A, what is this unusual feeling? Pride for my country? But being born in the same country as this man does not give me any advantage or disadvantage. I didn't contribute with anything to this moment. It's just the randomness of birth. And yet I and the other romanians still feel pride.
Personally i despise nationalism. I just see the hypocrisy in it all. Even if Cioran renounced his Romanian nationality, and even if throughout his work he pointed the uselessness of caring for such things, romanians still proud themselves with him for being romanian, but only because he is romanian. If he would have been the same exact person but born say in Hungary, most of the Romanians would not care about him. He rightfully said "Being Romanian is a curse i must live with". And while i too get that titillating feeling of pride when i see one of my fav youtube channels spotlighting a romanian, i'm just sickened by the constant begging of attention and national recognition that denotes the national inferiority complex most of us romanians have. But i love your comment, it is true, out of the randomness of being born in a certain place, we feel pride for a great man who we had nothing to do with other than being born in the same place.
Marius Malus Hai să fim serioși. Nu e nicio ipocrizie. Este vorba despre trăsături proprii ale poporului și despre experiența conviețuirii. Dacă Cioran se năștea în ... Belgia, să zicem, atunci nu mai era Cioran. Poate ar fi avut și alte viziuni filosofice, poate ar fi fost un optimist.
Identity is inescapable, even Cioran himself admitted that being Romanian contributed loads to his mentality and perception of the world around him, no matter how much he tried to escape it. You feel proud because you identify with him. Him being Romanian means you understand his native language, the food he ate, the landscapes that surrounded him, his culture. Maybe not necessarily inspired by his nation, but he harnessed the things around him from his nation and created a product truly beneficial to humanity as a whole. His success proves that there are valuable aspects to our nation that can be used to produce something of value, of course it's a reason to be proud. Although much has to do with individual genius, there are still plenty of cultures on this planet that aren't exactly capable of producing much excellence.
It has allot to do with Romanian fatalism and Cioran is a distillation of that fatalism. That's why we are proud of a person that developed in the same culture. Being proud of something you identify with it actually is a confirmation that your ideas are plausible.
“Paradise was unendurable, otherwise the first man would have adapted to it, this world is no less so, since here we regret paradise or anticipate another one. What do do? where to go? Do nothing and go nowhere, easy enough.” One of my favourite paragraphs, ever.
He didn't become a french citizen, he never asked for the french citizenship. The communists took his Romanian citizenship away so he lived as a stateless person in France.
Corneliu Z Codreanu if I got this right, he could’ve became a French citizen, but he didn’t cared to ask for it, so not that much stateless. And really? Zelea codreanu? What are you? A fascist?
There's a friend of mine and he admits he not only takes pride, but enjoys despairing. I wish I could but I can't understand it. Maybe you could argue that there is something satisfying about facing the cold, hard truth of life's situation? That it is inherently meaningless? Rather than drawing on the positives of that deduction, that it empowers us to attach meaning to whatever we want, he clings to the negatives. Buy why would someone have a preference towards the negative implications of such a deduction? I dunno XD what do you think?
I don't think is the same thing staying awake because you are doing an activity(reading/being on your phone) and staying awake because you are trapped with your thoughts (that'd be insomnia) so even if it were just a joke i just wanted to clarify that
Many would be scared of Cioran's thinking, his work being full of sadness, despair and death. I'm glad that you clarified this problem, his books being more like an anti-depressant and a release in the tumultuous, unsettled and uncertain reality in which we live. However, here is an interesting fact about Cioran and suicide! Emil Cioran was a great friend of the romanian-french playwright Eugen Ionescu (Eugène Ionesco, in french), whose work is a must-read, as well. Well, this guy was quite a friend of alcohol and despair. When Ionescu had a great depression crisis and wanted to kill himself, the one whom he called and convinced him not to do it was no other than Cioran. Nonetheless, both of those great geniuses of the 20th century had a heck of a long life, both reaching the age of 84 (Ionescu died in 1994, Cioran in 1995). Despair is the sickness unto death, as Kierkegaard once said. When we feel like suffering of this hard disease, we may call Cioran to help us as well. Congratulations, School of Life, on your channel and hard work, and thank you for bringing out a philosopher like Emil Cioran to a great audience's attention. Greetings from Romania!
I love Ionescu and Cioran, therefore I love Romania too! And one of my all time favourite films is Romanian as well, namely the death of Mr. Lazarescu. Greetings from Greece!
