Constantin Noica
Encyclopedia
Constantin Noica was a Romania
n philosopher, essayist and poet
. His preoccupations were throughout all philosophy, from epistemology, philosophy of culture, axiology
and philosophic anthropology
to ontology
and logics, from the history of philosophy to systematic philosophy, from ancient to contemporary philosophy, from translating and interpretation to criticism and creation.
, Teleorman
.
He studied at the Dimitrie Cantemir and Spiru Haret lyceum
s, both in Bucharest
. At Spiru Haret his math teacher was Dan Barbilian (pen name
Ion Barbu, poet and mathematician). His debut was in Vlăstarul magazine, in 1927. Between 1928 and 1931 he attended courses of the University of Bucharest
's Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, where he graduated in 1931 (thesis: "Problema lucrului în sine la Kant" / "The matter of thing-in-itself in Kant
's philosophy"). Here he met as a teacher philosopher Nae Ionescu
.
He worked as a librarian at the History of Philosophy Seminar and attended the courses of the Faculty of Mathematics for one year (1933). He was a member of the Criterion Association (1932–1934). His friends there, including Mircea Eliade
, Mihail Polihroniade, and Haig Acterian
, later supported the fascist
Legionnaire Movement
.
After attending specialization courses in France
between 1938-1939 (receiving a scholarship from the French government), he returned to Bucharest where in 1940 he earned his doctor's degree in philosophy (thesis: Sketch on the history of How is it that there is anything new, published the same year).
In October 1940 he left for Berlin
as a reviewer at the Romanian-German Institute, returning in 1944, having stayed in Germany during most of World War II
.
After the war, the Soviet army remained in Romania, backing the establishment of a communist regime. Romanian thinkers such as Mircea Eliade
, Emil Cioran
and Eugen Ionescu had to leave the country in order to be able to continue their work. Noica did not follow suit, and as a consequence he was harassed by the new regime.
In 1949 he was sentenced by the communist authorities to 10 years of forced residence in Câmpulung-Muscel, remaining there until 1958. In December of that year, after making public the book "Histoire et Utopie" by Emil Cioran (who had left for France), he was sentenced to 25 years of forced labor in the Jilava
prison as a political prisoner, and all his possessions confiscated. He was pardoned after 6 years as part of a general amnesty and released in August 1964.
From 1965 he lived in Bucharest, where he was the principal researcher at the Romanian Academy
's Center of Logics. In his two-room apartment he held seminaries on Hegel
's, Plato
's and Kant
's philosophy. Among the participants there were Sorin Vieru (his colleague at the Center of Logics), Gabriel Liiceanu
and Andrei Pleşu
.
In 1975 he retired and went to live in Păltiniş
, near Sibiu
, where he remained for the next 12 years, until his death on December 4, 1987. He was buried at the nearby hermitage, having left behind numerous philosophical essays.
In 1988 Constantin Noica was posthumously awarded the Herder Prize
, and in 1990, after the fall of communism in Romania, he was accepted as a posthumous member of the Romanian Academy
.
. The model of scientific knowledge, which means transforming reality into formal and abstract concepts, is applied in judging the entire environment. This kind of thinking is called by Noica "the logic of Ares", as it considers the individual a simple variable in the Whole. The existence is, for this scientific way of considering things, a statistical fact.
In order to recover the individual senses, the sense of existence, Noica proposes, in opposition with "the logic of Ares", "the logic of Hermes", a way of thinking which considers the individual a reflection of the Whole. The logic of Hermes means understanding the Whole through the part, it means identifying in a single existence the general principles of reality. This way of thinking allows one to understand the meaning of the life of a man oppressed by the quick present moment.
http://humanitas.ro/constantin-noica
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n philosopher, essayist and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. His preoccupations were throughout all philosophy, from epistemology, philosophy of culture, axiology
Axiology
Axiology is the philosophical study of value. It is either the collective term for ethics and aesthetics—philosophical fields that depend crucially on notions of value—or the foundation for these fields, and thus similar to value theory and meta-ethics...
and philosophic anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
to ontology
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
and logics, from the history of philosophy to systematic philosophy, from ancient to contemporary philosophy, from translating and interpretation to criticism and creation.
Biography
Noica was born in VităneştiVitanesti
Vităneşti is a commune in Teleorman County, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Purani, Schitu Poienari, Siliştea and Vităneşti.Famous residents include the philosopher and writer Constantin Noica ....
, Teleorman
Teleorman County
Teleorman is a county of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with its capital city at Alexandria.The name Teleorman is of Cumanic origin. It literally means crazy forest and, by extension, "thick and shadowy forest" in the Cuman language...
.
He studied at the Dimitrie Cantemir and Spiru Haret lyceum
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...
s, both in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. At Spiru Haret his math teacher was Dan Barbilian (pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Ion Barbu, poet and mathematician). His debut was in Vlăstarul magazine, in 1927. Between 1928 and 1931 he attended courses of the University of Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...
's Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, where he graduated in 1931 (thesis: "Problema lucrului în sine la Kant" / "The matter of thing-in-itself in Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
's philosophy"). Here he met as a teacher philosopher Nae Ionescu
Nae Ionescu
Nae Ionescu was a Romanian philosopher, logician, mathematician, professor, and journalist. Near the end of his career, he became known for his antisemitism and devotion to far right politics, in the years leading up to World War II.-Life:...
.
He worked as a librarian at the History of Philosophy Seminar and attended the courses of the Faculty of Mathematics for one year (1933). He was a member of the Criterion Association (1932–1934). His friends there, including Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
, Mihail Polihroniade, and Haig Acterian
Haig Acterian
Haig Acterian was a Romanian film and theater director, critic, dramatist, poet, journalist, and fascist political activist...
, later supported the fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
Legionnaire Movement
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
.
After attending specialization courses in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
between 1938-1939 (receiving a scholarship from the French government), he returned to Bucharest where in 1940 he earned his doctor's degree in philosophy (thesis: Sketch on the history of How is it that there is anything new, published the same year).
In October 1940 he left for Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
as a reviewer at the Romanian-German Institute, returning in 1944, having stayed in Germany during most of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
After the war, the Soviet army remained in Romania, backing the establishment of a communist regime. Romanian thinkers such as Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
, Emil Cioran
Emil Cioran
-Early life:Emil M. Cioran was born in Răşinari, Sibiu County, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time. His father, Emilian Cioran, was a Romanian Orthodox priest, while his mother, Elvira Cioran , was originally from Veneţia de Jos, a commune near Făgăraş.After studying humanities at the...
and Eugen Ionescu had to leave the country in order to be able to continue their work. Noica did not follow suit, and as a consequence he was harassed by the new regime.
In 1949 he was sentenced by the communist authorities to 10 years of forced residence in Câmpulung-Muscel, remaining there until 1958. In December of that year, after making public the book "Histoire et Utopie" by Emil Cioran (who had left for France), he was sentenced to 25 years of forced labor in the Jilava
Jilava
Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava.The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin meaning "humid place". Jilava was the location of a fort built by King Carol I of Romania, as part of the capital's defense system...
prison as a political prisoner, and all his possessions confiscated. He was pardoned after 6 years as part of a general amnesty and released in August 1964.
From 1965 he lived in Bucharest, where he was the principal researcher at the Romanian Academy
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....
's Center of Logics. In his two-room apartment he held seminaries on Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
's, Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
's and Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
's philosophy. Among the participants there were Sorin Vieru (his colleague at the Center of Logics), Gabriel Liiceanu
Gabriel Liiceanu
Gabriel Liiceanu is a Romanian philosopher.He graduated from University of Bucharest's Faculty of Philosophy in 1965, and from Faculty of Classical Languages in 1973. He earned a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Bucharest in 1976....
and Andrei Pleşu
Andrei Plesu
Andrei Gabriel Pleşu is a Romanian philosopher, essayist, journalist, literary and art critic, and politician.- Biography :Born in Bucharest, the son of Radu Pleşu, a surgeon and Zoe Pleşu , he spent much of his early youth in the country side...
.
In 1975 he retired and went to live in Păltiniş
Paltinis
Păltiniş is a mountain resort in Transylvania, Romania, 35 km south-west from Sibiu in the Cindrel Mountains.It is situated at 1440 m altitude, being the highest resort in Romania. It lies in a conifer forest. It is a popular winter destination and in summer it is sought for its peacefulness...
, near Sibiu
Sibiu
Sibiu is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. Located some 282 km north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt...
, where he remained for the next 12 years, until his death on December 4, 1987. He was buried at the nearby hermitage, having left behind numerous philosophical essays.
In 1988 Constantin Noica was posthumously awarded the Herder Prize
Herder Prize
The Herder Prize, established in 1963 and named for Johann Gottfried von Herder, was a prestigious international prize dedicated to the promotion of scientific, art and literature relations, and presented to scholars and artists from Central and Southeastern Europe whose life and work have improved...
, and in 1990, after the fall of communism in Romania, he was accepted as a posthumous member of the Romanian Academy
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....
.
Philosophy
The 20th century is thought to be dominated by scienceScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. The model of scientific knowledge, which means transforming reality into formal and abstract concepts, is applied in judging the entire environment. This kind of thinking is called by Noica "the logic of Ares", as it considers the individual a simple variable in the Whole. The existence is, for this scientific way of considering things, a statistical fact.
In order to recover the individual senses, the sense of existence, Noica proposes, in opposition with "the logic of Ares", "the logic of Hermes", a way of thinking which considers the individual a reflection of the Whole. The logic of Hermes means understanding the Whole through the part, it means identifying in a single existence the general principles of reality. This way of thinking allows one to understand the meaning of the life of a man oppressed by the quick present moment.
Quotes
- "I dream of a school where they really teach nothing." / "Visez o şcoală în care să nu se predea, la drept vorbind, nimic."
