A Paideic Model in Humanist Culture

The Păltiniş Diary represents an homage to the great Romanian philosopher Constantin Noica, the only one that chose to stay in Romania during the communist regime, while the other important figures of the intellectual generation, Mircea Eliade, Emil Cioran and Eugène Ionesco, fled to other countries. His destiny was a harsh one, enduring 10 years of forced residence in Câmpulung-Muscel and 6 years of jail, out of 25, as a result of his attempt to send an interpretation of Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit to France with the purpose of being published. Gabriel Liiceanu, the author of the present book, met him in 1967, when Noica was a scientific researcher at The Romanian Academy’s Center of Logics and he was looking for brilliant young minds in order to become a “cultural trainer”.  Thus, “The Păltiniş School” was created not long after his retirement, Noica being frequently visited especially by Andrei Pleşu and Gabriel Liiceanu. Liiceanu kept a diary where he noted every conversation that took place during those 5 years, diary that he later on decided to publish.

Thus, The Păltiniş Diary. A Paideic Model in Humanist Culture was born. It was first published in 1983 and it deeply influenced the young generation of Romanian intellectuals. The whole story is related to Constantin Noica, mainly describing his philosophical discourses, the wonderful advice given to his disciples and his comments regarding the cultural state of that period and its possible evolution until the 22^nd century. Through the way it promotes discipline, a strict schedule, these two alternated with long walks in the heart of nature, the book offers a positive model that can be always followed by the young intellectuals who wish to spontaneously and productively understand and produce culture.

One of the many beautiful aspects of this book is the way that Liiceanu talks about Constantin Noica and the way that he perceives Păltiniş – “There is tenderness in his behavior and it makes me feel happy.” I think this is about the happiness that one feels when one’s around a great man not only as a formal person, but as a friend. The fear not to disappoint probably comes from the fact that when he met him, Liiceanu completely accepted to be guided and initiated by this mentor. From here we can deduce the way that a young man has to relate himself to his mentor and to culture as well: with patience and complete devotion. This is an attitude that I think the nowadays’ young intellectuals lack, or maybe that all young men always lacked, the simple reason being the age, when one thinks one can do everything by oneself and much better than others can. Therefore, the first lesson this book gives us is that we first have to accept the fact that we need a guide, that there are things we cannot learn by ourselves and that when we finally realized all these we can devote ourselves to the first steps towards culture.

Păltiniş represents the break from the ordinary world and becomes that sacred space that Eliade was writing about – an apparently common space that for some people, in this case for Noica and his disciples, becomes sacred. The way that Liiceanu describes this is very suggestive: “The world we were coming from gave us up after a short protest; the passing on this side it was convulsively completed.” He later on specifies that the road to Păltiniş has always been a hard one, which might suggest that sometimes one has to make sacrifices when it comes about true culture. For one to be able to stand “at 4 000 feet above humanity” one has to give up a comfortable, and often ignorant, life.

The cultural act has to firstly represent an individual achievement that would later on serve as a model for the ones who want to discover their vocation. The Romanian philosopher also stresses on the fact that a cultural career mustn’t end with the final work that encompasses the research of an entire life. His age determining him to think about a possible ending, he chooses to be still active; he doesn’t want to change anything in his daily routine. The Diary’s ending could have been a sad one if not regarded form Noica’s point of view, because he was always able to see something good in every bad thing. Even though Liiceanu says that he was thrilled by his behavior, he understood that his mentor, feeling the undeniable ending, was trying to leave everything in perfect order.

Through his ideas and works, Constantin Noica will always be a “cultural trainer”, and The Păltiniş Diary, through the cultural references that it offers – a universal model.

Gabriel Liiceanu – Jurnalul de la Păltiniş, Bucureşti, Humanitas, 1991

wikipedia.org – Constantin Noica

Photo source – wikipedia.org