What do you think?
Emil Cioran: The Criticism of the Idea of Historical Progress
Emil Cioran is known for both the complexity of his views on philosophy and his exquisite literary style. Perched on the boundary of literature and philosophy, Cioran deftly commands both subjects – at times with a spartan, haunting beauty - and on other occasions with stinging criticism. Daniel Branco provides a scintillating and insightful explanation of one of Cioran’s most complicated themes – the connection between time , utopia , and historical progress . Branco’s meticulous study of Cioran not only examines his published works, but also explores Cioran’s personal life and how it influenced his writing, along with Cioran’s affliction with severe insomnia, a factor which also bestowed him with lucidity. These experiences not only had a profound experience on Cioran, they also had an impact on his perception of both time and the concept of utopia. This in turn, demonstrated to Cioran that the notion of modern progress is false, and that the essential essence of humanity does not change throughout the passage of various epochs and civilizations. This, accompanied by the complexity of time and emptiness, also demonstrated to Cioran that modern philosophy itself cannot progress. Dr. Daniel Branco holds a Licentiate Degree in Philosophy from UECE, a Bachelor of Philosophy from UECE, a Bachelor of Theology from FATIN, and completed Specialization in the History of Brazil by INTA. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Philosophy from UFC and a Doctorate in Philosophy from UFC. He is the author of several articles published in academic journals.
- GenresPhilosophy
142 pages, Paperback
Published February 25, 2019
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 16, 2020
The book explains a bit why Cioran is so depressing, links almost every one of his ideas with his insomnia, and by doing so it partially defends him, makes you think he wasn't as crazy as you thought. Useful from the point of view that gives the biographical details and the organization of idea one would not get just by reading Cioran directly.
However it's difficult to read, and I'm not entirely sure that's because Cioran's thinking is not easy to follow, or because the quality of the writing is lacking (it feels like and probably is a master thesis for a philosophy student), or maybe it's simply the effect of translation.
And it fails to see that even though Cioran did most of his writing in France, his desperation feels almost at home in Romania, where we have a strong tradition of depressing and pessimistic folklore literature and art. Romanians love to make poetry out of their misery, and this is not some modern nihilistic fancy, but has been going on for centuries.
However it's difficult to read, and I'm not entirely sure that's because Cioran's thinking is not easy to follow, or because the quality of the writing is lacking (it feels like and probably is a master thesis for a philosophy student), or maybe it's simply the effect of translation.
And it fails to see that even though Cioran did most of his writing in France, his desperation feels almost at home in Romania, where we have a strong tradition of depressing and pessimistic folklore literature and art. Romanians love to make poetry out of their misery, and this is not some modern nihilistic fancy, but has been going on for centuries.
September 23, 2023
Whilst the content of this book was mostly okay, it would be much improved by a better translation and some good old fashioned editorial oversight. The book is very repetitive and effectively boils down to three points:
1) Cioran was a French-Romanian philosopher
2) Cioran had insomnia
3) Cioran's insomnia made him realise the true nature of time as a cycle within which we are all trapped
I am unsure as to whether the author simply ran out of ways to say these three points with a semblance of variance, or if the translator only knew how to translate these three points with the same handful of phrases. Just like Cioran stuck in the endless loop of unsleep, I felt stuck in the endless loop of this trifecta.
These issues are compounded by the numerous typos and editorial failings, such as spelling mistakes, and at one point the repetition of a complete paragraph in lieu of a quote which would back up the author's inferences (although it at least changed a couple of the words).
If you'd like to learn a bit about Cioran, then this book does provide some information. However, you'd be better served by reading only the 9 page work at the back of the text (which I assume was the original work from which the author then developed the book by throwing in some long sentences, and even longer quotes).
Read some Cioran, he's great - and this book just isn't.
1) Cioran was a French-Romanian philosopher
2) Cioran had insomnia
3) Cioran's insomnia made him realise the true nature of time as a cycle within which we are all trapped
I am unsure as to whether the author simply ran out of ways to say these three points with a semblance of variance, or if the translator only knew how to translate these three points with the same handful of phrases. Just like Cioran stuck in the endless loop of unsleep, I felt stuck in the endless loop of this trifecta.
These issues are compounded by the numerous typos and editorial failings, such as spelling mistakes, and at one point the repetition of a complete paragraph in lieu of a quote which would back up the author's inferences (although it at least changed a couple of the words).
If you'd like to learn a bit about Cioran, then this book does provide some information. However, you'd be better served by reading only the 9 page work at the back of the text (which I assume was the original work from which the author then developed the book by throwing in some long sentences, and even longer quotes).
Read some Cioran, he's great - and this book just isn't.
April 1, 2023
I'm in the middle of this right now, Cioran and his ideas are fascinating, and while this book is insightful the translation by Samuel Henriques de Araújo is HORRIBLE the WORST translation of anything I've ever come across. Good thing it's included with Kindle Unlimited but I'm still angry. It would be good if there was another philosophical bio on Cioran that was better written. Meanwhile Ronnie James Dio might be one up on Cioran "Go on, lose it in the city/The city can feel no shame/See the world with electric eye"
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews