---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Philosophy: Impersonal anxiety; refuge…"
description: "\"Philosophy: Impersonal anxiety; refuge among anemic ideas.\" — Emile M. Cioran"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/emile-m-cioran-1211_anxiety_philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-amo_892898.jpg"
---

#  Philosophy: Impersonal anxiety; refuge among anemic ideas.

![“Philosophy: Impersonal anxiety; refuge among anemic ideas.” quote by Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/emile-m-cioran-1211_anxiety_philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-amo_892898.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/emile-m-cioran-1211_anxiety_philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-amo_892898.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/emile-m-cioran-1211_anxiety_philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-amo_892898.jpg)

> “Philosophy: Impersonal anxiety; refuge among anemic ideas.”

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote suggests that modern thought offers hollow comforts that cannot soothe deep existential dread.

**In simple terms:** Ideas that seem comforting are often empty.

Key Takeaway

Seek authentic meaning beyond superficial concepts.

Themes

existentialism comfort modernity

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

philosophical critical

When to use this quote

- personal crisis
- academic study
- creative writing

Key Concepts

nihilism anxiety intellectual refuge

Questions to Reflect On

- What comforts do you rely on?
- Do they address the root of your unease?

A Different Perspective

Such refuge may delay confronting true anxiety.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge/)

## Related quotes

> [An 'impersonal God'-well and good. A subjective God of beauty, truth and goodness, inside our own heads-better still. A formless life-force surging through us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-impersonal-god-well-and-good-a-subjective-god-of-beauty-truth-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“...Victim-eyes of impersonal tragedy, to be impersonal no longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/victim-eyes-of-impersonal-tragedy-to-be-impersonal-no-longer/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [Sometimes, particularly in summers in New York, I have tried to write in shorts or with no shirt on and found myself unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/sometimes-particularly-in-summers-in-new-york-i-have-tried-to-write/)

[Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/)

> [It's two things: it's totally impersonal and it's totally personal, simultaneously. That's the nature of the mystical experience of life. Everything about life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/it-s-two-things-it-s-totally-impersonal-and-it-s-totally-personal/)

[Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/)

> [Scientists will forever have to live with the fact that their product is, in the end, impersonal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/scientists-will-forever-have-to-live-with-the-fact-that-their-product/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [I used to say that I didn't want anything to do with e-mail. It seemed really impersonal, complicated and weird. I had no idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bd-wong/i-used-to-say-that-i-didn-t-want-anything-to-do-with-e-mail-it-seemed/)

[BD Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bd-wong/)

> [Nature is impersonal, awe-inspiring, elegant, eternal. It's geometrically perfect. It's tiny and gigantic. You can travel far to be in a beautiful natural setting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/nature-is-impersonal-awe-inspiring-elegant-eternal-it-s-geometrically/)

[Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/)

> [To transform a grimace into a sound sounds impossible, yet it is possible to transform a vision into music, to go outside an enslaved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/to-transform-a-grimace-into-a-sound-sounds-impossible-yet-it-is/)

[Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/)

> [Technology has a shadow side. It accounts for real progress in medicine, but has also hurt it in many ways, making it more impersonal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/technology-has-a-shadow-side-it-accounts-for-real-progress-in/)

[Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/)

> [In the end, perhaps it will be the true romantics, not the nerds, who choose to flee from a world of impersonal, digitized relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/in-the-end-perhaps-it-will-be-the-true-romantics-not-the-nerds-who/)

[Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/)

> [I suppose I often think of my writing as quite impersonal. But it turned out, when my father died, writing was exactly what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-suppose-i-often-think-of-my-writing-as-quite-impersonal-but-it/)

[Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/)

> [“THE SKY IS MORE IMPERSONAL than the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-sky-is-more-impersonal-than-the-sea/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

> [“the impersonal and the personal are always connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-impersonal-and-the-personal-are-always-connected/)

[Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/)

> [“Many people take it personally when we're impersonal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-goldstein/many-people-take-it-personally-when-we-re-impersonal/)

[Emmanuel Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-goldstein/)

> [The Impersonal God seen through the mists of sense is personal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-impersonal-god-seen-through-the-mists-of-sense-is-personal/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

