Alexandru Dragomir
Encyclopedia
Alexandru Dragomir was a Romania
n philosopher. He made his doctoral studies under Martin Heidegger
's direction, in 1940.
Walter Biemel recollects that Heidegger much appreciated Dragomir's brightness. Dragomir attended Heidegger's private seminar
s and it is said that, when the discussion seemed to stall, Heidegger would turn to him and say: “Eh, what do the Latins say? ”. Dragomir was a close friend of Biemel, with whom he translated “What is metaphysics? ” into Romanian (in 1942).
At the end of 1943, Dragomir was obliged to leave Freiburg im Breisgau and Heidegger's seminars and return to Romania
to be conscripted
. It was the beginning of war. Even Heidegger's insistence to prolong his stay in Freiburg could not prevent his departure. In 1945, the end of the war coincided with the Russian occupation and the introduction of communism
in Romania; Dragomir saw himself unable to continue his thesis with Heidegger. He understood that his connections with Germany
could be reasons for political persecution and that his interest in philosophy could trigger his prosecution. Dragomir understood that his life depended on his ability to hide his interest in philosophy and to efface his ties with Germany. While continuously erasing the traces of his past, Dragomir worked in all possible trades: welder, salesman, civil servant or accountant, always changing jobs, being regularly fired because of his politically unsuitable “file”. Finally, he was an economist
with the Ministry for Wood until his retirement in 1976. After 1985, he agreed to make a compromise as far as his silence on his philosophical activity: he decided to hold several seminars with the disciples of Noica: Gabriel Liiceanu
, Andrei Pleşu
, Sorin Vieru.
However, one of his topics is constant: it is to be found in a series of books, entitled Chronos, in which Dragomir systematically looked into the problem of time
for several decades: the first book goes back to 1948 and it includes several notes written in German, while the last one covers the period between 1980 and 1990. This discovery enabled the recovery of Dragomir's work. Three volumes have been already published by the Humanitas publishing house to-date: Crase banalităţi metafizice ("Utter etaphysical banalities", 2004), Cinci plecări din prezent. Exerciţii fenomenologice ("Five departures of the present. Phenomenological exercices", 2005), and Caietele timpului ("The Time Notebooks", 2006). Five more volumes are envisaged for publication. Lastly, to prevent any further delay in the reception of this thinker abroad, a number of the Studia Phænomenologica magazine was dedicated to him, featuring texts by Dragomir translated into French, English and German, as well as texts about his personality, according to the ones who knew him and who could testify for his life and his manner of philosophizing. Other translations appeared in the French review “Alter”.
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. He made his doctoral studies under Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...
's direction, in 1940.
Philosophy
He had a brilliant philosophical mind who refused to publish a single page in his life. He always maintained that publishing was of no importance to him; instead, genuine understanding was all that mattered. Thus he never got involved with the public cultural milieu. Before his death, no one even knew whether he had actually written anything, or not.Walter Biemel recollects that Heidegger much appreciated Dragomir's brightness. Dragomir attended Heidegger's private seminar
Seminar
Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...
s and it is said that, when the discussion seemed to stall, Heidegger would turn to him and say: “Eh, what do the Latins say? ”. Dragomir was a close friend of Biemel, with whom he translated “What is metaphysics? ” into Romanian (in 1942).
At the end of 1943, Dragomir was obliged to leave Freiburg im Breisgau and Heidegger's seminars and return to Romania
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...
to be conscripted
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
. It was the beginning of war. Even Heidegger's insistence to prolong his stay in Freiburg could not prevent his departure. In 1945, the end of the war coincided with the Russian occupation and the introduction of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in Romania; Dragomir saw himself unable to continue his thesis with Heidegger. He understood that his connections with Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
could be reasons for political persecution and that his interest in philosophy could trigger his prosecution. Dragomir understood that his life depended on his ability to hide his interest in philosophy and to efface his ties with Germany. While continuously erasing the traces of his past, Dragomir worked in all possible trades: welder, salesman, civil servant or accountant, always changing jobs, being regularly fired because of his politically unsuitable “file”. Finally, he was an economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
with the Ministry for Wood until his retirement in 1976. After 1985, he agreed to make a compromise as far as his silence on his philosophical activity: he decided to hold several seminars with the disciples of Noica: 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....
, 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...
, Sorin Vieru.
Legacy
After his death, in 2002, a hundred books with notes, comments on traditional philosophical texts, tests of investigation and phenomenologic analysis, philosophical and extremely subtle descriptions were found at his home. Most of the texts are phenomenologic microanalyses of various concrete aspects of life. Texts were found that dealt with themes such as the mirror, lapse of memory, error, [...], the morning alarm clock, what one calls ugly and disgusting, attention - because of being wrong about oneself, writing and orality - because of distinguishing and [...], uniqueness and so on. They are disparate and heterogeneous subjects, as if Dragomir had let his phenomenologic magnifier fall upon the diversity of the world and chose to analyze, for his own desire to comprehend, with no other end, such and such fact or such and such aspect of reality.However, one of his topics is constant: it is to be found in a series of books, entitled Chronos, in which Dragomir systematically looked into the problem of time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
for several decades: the first book goes back to 1948 and it includes several notes written in German, while the last one covers the period between 1980 and 1990. This discovery enabled the recovery of Dragomir's work. Three volumes have been already published by the Humanitas publishing house to-date: Crase banalităţi metafizice ("Utter etaphysical banalities", 2004), Cinci plecări din prezent. Exerciţii fenomenologice ("Five departures of the present. Phenomenological exercices", 2005), and Caietele timpului ("The Time Notebooks", 2006). Five more volumes are envisaged for publication. Lastly, to prevent any further delay in the reception of this thinker abroad, a number of the Studia Phænomenologica magazine was dedicated to him, featuring texts by Dragomir translated into French, English and German, as well as texts about his personality, according to the ones who knew him and who could testify for his life and his manner of philosophizing. Other translations appeared in the French review “Alter”.
Sources
- Paul Balogh & Cristian Ciocan (eds.), The Ocean of Forgetting. Alexandru Dragomir: A Romanian Phenomenologist Studia Phaenomenologica IV (2004) 3-4