A reader of ciorans entire oeuvre easily gets caught up in the. Emil ciorans debut book, on the heights of despair, focused on the mental state of man and the complete loss of faith. The book was awarded the young writers prize and the commissions prize for a new young writer. It is not worth the bother of killing yourself, since you always kill yourself too late. In 1934, at the age of only 23, he published his first book in romanian, on the heights of despair. Its where your interests connect you with your people. It also presents cioran as a connoisseur of apocalypse, a theoretician of despair, for whom writing and philosophy both share the lyrical. On the heights of despair, the passion for the absurd is the only thing that can still throw a demonic light on.
It resembles the last stage of initiation in the egyptian mysteries when, instead of ultimate knowledge, one is told, osiris is a black divinity. The overall theme is one of abject nihilism, but there are numerous inconsistencies. On the heights of despair, cioran, zarifopoljohnston. He is the author of numerous works, including on the heights of despair, also available from the university of chicago press. On the heights of despair is a drama enacted between the suffering problematic man, that is, the organic and lyrical thinker who is ciorans sufferer, and his archenemy, the philoso pher or the sage, the abstract man, a distinction reminiscent of nietzsches dionysian and socratic man. Cioran 8 april 1911 20 june 1995 was a romanian philosopher and essayist. No matter which way we go, it is no better than any other. Onder sy bekendste werke is on the heights of despair 1934 en the. Published in his native romania when the author was only 23, it consists of brief essays, no more than six pages in length and sometimes only a paragraph. Ciorans first french book, a short history of decay. Philosopher emil cioran speaking about sartre, beckett, michaux and the.
Alexandru copaceanu rated it really liked it nov 08, for example, in a interview, he condemned it as a complex of movements. Only optimists commit suicide, optimists who no longer succeed at being optimists. Its a book written whilst deep under the grip of insomnia by the existential nihilist philosopher exploring the nature of life, and purpose, and also the inevitability of suffering. It also presents cioran as a connoisseur of apocalypse, a theoretician of despair, for whom writing and philosophy both share the lyrical virtues that alone lead to a metaphysical revelation. His father, a priest, and his mother, head of the christian womens league, kept a very low profile, and weathered the storm by hiding in the house with the lights off and going to bed very early for weeks on end.
Emil cioran biography facts, childhood, family life. Cioran 19111995 was born and educated in romania and lived in paris from 1937 until his death. Existentialism does not flirt with suicide as vividly as emil cioran. After spending two years in germany, cioran arrived in. Its short essays, none more than few pages long, sound many of. Emil cioran what a torment to be ordinary, a man among. I dont understand why we must do things in this world, why we must have friends and aspirations, hopes and dr. On the heights of despair shows the philosophers first grappling with themes he would return to in his mature works. Born of a terrible insomniaa dizzying lucidity which would turn even paradise into hellthis book presents the youthful emil cioran, a selfdescribed nietzsche. Ive read some cioran excerpts, and kind of like his gloomy, pessismistic style, but plainly havent interfaced enough with him if youre describing him in such a fashion. Sy werk is bekend vir sy deurdringende filosofiese pessimisme, en gaan dikwels oor probleme van lyding, verval en nihilisme. Yet the bracing verve of ciorans writing and his earthy good humor point toward the. Among his best known works are on the heights of despair 1934 and the trouble with being born 1973.
Cioran, on the heights of despair on the heights of despair 1934, context. See more ideas about emil cioran, philosophical quotes and jean paul sartre. Below you will find some especially enlightening quotes from cioran. Cioran wrote a thesis on bergsons thought, and earned a degree in 1932. Emil cioran 19111995 was a romanian philosopher most known for his nihilistic and pessimistic views. Philosopher emil cioran talking about craciunel, biggst nihilist he ever met. Ciorans first book on the heights of despair, brings together all the themes from his later work. The book contains in embryo much of the lucidly bleak, nihilistic thinking that hed develop throughout his life. Emil cioran was a romanian philosopher and essayist who became famous for his finely crafted essays and aphorisms dealing with alienation, boredom, futility and the decay of civilization.
This is youthful development of cioran s philosphy dark and cathartic. This was emil ciorans first book, published in romania in 1934, when he was in his early 20s. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Failure runs through it all, from ciorans on the heights of despair to the trouble with being born. On the heights of despair shows ciorans first grappling with themes he would return to in his mature works. To be frank, to a large extent it was hard for me to tell why he was even regarded as a philosopher.
An exorcism of despair, on the heights of despair offers insight into the ironic. This is youthful development of ciorans philosphy dark and cathartic. Cioran is published by university of chicago press. President extends mandate of current romanian army commander 28 dec for the life of him cioran cannot accept such a people as his own.
Failure runs through it all, from cioran s on the heights of despair to the trouble with being born. Emil ciorans on the heights of despair is the writingsand ravingsof a desperate insomniac. Among his bestknown works are on the heights of despair 1934 and the trouble with being born 1973. Some of these are collections of brief essays one or two pages, on average. See and discover other disperarij it impugns reality and swirls it around with words like chaos, insomnia, love, death, suicide and the like. On the heights of despair download ebook pdf, epub.
The dark, existential despair of romanian philosopher ciorans short meditations is paradoxically bracing and lifeaffirming. Cioran was a nihilist of the highest degree, artfully articulating his dissent. It also presents cioran as a connoisseur of apocalypse, a theoretician of despair, for whom writing and philosophy both share the lyrical virtues. Cioran on the heights of despair pdf 60 quotes from on the heights of despair. Its good, but what you have to ask yourself is how came emil cioran lived to be 84. Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. In a sense, cioran never wrote such a borderline suicidal book, which has its artistic especially for a philosopher. True thought looks like a demon who trouble the sources of life, or a disease that affects its roots. Its a book written whilst deep under the grip of insomnia by the existential nihilist philosopher exploring the nature of life. Emil cioran wrote his first five books in romanian.
812 534 951 1317 57 1471 499 1480 269 1525 1032 1441 825 1383 723 977 1014 1382 871 1030 466 1176 826 552 693 643 1175 177 1371 587 696 1196 1173 1033 482 1032 1268 1118 491 678 319 740 1114 1368 1146