Il rischio e la notte

The author of this article aims to shed light on the sociological and anthropological meanings of the concept of “risk” with special regards the night-time social life. As a starting hypothesis, author claims that the concept of risk maintains a great esplicatory power, which is extremly helpful to clarify some social contemporary dynamics. A first general proof is the widespread use of the notion of risk in the conteporary debates. As a matter of fact, the diffusion and the persistence in the use of expressions such as “risky situation”, “pleasure of risk”, “high risk activity”, etc.. make the same word “risk” a sort of pass-partout notion that refers in a very wider and general sense to any type of social fact where something dangerous occurs. Therefore, the chapter aims to contribute to a better understanding of the social dynamics, which can be intepreted as “risk taking”. Firstly, by discussing the social and anthropological roots of the concept; secondly, by making clear what is the semantic associated wth the nation of risk, which isnofar is widely spred but not really known. As a fact, no one really knows what is talking about whan talking of risk. Accordingly, the author takes this challenge by framing the analisys of risk within the study of leisure activities at night time. The idea discussed by the author is that the night has progressively lost its traditional function of period when all activities stopped. If traditionally the night wa the time of otium nowadays it becomes the time of negotium in different sectors of political, economic, cultural life. Thus, especially for leisure activities, the night is the time of risk, that is to say the moment where the different social sub-systems operate according to their medium of communication outside traditional frames and limitations, such as the ones narrated in the imaginary world of the fairy tales or given by the natural world. As a result, during the night the risk unveils its anthropological nature of sense generating notion, such as in the risk taking practices of many leisure activities. Moreover, the risk reveals a sociological structure of reciprocity for it recalls an imaginary relation with the death, wich is at the base of many symbolic productions.