Man as a Sick Animal - From Anthropology of E.M. Cioran

• Authors: Piechaczek S.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

History is not propelled by sin, argus E.M. Cioran, but by a disease operating as a principle of individuation. In the past human beings were one with nature. We became separated from one another and from nature by pain. We have been awakened from our slumber and forced to acquire consciousness which puts us in the same row with animals. The moment of the gaining of self-consciousness is presented by Cioran as a cosmic tragedy. The invasion of mental processes into bodily tissue is a 'biological scandal', a pathology which came to rule of nature. Other animals suffer in peace reconciled with their fate and prepared to bear all damages that their bodies sustain. Humans try to rebel, fully aware of the infirmity of the corporeal structures, and they make their misery a thousandfold more painful. We understand that our death is imminent and unavoidable. Moreover, death will not meet us unexpectedly at the end of our life, but it is heralded to us in every hour of our life, and marks our ordinary acts with finality and agony. Human life is a pilgrimage to oblivion, or perhaps even more emphatically it is a 'walking in daily death towards the ultimate death'. Every step we take brings us closer to annihilation. Cioran eagerly seeks a remedy for our plight but finds none. Precipitating our death is not a viable cure against it, putting it off is futile, and forgetting about it is no more that self-induced deception.

Keywords

EN

DEATH; NOTHINGNESS; SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS; SUFFERING

Discipline

• PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Przegląd Filozoficzny. Nowa Seria
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 3(67)
• Pages: 107-123
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Piechaczek S.

• S. Piechaczek, Uniwersytet Opolski, Instytut Filozofii, ul. Plebiscytowa 5, 45-359 Opole, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA064019