THEN AND NOW:
Cul u al Eu ope in Agony on Zamb ano’s Though
Paulo Alexand e e Cas o
Ins i u o de Es udos Filosó icos / Ins i u e o Philosophical S udies, Coimb a, Po ugal
Abs ac
In 1945, Ma ia Zamb ano came ou wi h he book The Agony o Eu ope (al hough i had
ini ially appea ed as an a icle in 1940) deli e ing some majo ideas abou wha she
conside s o be an agonizing Eu ope, ha is, he c isis in which Eu ope is s eeped. Those
w i ings a e mainly abou wha is happening in Eu ope be ween he yea s 1940 and
1945, and h ee elemen s can cha ac e ize ha scena io gi en by he philosophe
e lec ion: 1) he malaise o ci iliza ion, 2) he cons uc ion o Eu ope as a his o y o
iolence, and 3) he in e e ence o eligion a he Eu opean cul u al c oss oads. She
p oposes, as a way o o e coming his agony, he need o a new man, an inne man. I
i is ue ha he c i ical hinking emains cu en and helps us unde s and he
phenomenon o he Eu opean c isis, does he solu ion emain cu en ? This pape will
e lec on he agony o Eu ope nowadays and his social, poli ical and cul u al p oblems
wi h Zamb ano's hough in he backg ound.
Keywo ds: Eu ope. Ma ia Zamb ano. Religion. Philosophy. Violence.
Thinking Eu ope is an u gen ask oday as i was a he ime o Kan . The main
conce ns we ind oday, excep o a ew mino di e ences, seems o be he
same: om Hegel o Denis de Rougemon , om Edmund Husse l o Vic o Hugo,
om Sain -Simon o P oudhon, a i ing a O ega y Gasse and his disciple Ma ia
Zamb ano, culmina ing in a Geo ge S eine o in a Pe e Slo e dijk, he agony
(o a (de)cons uc ion) o Eu ope seems e iden . In his sense and because
many o he easons o his cul u al c isis (which a e in line wi h he social,
economic and poli ical ones) a e al eady hough o in hese au ho s, i makes
sense o eco e he hough o Ma ia Zamb ano o his pu pose.
Paulo Alexand e e Cas o, THEN AND NOW: Cul u al Eu ope in Agony on Zamb ano’s Though
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One migh ini ially hink ha Ma ía Zamb ano's wo ks a e jus poe ic philosophy
bu in ac , hey sink in o he hea o poli ical philosophy. In Zamb ano's
philosophy, man is a he hea o eali y (which means ha he is always making
he wo ld happen), and he e o e he also eme ges in his poli ical ci cums ances.
Man is in a wo ld o ela ionships, in a wo ld whe e his pa icipa ion un olds and
is ma ked by his o ical and poli ical e en s. Zamb ano is awa e o he place o
poli ics in he ac i e li e o man, and i will no be by chance ha his i s book,
da ed om 1930, is Ho izon es del Libe alismo (Ho izon o Libe alism), whe e
he beginnings o he philosophical-poli ical hough begin o be d awn,
acco ding o he concep s o li e, man and eason (Zamb ano, 1996, p. 207). I
begins in his book de ending a hi d way o ' e olu ion', which can be ansla ed
in o a so o eadjus men o he libe al economy - wi h a c i ique o capi alis
libe alism and bou geois indi idualism - so ha g ea e social jus ice can be
possible. This c i icism o libe alism will also se e as a mo o in he Agony o
Eu ope, p ecisely o e eal a decha ac e ized Eu ope). No e ha Zamb ano
wa ns, howe e , o sa egua d wha libe alism has he bes , ie, eedom in
cul u e, eedom o hough , eedom o in es iga e and educa e.
This commi men o he philosophe wi h he his o ical ime - o which we ind
he eco d in he au ho 's biog aphical wo ks (Ma ínez and Muñoz, 1997, p. 14),
is hus well sel -e iden in he demand o a se ious e lec ion on he c isis o he
Wes , which as we all know, begins by es ablishing he basic p inciples o a
democ acy: eedom and solida i y. The e o e, i is no su p ising ha e lec ion
on Eu ope a ises as a na u al consequence in he a en ion o ou Philosophe .1
The book The Agony o Eu ope appea s in 1945 (al hough i i s appea ed as an
a icle in 1940, and Zamb ano classi ies i a ew yea s la e as a se o essays o
unp e en ious agmen s) ha he philosophe w o e mo ed by he
impulsi eness o eeling (Zamb ano, 2012, p. 21). This impulsi i y and/o
Zamb ano is awa e o he cul u al and poli ical mo emen s o Eu ope and he
wo ld a la ge: he consequences o Wo ld Wa I we e s ill happening and
poli ical ideologies we e al eady boiling in a second phase.