"True confessions are written with tears only. But my tears would drown the world, as my inner fire would reduce it to ashes.” - Emil Cioran, On the Heights of Despair Frumos :D
For me Cioran was a huge revelation, I used to read him in the hallway of the university. everyone was around, a lot of noise, the laughs, the girls, the loneliness of not being alone by yourself.
JustAPink246 Maybe I'm not the most qualified person to recommend books, but I think that a good way to start in Cioran is his first book "in the highs of despair" or "history and utopia". But if you have the opportunity to read any of his work do it without hesitation.
Caffa Jake when we are alone, even with our thoughts we have company. Some idea came along, the remembrance of someone maybe, perhaps is the way to avoid to be with ourselves truly.
Did not expect to see a Romanian Philosopher here. That aside, i find The School of Life as one of the most inspiring thing you could stumble upon on youtube. I wish you not to ever run out of ideas and amazing content
Radu-Constantin Anastase Not likely to run out of ideas :) But, Greek-romanian at that! After Epictetus was there any other notable from the Helen until Cioran??
Duff Clem he was not Greak, he was Romanian and become later a French citizen. his father was a Greak-Orhtodox priest. That does not make him Greak. Greak-Orthododox is the name of the Orhodox church used by westerners to discribe the Estern Christians.
At the end of the day, I always feel like reading Cioran's. Always. Albeit pessimistic, I don't know but I find comfort in his writing. I thought to myself, "Have I gone mad?" I tried sharing my experience to a friend and he said that I am being miserable and depressing over trivial things that don't matter. I didn't say a word on the topic anymore, moved on, and vowed that I won't tell anyone about Cioran and his works, unless they "get it".
Cioran deserves to be known, more than now. He is a brilliant mind, and what happened to you with your friend regarding Cioran, it also happened to me. Te entiendo.
@@luisemmanuel3990 I don't think many people should know about Cioran. If only because it will turn into mass culture. A person should come to it himself, understand it himself, without other people's recommendations and help. Cioran would not be happy if many people understood and read him, there would be many impostors who thought that their fleeting sadness somehow coincided with what Cioran felt. And even more so, it is a crime to involve a person in such things(Cioran said that it is a crime to enlighten a person in the truth of life, since he can no longer be happy, a stupid person is a happy person).
My favorite quote by Cioran is, for him, a rather sunny one. At least, it reveals what he liked: "Bach is the only argument proving the creation of the universe cannot be regarded as a complete failure."
As far as I am concerned, I resign from humanity. I no longer want to be, nor can still be, a man. What should I do? Work for a social and political system, make a girl miserable? Hunt for weaknesses in philosophical systems, fight for moral and aesthetic ideals? It’s all too little. I renounce my humanity even though I may find myself alone. But am I not already alone in this world from which I no longer expect anything? --Emil Cioran, On the Heights of Despair (1934) ALL HAIL CIORAN
I like that one a lot. When ppl ask me "when are u gonna have kids?" I immediately think of that one, but if I quote/say it I might be in trouble as those who ask me are parents already 😅
Forcing someone to exist in this cesspool of hate and violence really is a crime today. Only the very selfish would force someone else to exist here, especially a child. Before breeding, people should always give it a very deep thought as to whether they should breed. But alas, the selfishness will overcome many that should not breed for the sake of the unborn. So will enter another slave for the oligarchies, and the mega corporations, into existence to toil until their bitter end, completely unappreciated, unthanked, and unacknowledged.
Hello there again Mephistopheles:-) Unfortunately I never got to like Cioran very much, but I only love this one thing he once said: " God owes a lot to J.S. Bach". If you wish to listen to one very beautiful piece by Bach, my favourite is this here: " Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben" ( The version with Herreweghe and Sybilla Rubens ) I hope you are doing well. Have a nice week:-)
Please make a video on Mircea Eliade! He's also a Romanian philosopher who wrote "The history of religious ideas" and other books mainly on the topic of religion and prophanity
I used to think suicides were cowards that took the easy way out. I now regard them as brave, and miserablists like Cioran and Ligotti the cowards for not just doing it. Maybe someday I'll stop being a coward.
