Una vita eroica. Il significato dello sport nell’immaginario della «società del rischio»

A Heroic Life. The meaning of sport in the « risk society » imagery. In recent years, in a symptomatic manner, peculiar practices are spreading. As David Le Breton brilliantly explains, in the « physical and sporting activities at risk » the individual - often in the presence of a wild nature - becomes heroically the only sovereign of his existence by means of a bet on his abilities, engaging a challenge that, at the limit, puts life at stake. The possibility of finding death in the challenge ensures - in the positive performance - an intensification of the biographical meanings (Le Breton, 2002). According to Le Breton line of thinking we can affirm that individual, becoming the hero of his own existence, fights the anxiety of a world lived as hostile, indifferent and meaningless. Analyzing this particular phenomenon, in an investigation that takes into account the sociological reasons of its indicative success, is the aim of this article.