous, and at this point only common sense can provide a remedy. Hatred is different from envy: compared to the latter, however, it is unlimited, whereas envy can give way to reasonableness when we realize that, although it is not fair, it is felt towards those who are lucky, and we see that, finally, no wrong was suffered. Medea is aware of her hatred and transforms it into clear anger. The fact that hatred - to be understood as a "desire for revenge" and, at the same time, as settled disposition - has translated into anger must induce the reader/viewer to frame the situation in a broader context which, from an emotional point of view , could be "comprehensive" of the passion/rationality intertwining: hatred, in fact, does not seem to preclude space for rational activity. Anger blinds, hatred does not: rather, it sharpens the attention that can be devoted to a plan of revenge.