Then and Now: cultural Europe in agony on Zambrano's thought

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 58 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. NOTES ON EUROPE. The Dogma ic Sleep P oceedings. Po o, Oc obe 29-31 2019 59 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 Paulo Alexand e e Cas o, THEN AND NOW: Cul u al Eu ope in Agony on Zamb ano’s Though 60 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 NOTES ON EUROPE. The Dogma ic Sleep P oceedings. Po o, Oc obe 29-31 2019 61 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: Paulo Alexand e e Cas o, THEN AND NOW: Cul u al Eu ope in Agony on Zamb ano’s Though 62 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. Re illa, Ca men (1998), Cla es de la Razón Poé ica: Ma ía Zamb ano – Un pensamen o 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 Diac í ica – Filoso ia e Cul u a, nº 17/2, 123-139. Sau a, Ma ía del Ca men Piñas (2004), En el Espejo de LLama: Una ap oximación al pensamen o de Ma ía Zamb ano. Mu cia: Uni e sidad de Mu cia. Zamb ano, Ma ía, (1994), Os Sonhos e o Tempo. T adução de C is ina Rod iguez e A u 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