Nae Ionescu (born
Nicolae C. Ionescu; —March 15 1940) was a
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
n philosopher, logician, mathematician, professor, and journalist. Near the end of his career, he became known for his antisemitism and devotion to extreme right wing politics, in the years leading up to
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Born in
BrăilaBrăila is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of the Brăila County, in the close vicinity of Galaţi...
, Ionescu studied Letters at the
University of BucharestThe University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-History:...
until 1912. Upon graduation, he was appointed teacher at the Matei Basarab High School in
BucharestBucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
.
Nae Ionescu (born
Nicolae C. Ionescu; —March 15 1940) was a
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
n philosopher, logician, mathematician, professor, and journalist. Near the end of his career, he became known for his antisemitism and devotion to extreme right wing politics, in the years leading up to
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Life
Born in
BrăilaBrăila is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of the Brăila County, in the close vicinity of Galaţi...
, Ionescu studied Letters at the
University of BucharestThe University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-History:...
until 1912. Upon graduation, he was appointed teacher at the Matei Basarab High School in
BucharestBucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
. When
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
began, he traveled to
GermanyThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
for additional studies at the University of Göttingen. Romania's entry into the war on the
Entente sideThe Entente powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The key members of the Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire. New Zealand, Belgium, Serbia, Canada, Australia, Italy, Romania and the United States were also drawn into the war...
side prevented him from returning, but he was awarded a
doctorateA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession . The best-known example...
in philosophy in 1919 from the
University of MunichThe Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich , also known as LMU, is a university in Munich and, with more than 44,000 students, is the second-largest university in Germany....
. His thesis was entitled
Die Logistik als Versuch einer neuen Begründung der Mathematik ("Formal logic as an attempt at a new foundation of mathematics").
Back in Romania, after another brief stint teaching, Ionescu was appointed assistant to
Constantin Rădulescu-MotruConstantin Rădulescu-Motru was a Romanian philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, logician, academic, dramatist, as well as centre-left nationalist politician with a noted anti-fascist discourse...
at the University of Bucharest's department of Logic and Theory of Knowledge.
His life's work had a profound effect on a generation of Romanian thinkers, first for his studies on comparative religion, philosophy, and mysticism, but later for his nationalist and
far rightFar right, extreme right, hard right, ultra-right or radical right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within a political spectrum...
sentiment. Some of the figures he influenced include
Constantin NoicaConstantin Noica was a Romanian philosopher, essayist and poet. His preoccupations were throughout all philosophy, from epistemology, philosophy of culture, axiology and philosophic anthropology to ontology and logics, from the history of philosophy to systematic philosophy, from ancient to...
,
Mircea EliadeMircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
,
Emil CioranEmil Cioran was a Romanian philosopher and essayist.-Early life:Emil Cioran was born in Răşinari, Sibiu County, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time...
,
Mircea VulcănescuMircea Vulcănescu was a prominent Romanian philosopher, economist, ethics teacher and sociologist.-Biography:He studied philosophy and law at the University of Bucharest, graduating in 1925...
, and
Petre ŢuţeaPetre Ţuţea was a Romanian philosopher, journalist and economist.- Early years: from Marxism to the Legionary Movement :...
. The
existentialistLike “rationalism” and “empiricism,” “existentialism” is a term that belongs to intellectual history. Its definition is thus to some extent one of historical convenience...
and partly
mysticalMysticism is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or...
school of thought Ionescu introduced bore the name
Trăirism.
Trăirism intersected at several points with the ideology of the
Iron GuardThe Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II...
; the connection became even more direct when many of its adherents also publicly associated with the latter.
Ionescu himself was more reserved in his dealings with the Guard. He was the editor of the highly influential newspaper
Cuvântul, which had long backed
KingKing of the Romanians rather than King of Romania was the official title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947 when Romania was proclaimed a republic....
Carol IICarol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand I, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
- the major rival of the Guard. However, Ionescu moved away from the monarchy due to Carol's inner circle. Ionescu's antisemitism was a decisive factor in his switching of allegiances: Jewish writer
Mihail SebastianMihail Sebastian was a Romanian playwright, essayist, journalist and novelist.-Life:He was born to a Jewish family in Brăila...
's
Journal depicts the interval during which Ionescu's virulence grew, as well as the reasons that were animating his large following.
Mihail Sebastian incident
During the period when Sebastian and Ionescu were still on speaking terms, the latter had agreed to write the preface of Sebastian's book
De două mii de ani... ("It's been two thousand years..."). Ionescu's introduction shocked Sebastian, who "loved and admired Ionescu", as it included several overtly antisemitic statements.
Mircea EliadeMircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
recalls the incident in his autobiography:
"Judah suffers because it must suffer," Nae had written. And he explained why: the Jews had refused to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Messiah. This suffering in history reflected, in a certain sense, the destiny of the Hebrew people who, precisely because they had rejected Christianity, could not be saved. Extra Ecclesiae nulla salus.
Eliade notes that this incident marked a profound departure for Ionescu, who in the late 1920s had suggested to Eliade, who was then his student, that he had been tempted "to give up both journalism and politics and devote myself entirely to Hebraic studies". Sebastian, though dejected by the incident, opted to keep Ionescu's introduction in the book.
Later life
After Carol's crackdown on the Iron Guard, Nae Ionescu and his disciples were rounded up and imprisoned at a makeshift camp in
Miercurea-CiucMiercurea-Ciuc is the county seat of Harghita county, Romania, in the Transylvania historical region.3 villages are administratively part of the county seat:* Ciba * Harghita-Băi * Jigodin-Băi - Demographics :...
. The experience took a toll on his fragile health, and he died soon thereafter. Some close sources indicated that he was assassinated by poisoning due to his involvement with the Iron Guard.
External links