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208 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2011
Eugenio Borgna was the head of a psychiatry department and has written numerous unusual books about madness, hope, despair, melancholy, and other emotions. What interested me most, as stated on the back cover, is how he approaches psychiatry—not as something mechanical, cold, and distant, but as delicate, fragile, and nuanced.
La solitudine dell'anima deals, unsurprisingly, with loneliness and suffering. The book allows us to examine solitude from several perspectives, and also explores pain.
The author emphasizes that we must distinguish loneliness from isolation. Loneliness can be a milestone in every human life, but when it turns into isolation—cut off from others and the world—it becomes painful and destructive. It’s important to recognize whether our current loneliness is normal and nourishing to the soul, or isolating and harmful.
The book also explores the connection between suffering and loneliness. Borgna questions whether melancholy can exist without solitude, and he touches on fear-related loneliness. He defines anxiety and fear, then categorizes different types of fear. My personal favorite was “Fear of Difference and Madness.” The author sees the intense fear of difference and madness as stemming from our prejudices, noting: "The frightening and immutable power of prejudice, the irrational and widespread tendency to take root in people's thoughts and imagination, accompanies each of us in various areas of our lives, and we must be aware of it."
We then reflect on happiness—trying to define it while touching on loneliness and mysticism. The book also examines loneliness caused or deepened by illness, and the impact of death and isolation, before ultimately exploring ways to cope with solitude.
Borgna often addresses the relationship between loneliness and art or literature. As I noted at the start, he speaks of the human soul rather than hormones or the biological workings of the brain, approaching every topic from this perspective. The book references numerous philosophers, writers, and poets, with many quotations scattered throughout. For those interested in psychiatry, it offers a different perspective, though of course professionals might already be familiar with it.
What do I think? I’m not sure. A few years ago, I would have loved this book for its approach. In this period of my life, when I try to understand everything concretely and question the soul’s existence, I’m uncertain how to react. For that reason, I’ve added it to my list of books to reread at a different stage of life.
Overall, La solitudine dell'anima is a book worth reading if you are interested in philosophy or psychology.