Seneca’s Anthropocentric Theology

Between Consciousness and the Unconscious in Oed. 764-767 and Thy. 957-969

Abstract

The paper examines the difference in Seneca’s worldview between the philosopher and the poet. Through the reading of some passages from Oedipus and Thyestes, one can glimpse Seneca’s attempt to explore what we now call the “unconscious”. Unlike Freud who, precisely because of the barrier between the unconscious and consciousness, comes to deny free will, Seneca as a tragedian – like Seneca as a philosopher – emphasizes self-awareness and free will, to the point of placing the uirtus of the sage even higher than god.