1 J. Mo eno Sanz in he “In oduc o y S udy» o (cap. III- “El Tiemplo del Pac o”, 119) Ho izon es
del Libe alismo, poin s ou ha he philosophe 's ajec o y is e lec ed in his consonance o
poli ical hough wi h he o ma ion o his gene al philosophy.
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emo ional cou age lies in he summe o 1940 wi h he un olding o he new wa
and in conc e e, wi h he Nazi in asion o Pa is (whe e Zamb ano has some he
amily li ing). Wi h his emo ion, Zamb ano s a s a poli ical dialogue wi h he
ime. Ou au ho begins wi h a commonplace which is he a i ma ion o he
decadence o Eu ope, no o subsume i sel in his p emise bu o highligh he
e hical unconsciousness ha has been eached (Zamb ano, 2012, p. 23).
In his amewo k o hidden social and poli ical consciousness, esen men ,
ancou , he cul o success (Zab ano, 2012, pp. 24-25), and some cu en s o
hough , ha e placed Eu ope a he poin whe e i inds i sel , ha is, in i s
agony. As ou au ho poin s ou , du ing oubled pe iods, du ing pe iods o
c isis, man appea s in he open, pu ing his li e in he open because e e y
disas e gi es people he possibili y o mani es ing hemsel es in all hei aw
eali y - i is he means o a mo e exac e ela ion o all who a e known
(Zamb ano, 2012, p. 23). This idea is p esen h oughou he e lec ions, ha
we ind an echo in a wo k published i e yea s la e , Hacia un sabe sob e el
alma (Zamb ano, 1987, p. 37).
This c isis o Eu ope can be ansla ed in o a ci iliza ional malaise, ha is o say,
in he ealiza ion ha Eu opean hough mo es in an enigma ic and mys e ious
clima e, whe e e o and ea eigns, in an excessi e us in an unknown
mons e . A mons e c ea ed by na u alism, which gene a es a passi i y dic a ed
by he ac s, which leads o a des uc ion o he capaci y o abs ac ion, o he
dis ance om u h (Zamb ano, 2012, pp. 26-27), o blind us in he gi en
wo ld; and a social mons e , who in he pa h o na u alism, se led h ough
libe alism (Zamb ano, 2012, pp. 28-30), no knowing how o sa egua d he
human pe son no he powe o c ea ion; he blindness o bo h he c i ics and
he de ende s o libe alism also con ibu ed o he agili y and pa alysis o
Eu opean hough (Zamb ano, 2012, 31), which had bo n so noble in he
G eeks, as Husse l had ad oca ed in Die K isis de Eu opaischen Wissenscha en
und die T anszenden ale Phänomenologie (1954), (Husse l emphasizes he
impo ance o G eek cul u al adi ion and he ole o philosophy in he
cons i u ion o spi i ual Eu ope). Howe e , philosophy allowed he e acua ion o
subjec i i y and he lack o los uni y o philosophy ha e con ibu ed o he c isis
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o science and o he Eu opean c isis. So, he Ge man philosophe de ends a
e u n o subjec i ism in his ea ly con e ence en i led “The C isis o Eu opean
Humani y and Philosophy" in Vienna in 1935, echoing in he wo k o Ma ia
Zamb ano (al hough G eek philosophy occupies a di e en place in his o y).
Eu opean hough would ha e de ined i s own oo s, which means ha
philosophy i sel (like li e a u e and pain ing) has become an agonizing place,
ha is, a place whe e a be ays i sel , whe e i s p inciples a e o go en and
emb ace he “black emp y”.
