It has become commonplace to say that Nietzsche and Cioran are not authors for adults, that the whole philosophy of both does not cause strong impressions but in adolescents. I say for my part: I read Nietzsche and Cioran, above all, for aesthetic pleasure. I consider both, before philosophers, skilled artists; I see in them an expression power that I cannot find in other places; and the validity or not of their philosophies, for me, is secondary matter. If I were to analyze only by logic, I would say Nietzsche’s philosophy, if taken by block, is absurd; Cioran’s I would say leads us to apathy. But, for me, none of this constitutes demerit. Those who seek in philosophy a foolproof manual to guide their thinking and their actions do better by reading self-help. I am not obliged to box Nietzsche and Cioran in the “I do not agree” group, I do not feel uncomfortable facing their ambiguities or delusions; on the contrary, I consider them as masters of style. As I said, I read both for aesthetic pleasure, to find beauty and acuity in expressions and to see them give rise to discomfort in me. And I still notice the poverty in the words of those who tax Nietzsche and Cioran’s entire work as “philosophy for teenagers.” Nothing shallower than summarizing everything as “right” or “wrong”, this only demonstrates narrowness of vision and inability to deal with the ambiguous, the complex. Finishing a work full of nuances, impeccably written and saying only “I do not agree” seems to me the most adolescent of generalizations.
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