- "I am a merchant of ideas." / "Eu sunt negustor de idei." (declaration during trial)
Books
- 1934 - MathesisMathesis universalisMathesis universalis is a hypothetical universal science modeled on mathematics envisaged by Leibniz and Descartes, among a number of more minor 16th and 17th century philosophers and mathematicians. John Wallis invokes the name as the title to a textbook on Cartesian geometry...
or simple pleasances ("Mathesis sau bucuriile simple") - 1936 - Open concepts in the history of philosophy in DescartesRené DescartesRené Descartes ; was a French philosopher and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day...
, LeibnizGottfried LeibnizGottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
and KantImmanuel KantImmanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
("Concepte deschise în istoria filozofiei la Descartes, Leibniz şi Kant") - 1937 - De caelo. Essay around knowledge and the individual ("De caelo. Încercare în jurul cunoaşterii şi individului")
- 1937 - Life and philosophy of René Descartes ("Viaţa şi filozofia lui René Descartes")
- 1940 - Sketch for the history of How is it that there is anything new ("Schiţă pentru istoria lui Cum e cu putinţă ceva nou")
- 1943 - Two introductions and a passage to idealism ("Două introduceri şi o trecere spre idealism")
- 1944 - Philosophical journal ("Jurnal filosofic")
- 1944 - Pages on the Romanian soul ("Pagini despre sufletul românesc")
- 1962 - "Phenomenology of SpiritPhenomenology of SpiritPhänomenologie des Geistes is one of G.W.F. Hegel's most important philosophical works. It is translated as The Phenomenology of Spirit or The Phenomenology of Mind due to the dual meaning in the German word Geist. The book's working title, which also appeared in the first edition, was Science of...
" by G.W.F. HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
narrated by Constantin Noica ("Fenomenologia spiritului de G.W.F. Hegel istorisită de Constantin Noica") - 1969 - Twenty-seven levels of the real ("Douăzeci şi şapte trepte ale realului")
- 1969 - Platon: Lysis
- 1970 - The Romanian philosophical utterance ("Rostirea filozofică românească")
- 1973 - Creation and beauty in Romanian utterance ("Creaţie şi frumos în rostirea românească")
- 1975 - EminescuMihai EminescuMihai Eminescu was a Romantic poet, novelist and journalist, often regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and he worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul , the official newspaper of the Conservative Party...
or Thoughts on the complete man of Romanian culture ("Eminescu sau Gânduri despre omul deplin al culturii româneşti") - 1976 - Breaking up with GoetheJohann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
("Despărţirea de Goethe") - 1978 - The Romanian sense of being ("Sentimentul românesc al fiinţei")
- 1978 - Six maladies of the contemporary spirit. The Romanian spirit at the conjuncture of time ("Şase maladii ale spiritului contemporan. Spiritul românesc în cumpătul vremii")
- 1980 - Narrations on man, after HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
's "Phenomenology of SpiritPhenomenology of SpiritPhänomenologie des Geistes is one of G.W.F. Hegel's most important philosophical works. It is translated as The Phenomenology of Spirit or The Phenomenology of Mind due to the dual meaning in the German word Geist. The book's working title, which also appeared in the first edition, was Science of...
" ("Povestiri despre om") - 1981 - Becoming in-to being, vol. 1: Essay on traditional philosophy, vol. 2: Treatise of ontologyOntologyOntology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
("Devenirea întru fiinţă", vol. 1: "Încercare asupra filozofiei tradiţionale", vol. 2: "Tratat de ontologie") - 1984 - Three introductions to becoming in-to being ("Trei introduceri la devenirea întru fiinţă")
- 1986 - Letters on Hermes' logic ("Scrisori despre logica lui Hermes")
- 1988 - De dignitate Europae (in GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) - 1990 - Pray for brother Alexander! ("Rugaţi-vă pentru fratele Alexandru")
- 1991 - Journal of Ideas ("Jurnal de idei")
- 1992 - Sunday essays ("Eseuri de duminică")
- 1992 - Simple introductions to the kindness of our time ("Simple introduceri la bunătatea timpului nostru")
- 1992 - Introduction to the Eminescian miracle ("Introducere la miracolul eminescian")
- 1997 - Cîmpulung manuscripts ("Manuscrisele de la Cîmpulung")
- 1998 - The spiritual equilibrium. Studies and essays (1929-1947) ("Echilibrul spiritual. Studii şi eseuri (1929-1947)")
External links
Noica's page at the Humanitas publishing houseHumanitas publishing house
Humanitas is an independent Romanian publishing house, founded on February 1, 1990 in Bucharest by the philosopher Gabriel Liiceanu...
http://humanitas.ro/constantin-noica
- An anthology of Noica's works "for the benefit of the students that Noica was never allowed to have", with the volume Brother Alexander translated into English by his wife, Katherine Muston, and an introductory essay (Atitudinea Noica) by C. George SandulescuC. George SandulescuConstantin George Săndulescu, is a Joycean scholar. His education includes a BA degree , M.Phil. and Ph.D. . He taught at Bucharest University between 1962-1969. He has lived, worked, and conducted research and teaching in major institutions in Romania, Sweden, Great Britain, the United States...
, is available at the Contemporary Literature Press (Bucharest University) http://editura.mttlc.ro/noica.doing-time.html