In such a scena io, he philosophe ecognizes ha whe e he e is li e, he e mus
be hope. This is p obably one o he key concep s o he au ho 's hinking, and in
1953 she w o e in Deli ium and Des iny ha "agonizing is no being able o die
because o hope" (Zamb ano, 1987, p. 244). This agony hus appea s as a so o
e ela ion o he inne eeling which is hope and which ‘anima es’ man, as he
would also decla e a ew yea s la e (Zamb ano, 1994, p. 20). The philosophe
ells us: Bu e en in he mids o e o , lo e does no esign i sel and con inues
o ask i his his o ical eali y o li e and cul u e has died, his adi ion we call
Eu ope, which has al eady emig a ed om i s sca ce e i o y (Zamb ano, 2012,
pp. 36-37). So, he ques ion hen will be: wha is i e ocable in wha cons i u es/
cons i u ed Eu ope, o , wha was Eu ope? F om i s complex and e y ich eali y,
wha canno be enounced? (Zamb ano, 2012, p. 37).
Zamb ano claims he impossibili y o he dea h o Eu ope, because Eu ope is
pe haps he only hing - in His o y - ha canno die o ally, he only hing ha
can be esu ec ed (Zamb ano, 2012, p. 49). How o esu ec Eu ope om i s
( ansien ) dea h? The philosophe , no alling in o he emp a ion o emb ace
nos algia, esponds wi h he pain ul lucidi y o knowing ha i is necessa y o
ecognize wha cons i u ed i (wha allowed he c ea ion o he Eu opean li es yle
in i s densi y, mul iplici y and weal h).
Zamb ano asks abou he o igin o iolence in Eu ope. In he ques ion is al eady
con ained he answe : in he cons i u ion o Eu ope iolence has always been
ound (as she says, iolence was in e e y aspec o his li e, Zamb ano, 2012, pp.
54-55), and wi h his answe also aises ano he undamen al ques ion o he
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philosophe ha is abou he domain o eligion: he Eu opean God is a unique
god wi h unique cha ac e is ics, he God o a “elec ed people” by himsel o sa e
he whole uni e se.(Zamb ano, 2012, p. 56). This placemen o a people
glo i ied by he C ea o God would make he Eu opean people a people wi h a
hi s o di ini y - unlike he O ien al who would be incapable o such iolence
(Zamb ano, 2012, p. 66), bu also he people who would make Ch is iani y
iumph (Zamb ano, 2012, pp. 56-57).
This ela ion o ansmu a ion o he c ea i e God o he c ea i e man
(Zamb ano, 2012, p. 59) in ol ed he Eu opean in his excessi e eliance on
judging himsel in he image and likeness, and o his, S . Augus ine is called o
deba e, o gi e us he dimension o he ag eemen be ween eligion and
philosophy, in o de o si ua e ou sel es in he amewo k o unde s anding he
immense decaden di icul y ha Eu ope has eached (see Rome o, 2003, p.
134); bu , acco ding o Zamb ano, he con lic ha Eu ope has a i ed a i s
iolence is eligious and philosophy canno sol e i on i s own. Be o e a new
philosophy eme ges, in his Eu opean adi ion, he con e sion o man mus ake
place, he e mus be an accep ance o eali y in a e ealing way (Zamb ano,
2012, p. 72). Only wi h he appea ance o a ‘new man’, he philosophe ells us,
can Eu ope esu ec . O a he , only wi h hope and me cy ( he "con ession" ha
S . Augus ine in oduces is decisi e o he ealiza ion o he in e io i y o man),
we will see he way ou o he agony o Eu ope, and ha is why he Eu opean
man is he p o agonis o His o y, is he man who can in his duplici y, emb ace
he ebi h o Eu ope and open he way o he anspa ency o he hea , ha is,
o es o e los digni y (Zamb ano, 2012, p. 90). Zamb ano announces o us he
new man as he inne man (almos in an Nie zsche way), he man who has
egained his in e io i y, who emb aces li e in i s no el y: The Eu opean man was
bo n wi h hese wo ds. The u h is wi hin: i ealizes, o he i s ime, i s
in e io i y and he e o e i can es in i ; so i is independen , i is ee. Reco e
his in e io i y (Zamb ano, 2012, p. 92).