Hey. I make short self improvement videos. Come watch them. Take what you want in life. My channel is here to help those who *want to change*. I'll help you see things in a simpler way. See ya there
"Ordinary people seem not to realize that those who really apply themselves in the right way to philosophy are directly and of their own accord preparing themselves for dying and death." -Socrates
+This Liberal Shithole I don't think you're using "edgy" in the correct way. This man was not trying to be cool in a ridiculous way by saying things just for the sake of being contrarian. "Edgy" also implies that he's trying to be "ahead of the curve", which is false since Cioran is one of several thinkers that, like the video mentions, are part of a school of thinking colloquially referred to as the *miserablists*. Cioran is not the first person to submit the idea of nihilism, the pointlessness of life, or the anxiety of the unknown. I can't believe this many people upvoted your inane and short-sighted comment, but then again, humor seems to matter more than accurate statements.
He's always been a paradox to me. I remember how when I first came upon his works, I felt so comforted and at peace reading some pieces. Even though he's probably the darkest philosopher I know, he's so comforting.
@supertigik We can be proud of our achievements as a nation and still feel hopelessly far away from them at the same time. It doesn't mean we are fools and it certainly does not mean we feel like we belong.
Hear this wise man! Despite having a huge and highly virtuous and distinct output, I genuinely think that The Book of Disquiet is one of the most spellbinding books of philosophy/poetry of the XX century.
Yes!! I'm currently reading The book of disquiet and it's going very slowly because I need 1 hour for every small chapter to recover :)) and meditate on what he said.
WickedLoonuh ha I read that book over about 3 years but then kept it by my bed and reread it in chunks. He's like someone it takes a very long time to get to know but once you know them you want to keep them at your side
I like his work and the thought it provokes. My thought on this one is that if sperm is indeed the pure state of a bandit then what does that say about the egg? I would object to saying that the egg is therefor the pure state of the victim. Who is really the victim and who the bandit? A funny line I heard one time was that a chicken is an eggs way of making another egg. So.... ;-) Rock on!
How did youtube know I was a depressed teenager who used to read a lot of Cioran? I had ALL of his books and carried them around for years Hahaha and I used to know quotes from them (in Romanian) Laughing at the “What do you do from morning to night? I endure myself”
"Having always lived in fear of being surprised by the worst, I have tried in every circumstance to get a head start, flinging myself into misfortune long before it could occur." How have I not heard of this man before?
It's worth mentioning, that there are original audio recordings of Cioran speaking german, french and rumanian. The audio collection is called "Cafard". If you understand those languages (even if you don't), it's worth a listen. It's interessting, how different he sounds, than in your imagination, after reading most of his books.
Diana Gr Of course I know French and Romanian are different! I thought the OP was commenting on the French in the beginning "mais je ne suis qu'un deconneur" since most people seem to marvel at his great French pronunciation.
Cioran is my favorite thinker. Also very underrated one, so I'm very excited about this video. I read his Cahiers like a bible, aphorisms for every day.
Though optimists and nihilists make good points respectively, I think it's best to live in a grey area between the two: aware enough to know there is no meaning, but happy enough not to care and make the most of life anyway.
Cioran make me feel I was not getting mad. His work helped me to get over my su1cid3 thoughts. He also made me a kind of antinatalist. I truly think it is immoral to gamble with the live of your potential children. You can't control a lot of important factors of their lives and suffering is inevitable in this world.
Emil Cioran îs a good read anytime. I would, in spite of this, to limit the amount of reading him, one book at a time, as it is very tempting to go on and do nothing else. Cioran was a lovely man, and he offered suicide as a way trough which one could live his life to the fullest, and if everything fails, suicide will save one from his misery. He did not recommended suicide for the sake of it, and neither do I. There are many enjoyable things to do in life, one if which is reading Emil Cioran.
Next time I have one of my totally unproductive days and someone asks-which they actually rarely do-what did you do today, I will answer, proudly, I endured myself. That made me laugh heartily.
I didn't know Emil Cioran, thanks School of Life to present him to me. I always thought about the trouble with being born but I have never imagined someone could have already written about it before
My favourite quite "It is no nation that we inhabit, but a language. Our language is our true fatherland" In the end everything is based on words we heard and words that shaped our minds. People who view themselves as patriots are ignorant of the fact that their actions are simply resault of words influencing our minds and work of suggestion.
@@ThePhoenixMapper no, but he was a french philosopher of romanian origins. Just like Brâncuși. I totally get them. When Brâncuși returned to Romania he said: "you were stupid and poor when i left, and now you are way more stupid and poor."