## More by Emile M. Cioran

> [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Progress is the injustice each generation commits with regard to its predecessors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/progress-is-the-injustice-each-generation-commits-with-regard-to-its/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [To defy heredity is to defy billions of years, to defy the first cell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/to-defy-heredity-is-to-defy-billions-of-years-to-defy-the-first-cell/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [A people represents not so much an aggregate of ideas and theories as of obsessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/a-people-represents-not-so-much-an-aggregate-of-ideas-and-theories-as/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> ["The Holy Ghost," Luther instructs us, "is not a skeptic." Not everyone can be, and that is really too bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/the-holy-ghost-luther-instructs-us-is-not-a-skeptic-not-everyone-can/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Every word affords me pain. Yet how sweet it would be if I could hear what the flowers have to say about death!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/every-word-affords-me-pain-yet-how-sweet-it-would-be-if-i-could-hear/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Woes and wonders of Power, that tonic hell, synthesis of poison and panacea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/woes-and-wonders-of-power-that-tonic-hell-synthesis-of-poison-and/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [If each of us were to confess his most secret desire, the one that inspires all his plans, all his actions, he would say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/if-each-of-us-were-to-confess-his-most-secret-desire-the-one-that/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [He who hates himself is not humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/he-who-hates-himself-is-not-humble/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Impossible to spend sleepless nights and accomplish anything: if, in my youth, my parents had not financed my insomnias, I should surely have killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/impossible-to-spend-sleepless-nights-and-accomplish-anything-if-in-my/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [One is and remains a slave as long as one is not cured of hoping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/one-is-and-remains-a-slave-as-long-as-one-is-not-cured-of-hoping/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Let us not be needlessly bitter: certain failures are sometimes fruitful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/let-us-not-be-needlessly-bitter-certain-failures-are-sometimes/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts potential madmen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/ambition-is-a-drug-that-makes-its-addicts-potential-madmen/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Humanity adores only those who cause it to perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/humanity-adores-only-those-who-cause-it-to-perish/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Psychoanalysis is a technique we practice at our cost; psychoanalysis degrades our risks, our dangers, our depths; it strips us of our impurities, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/psychoanalysis-is-a-technique-we-practice-at-our-cost-psychoanalysis/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

[Explore all 272 Emile M. Cioran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

## More Anxiety quotes

> [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/)

Nagisa Tatsumi

> [Bein Crazy is the least of my worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bein-crazy-is-the-least-of-my-worries/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. Fear of falling asleep at night. Fear of not falling asleep. Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/)

[Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/)

> [I get nervous when I don't get nervous. If I'm nervous I know I'm going to have a good show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/i-get-nervous-when-i-don-t-get-nervous-if-i-m-nervous-i-know-i-m/)

[Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/)

> [“Every invention comes through anxiousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-wadhwani/every-invention-comes-through-anxiousness/)

[Rakesh Wadhwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-wadhwani/)

> [“Do Not Be Anxious 25 e “Therefore I tell you,  f do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-anxious-25-e-therefore-i-tell-you-f-do-not-be-anxious-about/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Nothing happens on its own, you have to make things happen. If you really want to come out of your stressful situation than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subodh-gupta/nothing-happens-on-its-own-you-have-to-make-things-happen-if-you/)

[Subodh Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subodh-gupta/)

> [“I guess if we're talking about my anxiety, the even truthier truth is it started way before that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-winfrey/i-guess-if-we-re-talking-about-my-anxiety-the-even-truthier-truth-is/)

[Kerry Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-winfrey/)

> [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/)

[Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/)

> [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

> [As you know, I have been very open about my struggle with social anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-walker/as-you-know-i-have-been-very-open-about-my-struggle-with-social/)

[Summer Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-walker/)

> [Anxiety is not to be managed it is a sin that needs to be repented of](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/anxiety-is-not-to-be-managed-it-is-a-sin-that-needs-to-be-repented-of/)

[Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/)

> [“I’ve always seen this in you, ever since you were a little girl — this hunger to love other people into their highest selves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-elisabeth/i-ve-always-seen-this-in-you-ever-since-you-were-a-little-girl-this/)

[Jennifer Elisabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-elisabeth/)

[Browse all 4,944 Anxiety quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Philosophy: Impersonal anxiety; refuge among anemic ideas.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Emile M. Cioran"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-among-anemic-ideas/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Anxiety"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-among-anemic-ideas/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/emile-m-cioran-1211_anxiety_philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-amo_892898.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/emile-m-cioran-1211_anxiety_philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-amo_892898.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/emile-m-cioran-1211_anxiety_philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-amo_892898.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Philosophy: Impersonal anxiety; refuge among anemic ideas.” — Emile M. Cioran",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Emile M. Cioran",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Philosophy: Impersonal anxiety; refuge among anemic...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-among-anemic-ideas/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/philosophy-impersonal-anxiety-refuge-among-anemic-ideas/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