This man o "un a homable in e io i y" opens hope o he esu ec ion, o he
pu i y o hea , o he end o he con lic be ween himsel and he wo ld he
manages; he Ch is ian pe son is he inca na ion o hese alues:

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The Ch is ian pe son, on he o he hand, has no limi , nei he o his
s eng h, no o his li e no o his dea h. The e is some hing in man ha
ansposes and anscends e e y hing: o be a man is o possess his
inaba cable in e io i y. Tha is why a pe son, a Ch is ian, is like an in ini e
pe spec i e ha is ne e exhaus ed in any o his ac s, no e en in all o
hem oge he : i is wha is always beyond - i is deep, deep (Zamb ano,
2012, p. 93)
The concep ha ma ks Zamb ano's philosophy begins o be d awn he e, and
pe haps as Ana Mendonça poin s ou , he au ho pu s (in he u u e) he hough
in o a poe ic eason as a possible igu e and a amewo k o a new a ional
discou se (see, Mendonça, 2004).
Gi en Zamb ano's e lec ions and plunging in o he eali y o oday's Eu ope,
how o econcile he humani a ian sense o help and union wi h he g owing
ascis ideological mo emen ? How o be suppo i e in an Eu ope ha is caugh
up in he ise o ex eme igh -wing pa ies? Could he new Zamb ano man be a
solu ion o his con inued c isis in Eu ope? As Zamb ano ealized, he ghos s o
he pas - iolence and e o - ha buil Eu ope a e he same ones ha oday
h ea en he solida i y and humani a ian sense ha should cha ac e ize a eal
Eu opean Union. Maybe a and cul u e can be a solu ion, as Nie zsche said only
a can sa e us om ou sel es. To deal wi h di e en cul u es i is no a sign o
agili y bu ins ead a sign o ecogni ion o humani y; o accep di e ences is o
buil a iche wo ld, e en i his wo ld is cons an ly changing, in agony.
Re e ences
Bundga d, Ana (2000), Más allá de la iloso ía, sob e el pensamien o ilosó ico-mís ico de
Ma ía Zamb ano. Mad id: Ed. T o a.
Co ona, Lou des (2002), La Razón Poé ica en Ma ía Zamb ano. Guanajua o: Uni e sidad
de Guanajua o.
Ma ínez, Rogelio Blanco, e, Muñoz, Juan F. O ega, (1997), Ma ía Zamb ano (1904-
1991), Biblio eca ilosó ica. Mad id: Ediciones del O o.
NOTES ON EUROPE. The Dogma ic Sleep
P oceedings. Po o, Oc obe 29-31 2019
63
Mendonça, Ana Ma ia Bijóias (2004), «Ve gílio Fe ei a e Ma ía Zamb ano ou uma
es é ica do “exílio”», in Philosophica, 23, 69-85.
Paisana, João (1997), Husse l e a Ideia de Eu opa. Po o: Edições Con apon o.
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en el o den del iempo. Mad id: Ed. T o a.
Rome o, Ma ía Xosé Ag a, (2003), «Sob e La Agonia de Eu opa de Ma ía Zamb ano», in
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pensamen o de Ma ía Zamb ano. Mu cia: Uni e sidad de Mu cia.
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Gue a. Lisboa: Relógio D’Água Edi o es.
Zamb ano, Ma ía (1996) – Ho izon es del Libe alismo. Es udo in odu ó io de Jésus
Mo eno Sanz. Mad id: Ediciones Mo a a.
Zamb ano, Ma ía (2012) – A Agonia da Eu opa. In odução de Jesús Mo eno Sanz e
adução de Ana Ma ques. Lisboa: No a Vega.
Zamb ano, Ma ía (1987), Hacia un sabe sob e el alma, Mad id: Alianza Edi o ial.
Zamb ano, Ma ía (1989), Deli io y Des ino: los ein e años de una española. Mad id:
Mondado i.
Au ho iden i ica ion
Paulo Alexand e e Cas o. Is a esea ch membe o IEF-Coimb a Uni e si y. PhD in
Philosophy o Mind (UMinho), Mas e in Phenomenology and He meneu ics (FLUL),
Bachelo in Philosophy (FLUL). Au ho and co-au ho o se e al books (li e a u e and
essay) and di ec o o Uncanny – Philosophy and Cul u al S udies Jou nal. Find mo e in o
abou he au ho a : pauloalexand eecas o.webs.com