Patire il potere. Biografia e filosofia da Platone a Giuseppe Rensi

In this paper I shall try to show the strong interrelation between biography and philosophy, that we can perceive not only in Plato’s Seventh Letter, but also in the interpretation of this Platonic text offered by Giuseppe Rensi. Against the background of a wider discussion about the passions of power, he fosters indeed a form of political moderatism based on the full respect of the laws, also in order to fight against Italian fascism. The Platonic reference works as a powerful stimulus for Rensi, although it cannot eliminate a sort of pessimistic vein, dictated by the failure of serious political projects against tyranny.