5 ms·

"cushy"? He quitted the Academy and stayed poor for most of his life. He refused every literary awards that he received. He was a solitary living in the same sm

by soufron 10y ago

"cushy"? He quitted the Academy and stayed poor for most of his life. He refused every literary awards that he received. He was a solitary living in the same small apartment in Paris until his death.

coldtea 10y ago
None of those point to any kind of troubled life (except his sickness at the end). He got all kinds of scholarships and awards early on, he had continued recognition throughout his life, had an income from his books and never had trouble to find a publisher, he went through the most troubled period of Europe and didn't lift a finger to fight (on the contrary: he was partial to the Nazis and the Romanian Iron Guard), and could get a job at any time but refused.
- nnq 10y ago
  I'm really curious why are you so wound up against him to mount such a strong an "ad hominem" attack against him? Yeah, his work had mostly only aesthetic value imho (aka "worthless", I agree), bu one doesn't judges philosophers based on their life and character, one judges their ideas. And even so, I'd have no problems of with a philosopher who was lazy and sympathized with horrible people. Heck, if Hitler wrote good philosophy himself I'd praise his philosophy despite the person (note: he did not, I agree, Mein Khampf is 100% crap).
  - theoh 10y ago
    In the case of an artist, I'm sure you'd consider their life experience and artistic production to be deeply inter-related. It's the same with philosophy and literature. Only mathematical logic and similar formal philosophy is immune from an analysis that takes the author into account... The "New Criticism" of the mid-20th century which rules out considerations of biography is just one possible stance. The censorious tone of dang concerning a personal reaction to Cioran feels like part of a HN ethos of denying the value of subjectivity. A deadly caricature of life as lived by engineers.
- petre 10y ago
  The pen is mightier than the sword.

by soufron 10y ago

"cushy"? He quitted the Academy and stayed poor for most of his life. He refused every literary awards that he received. He was a solitary living in the same small apartment in Paris until his death.

coldtea 10y ago

None of those point to any kind of troubled life (except his sickness at the end). He got all kinds of scholarships and awards early on, he had continued recognition throughout his life, had an income from his books and never had trouble to find a publisher, he went through the most troubled period of Europe and didn't lift a finger to fight (on the contrary: he was partial to the Nazis and the Romanian Iron Guard), and could get a job at any time but refused.

nnq 10y ago
I'm really curious why are you so wound up against him to mount such a strong an "ad hominem" attack against him? Yeah, his work had mostly only aesthetic value imho (aka "worthless", I agree), bu one doesn't judges philosophers based on their life and character, one judges their ideas. And even so, I'd have no problems of with a philosopher who was lazy and sympathized with horrible people. Heck, if Hitler wrote good philosophy himself I'd praise his philosophy despite the person (note: he did not, I agree, Mein Khampf is 100% crap).
- theoh 10y ago
  In the case of an artist, I'm sure you'd consider their life experience and artistic production to be deeply inter-related. It's the same with philosophy and literature. Only mathematical logic and similar formal philosophy is immune from an analysis that takes the author into account... The "New Criticism" of the mid-20th century which rules out considerations of biography is just one possible stance. The censorious tone of dang concerning a personal reaction to Cioran feels like part of a HN ethos of denying the value of subjectivity. A deadly caricature of life as lived by engineers.
petre 10y ago
The pen is mightier than the sword.