@@moiserares6974 It's pretty sad to see your own people fail to appreciate genuine talent while they're alive. You from Romania as well? If so, do you remember the statue thing? Such a farce, I tell you. However many times I'm confirmed that the Romanian zeitgeist cannot appreciate talent born on its soil until it's too late, I can nevertheless console myself by thinking of other, foreign artists, who met the same fate.
I had never heard of or read about Emil Cioran until this video.I was patient through the life account and could not see the purpose of this video but when the biographical details ended,only then I realised the sublimity of his thoughts and how true they have been for me...Thank you for making us aware of this philosopher....
From experience, you have to see the theatre play: Ispita - Cioran (Temptation - Cioran). Takes place in a tram, which goes to Rășinari, his birthday place. Amazing experience! hello from #Romania!
As I've seen many people account before me in these comments, I found Cioran at one of my darkest times. He was a comfort and wrote what sounded incredibly familiar.
@@hellinterface6721 Honestly, I do (also) have a problem with Alain de Botton twisting Philosopher's words so they match his opinion, though frankly, I think in this case there weren't many words twist. Isn't de Botton a Nihilist himself? I could actually take this video exceptionally seriously.
I am Romanian and i respect this man for his achievements. However being proud for being the same nationality as him ? I find that to be downright asinine.
Călin Breazu that’s the most Romanian characteristic ever...we like to grab and hold onto his claim to fame because you know we have the same nationality.
Alex C Romanian is a Latin based language there’s a lot of similarities in these languages since they have a common root even names possibly. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciprian_Porumbescu
This is my favorite philosopher, I felt such intimacy with him that, in a manner of inside joke I tattooed his face in my arm, knowing well what he thinks about idols. Never felt so understood that when I reach out to "a short story of decay".
True. Existentialists don’t make me depressed. Make me not feel lonely. No one I know really agrees with them or reads them so I feel alone in the Absurd predicament we are in.
Romania has some world most astonished writers. Constantin Noica, Neagu Djuvara, Emil Cioran, Mircea Eliade, Alexandru Dragomir, Eugen Ionesco, Norman Manea, Mircea Cartarescu, Eminescu, Stephane Lupasco, Nae Ionesco, Petru Dumitriu, Marin Preda, George Calinescu,Horia Vintila, Varujan Vosganian, Ion Luca Caragiale, Augustin Buzura, Max Blecher, George Bacovia, Ioan Petru Culianu, Matei Calinescu and last but not least Lucian Blaga etc. And many many more. Romania is the craddle of great geniuses. The culture of this nation helped me think straight and to cure my desire to commit suicide. No other culture has managed to do so.
Overkin 😂lol, you need to read my comment again. I said that I am proud to be a romanian because people like him climb our country to the heights of philosophy. Unfortunately, other people from other countries see us in a bad way and I think that because they don't know actually how many Great people we have. And for you, how Could I had "a hand in his accomplishing" if Emil Cioran lived in the XX century and I was born in XXI? I can't understand Why you are so offented.
I am inspired by the way he manages to showcase his inner darkness in a very subtle yet powerful manner, realizing the soothing effects of melancholy, being able to truly be oneself in the face of terrible despair, the notion of connecting with humans when they are overflowing with 'their worst darkness', the very conceptual attitude of miserabilists, the existential nothingness, the very purposelessness of being born, etc. Feels like having a slow and melancholic yet pleasurable orgasm!
So,if I'm romanian,then should I be proud of a depressed nihilist who thinks that nothing in the world has a point.Such a dry and negative outlook on life.I personally believe that nothing beneficient for humanity will be accomplished with this mindset.I'd rather be Emil Cioran's concept of "an idiot" than subscribe to his way of thinking.
"If you're Romanian" Aren't you sure what you are? You should be neither proud not ashamed, for Cioran and his philosophy has nothing to do with you whatsoever. Having nationality in common with someone else is a matter of mere coincidence, of accident, just like his and your very existence.
I've read one of the books he's written in French, and found it incredibly enjoyable, simply because of his amazing use of language and words. Really glad to see him get a spotlight on the School of Life ! If anyone wants to check it out, the book in question was "Histoire et Utopie" or "History and Utopia". I found it was a good introduction to Cioran's delightfully cynical world !
