Ἀκηδία and the “Care of the Self”

Abstract

In this paper the author discusses the meaning of akēdia in late antiquity. Although the term had a wide range of connotations, boredom with the ascetic life was one of its principal senses. The relevance this has for psychoanalysis lies in an understanding of the tradition of ‘spiritual exercises’ (askēsis), as a manifestation of the epimeleia heautou (care of oneself), as it was described, respectively, by Pierre Hadot and Michel Foucault. In this context, psychoanalysis—particularly as it is expounded in the oeuvre of Lacan—is seen as a continuation of a certain intensity in the relationship one has with oneself, which first developed in antiquity in pagan philosophy, and later flourished among the desert fathers. Here, akēdia signifies boredom with the cultivation of subjectivity. This condition is situated at the milder end of the more generic spectrum of anxietas and led to an abandonment of concern for the self, and of the spiritual exercises (askēsis tēs psuchēs) that characterised it. Specifically, a neglect for attentiveness and vigilance over one’s thoughts and dreams (prosochē), an abandonment of reading, and a disregard for enunciating who one is, through the practice of saying everything about oneself to another (parrhēsia).

Keywords:

• Akēdia Keyword: Akēdia
• Askēsis Keyword: Askēsis
• Evagrius Ponticus Keyword: Evagrius Ponticus
• foucault Keyword: foucault
• Lacan Keyword: Lacan
• parrhesia Keyword: parrhesia
• Pierre Hadot Keyword: Pierre Hadot
• Psychoanalysis Keyword: Psychoanalysis
• ‘Care of the self’ Keyword: ‘Care of the self’
• ‘Spiritual exercises’ Keyword: ‘Spiritual exercises’

How to Cite:

Rights: Incopyright