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Echoes of Nietzsche in the life and philosophy of Emil Cioran

By Victoria & Nikki

One of the greatest thinkers of the 19th century, Friedrich Nietzsche had profound implications for Western philosophy, his ideas resonating across diverse fields of study and influencing a great deal of modern philosophers that followed. Although the subject received limited academic attention, a clear example of his widespread influence is reflected in Romanian philosophy, particularly in the works of Emil Cioran. Nietzschean themes and images, his interest in power and violence, the use of physiological metaphors in explaining art and cultural phenomena and many others of the like are echoed in Cioran’s writing. (Kimball, 1988).

The themes most frequently employed in Cioran’s writing are despair, solitude, suicide, decay, death, history, utopia, God, music, the decline of the Western world, literature, boredom, freedom, exile, alienation, lucidity, the absurdity and futility of human existence. A recurrent tragic vision of human being – as a ‘heresy of nature’ whose history doesn’t have any sense, can be recognized in much of his work (Partenie, 1998).

Nietzsche’s influence is clearly felt in both the form of Cioran’s thinking, as well as in his attitudes and temperament. Scholars such such as Lucia Gorgoi found multiple similarities in style and substance, particularly with regards to aphorisms and nihilism. Patrice Bollon’s summary of Cioran’s philosophy links it to Nietzsche more often than to any other philosopher (Regier, 2005).

Cioran often situated Nietzsche’s writings in the context of his life, judging them against each other. When comparing himself to Nietzsche, he recalled reading a book in his youth with the title “Genius and Syphilis”, and was impressed by it, thinking that syphilis was a prestigious disease (Regier, 2005). “I wanted to be syphilitic,” he admitted, and was disappointed when blood tests proved otherwise (Cioran, 1985). Other similarities in their life trajectories include their shared suffering of insomnia and their similar ideas about suicide, particularly in thinking about suicide as a means for surviving sleepless nights (Regier, 2005).

Cioran on Suicide:

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Considered as “the biggest nihilist of the occident since Nietzsche” (Pascal, 1995), Cioran’s earlier work - On the Heights of Despair - was written while being tormented by suicidal insomnia. There, he deals with despair and lucid suffering by embracing pain, resignation, knowledge as sickness, and the absolute subjective experience (Awet, 2010). This book is abundant in nihilist titles, such as “The Passion for the Absurd,” “Nothing Is Important,” and “Nothing Matters.” (Regier, 2005).

On the other hand, there are important differences between Cioran and Nietzsche in their interpretation of nihilism: Where Nietzsche actively searches a way to surmount nihilism, such an effort is entirely absent from Cioran’s work (Sontag, 1969). Cioran interprets nihilism as the only possible state, a permanent state and the only supreme, correct result of life, whereas Nietzsche sees it as a state of transition (Idjilov, 2011). Moreover, Cioran wasn’t convinced of Nietzsche’s critique of Platonism and reincorporates many of the Platonic dualisms in his writings (Sontag, 1969).

Cioran could not fully embrace Nietzsche, as he was fascinated by the arts and experiences of Christianity. Cioran frequently employs in his writings Christian themes and imagery: angels, Eden and the original sin, temptations and superstitions, the apocalypse, martyrs and crucifixion, etc. (Regier, 2005). The strong nihilist and existentialist influences are reflected in his preoccupation with concepts such as death, absurd, nothingness, suicide and madness. However, he was not a nihilist until the end: Although he denies life and proclaims death and nothingness, the idea of God is still very persistent in his works (Pohoata, 2011). Cioran embraced German music, Bach especially, as surrogate religion. In spite of his religious doubts, Cioran had a high appreciation of religious music, equating Bach to the sublime (Regier, 2005).

Later in life, Cioran grew more distant towards Nietzsche’s philosophy and became disenchanted by his inexperience, megalomania and lack of humour. He believed that Nietzsche was too solitary and isolated to fully understand the conflicts that exist between people (Kimball, 1988). In 1969 he wrote, “I can no longer read Nietzsche. He is too much a part of my past.” (Cioran, 1997).

Above, we have attempted to explain how Nietzschean ideas resonated with the works of Emil Cioran. Although there are remarkable similarities between the two philosophers, especially with regards to their life patterns and interests, the differences in their ideas seem to be greater – firstly, in their particular interpretation of nihilism and secondly, in their attitudes towards the concept of God. In spite of the fascination of both philosophers with similar themes and their highly comparable style of writing, this case serves to illustrate how (re)interpretations of philosophical thoughts and movements vary in time and space, finding different expressions across social and political contexts.

References:

Awet, M. (2010).“Consciousness… the dagger in the flesh.” An essay on Cioran. Retrieved 12 Mar. 2017, from http://www.hyperboreans.com/heterodoxia/?p=179

Blaise Pascal, (1995), Pensees, Les Provinciales, Paris, Bookking International.

Cioran, E (1985). Ein Gespräch: Geßhrt von Gerd Bergfleth. Tübingen: Rive Gauche, 1985.

Cioran, E (1997). Cahiers, 1957-1972 [752]. Paris: Gallimard, 1997

Idjilov, R (2011). Emil Cioran în contextul nihilismului European. Materialele conferinței internaționale ”Integrarea europeană și tradițiile românești: de la Al. S. Sturza la Em. Cioran”, 20-21 mai 2011. – 2011. – P. 36-40. Retrieved 12 Mar. 2017, from https://emcioranbr.org/tag/roman-idjilov/

Kimball, R (1988). The anguishes of E.M. Cioran. The New Criterion, Volume 6, Number 7. Retrieved 12 Mar. 2017, from http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/The-anguishes- of-E-M– Cioran-5980

Partenie, C.(1998). Cioran, Emil (1911–95). In The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor and Francis. Retrieved 12 Mar. 2017, from https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/biographical/cioran-emil-1911-95/v-1.

Pohoata, G (2011). Emil Cioran – Nihilist thinking of God. Cogito: Multidisciplinary Research Journal, Vol. 3. Retrieved 12 Mar. 2017, from http://cogito.ucdc.ro/cogito/en/emilcioranthenihilistgabrielapohoata_1.pdf

Regier, W. G (2005). Cioran’s Nietzsche. French Forum, Vol. 30, No. 3, Fall 2005, pp. 75-90.

Susan Sontag, S. (1969). “Thinking Against Oneself: Reflections on Cioran” Styles of radical will. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

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