Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Nov 20, 2008 20:24
15 yrs ago
3 viewers *
French term
Specialist in sport and economics
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, Catalan to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
dolorism
French to English
Social Sciences
Philosophy
My sentence:
Mais son dolorisme roué, son minimalisme libertaire, sa souplesse d'échine et son art de l'esquive font de lui un caméléon, qui dissimule le propagandiste énergique d'une productivité sans concept.
Petit Robert definition: Doctrine de l'utilité, de la valeur (morale) de la douleur
The best thing I can come up with is "dolorism", but it's not in any dictionaries, whereas the French is, so I thought I'd better ask around to see whether there's a better solution.
Mais son dolorisme roué, son minimalisme libertaire, sa souplesse d'échine et son art de l'esquive font de lui un caméléon, qui dissimule le propagandiste énergique d'une productivité sans concept.
Petit Robert definition: Doctrine de l'utilité, de la valeur (morale) de la douleur
The best thing I can come up with is "dolorism", but it's not in any dictionaries, whereas the French is, so I thought I'd better ask around to see whether there's a better solution.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 -2 | asceticism |
Stephen Chalk
|
| 4 +1 | hangdoggedness, ingratiating nature, smarminess, cringing |
Bourth (X)
|
| 3 | miserabilism |
Melissa McMahon
|
| 2 | cultivation of pain and suffering |
Euqinimod (X)
|
| 1 | culture of pain |
Jonathan MacKerron
|
Proposed translations
-2
49 mins
Selected
asceticism
Moral code holding that that pain is good. This seems to be a good solution. More usual in English than "dolorism" which is occasionally used however
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Note added at 1 jour7 heures (2008-11-22 03:55:22 GMT)
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Martyrdom
Almost all of the proposed answers can be justified for their various merits. Perhaps "MARTYRDOM" would also be a possible translation. After all, Georges Duhamel wrote a "Vie des martyrs" (the term dolorism comes from a review of his 1919 war novel and was then further developed by Julien Teppe).
In defence of my own answer I would quote the Wikipedia article "asceticism":
"Nietzsche describes the morality of the ascetic priest as characterized by Christianity as one where, finding oneself in pain, one places the blame for the pain on oneself and thereby attempts and attains mastery over the world,[5] a tactic that Nietzsche places behind secular science as well as behind religion."
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Note added at 1 jour7 heures (2008-11-22 03:55:22 GMT)
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Martyrdom
Almost all of the proposed answers can be justified for their various merits. Perhaps "MARTYRDOM" would also be a possible translation. After all, Georges Duhamel wrote a "Vie des martyrs" (the term dolorism comes from a review of his 1919 war novel and was then further developed by Julien Teppe).
In defence of my own answer I would quote the Wikipedia article "asceticism":
"Nietzsche describes the morality of the ascetic priest as characterized by Christianity as one where, finding oneself in pain, one places the blame for the pain on oneself and thereby attempts and attains mastery over the world,[5] a tactic that Nietzsche places behind secular science as well as behind religion."
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Jonathan MacKerron
: but more importantly a doctrine of renunciation
8 mins
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|
Well actually... severe self-discipline and abstinence from pleasure to be precise!
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| disagree |
Cleartrans
: This would be a translation for 'ascétisme'. Please see my discussion entry as well.
9 days
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| disagree |
Petru Ioan
: Dolorism is pain-centered, while asceticism just fights with the "worldly" pleasures but not in a pain-centered way.
1103 days
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks to everyone."
18 mins
Jonathan MacKerron
Native in English
Retired as of Jan 2019!
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
12
culture of pain
an uneducated guess
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Note added at 25 mins (2008-11-20 20:50:09 GMT)
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'culture of suffering' gets some interesting ghits as well
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Note added at 25 mins (2008-11-20 20:50:09 GMT)
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'culture of suffering' gets some interesting ghits as well
48 mins
cultivation of pain and suffering
Inspired by the following ref. : http://www.jstor.org/pss/1399173.
2 hrs
Melissa McMahon
Australia
Australia
Native in English
Specializes in field
Australia
Related KudoZ points
:
86
miserabilism
Miserabilism is defined as dedicated pessimism rather than devotion to pain and suffering, but both words seem to be used to suggest entrenched gloominess.
Depending on the register of your source text, "entrenched gloominess" could even be an option here.
Depending on the register of your source text, "entrenched gloominess" could even be an option here.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Sandra Petch
: Both good :-)
14 hrs
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Thanks Sandra.
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| disagree |
Stephen Chalk
: Apart from a song by the Pet Shop Boys this term seems to be just as rare in English as dolorism. Petit Robert definition: "Tendance artistique à la représentation des aspects les plus misérables de la vie sociale" [Not moral value or usefulness of pain]
1 day 3 hrs
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Thanks for raising these points. I can only speak from my own informal understanding and familiarity with the English word.
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+1
3 hrs
French term (edited):
dolorisme
hangdoggedness, ingratiating nature, smarminess, cringing
I think you have to look beyond the dictionary definitions in this case. I really don't think it has anything to do with what might be called the "doctrine of pain" in conventional circumstances.
You will be better able to tell from the fuller context, but words like "roué" (conniving??) "souplesse d'échine", "art de l'esquive" and "caméléon" suggest to me that "dolorism" is used here as a feature of the person's character similar to Dickens' Uriah Heap, ingratiating, falsely subservient, smarmy, cringing, putting on a "hangdog" air to make others feel guilty ... acting the unjustly treated whipping boy.
Of course this may not fit the broader context, but it's what it evokes fpr me.
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Note added at 5 hrs (2008-11-21 01:40:14 GMT)
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Playing the victim, the underdog.
You will be better able to tell from the fuller context, but words like "roué" (conniving??) "souplesse d'échine", "art de l'esquive" and "caméléon" suggest to me that "dolorism" is used here as a feature of the person's character similar to Dickens' Uriah Heap, ingratiating, falsely subservient, smarmy, cringing, putting on a "hangdog" air to make others feel guilty ... acting the unjustly treated whipping boy.
Of course this may not fit the broader context, but it's what it evokes fpr me.
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Note added at 5 hrs (2008-11-21 01:40:14 GMT)
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Playing the victim, the underdog.
Reference comments
41 mins
Reference:
Thomas Dormandy "The Worst of Evils"
A quick google found this very interesting text about the word. See chapter 43
17 hrs
Reference:
The cult of sorrow and misery
I lifted this out of Jonathan's Time reference. It could fit the bill nicely.
Discussion
Dolorism.
* Oxford English Dict.: "Dolour, dolor. From Latin dolr-em pain, grief, anger, f. dol-re to suffer pain or grief."
* Le Petit Robert: "Dolorisme. Doctrine de l'utilité, de la valeur (morale) de la douleur. Duhamel « donne en plein dans ce que j'appellerai le dolorisme, c'est-à-dire la théorie de l'utilité, de la nécessité, de l'excellence de la douleur » (P. Souday)."
Asceticism.
* Oxford English Dict.: "Ascesis. From Greek exercise, training, f. to exercise. The practice of self-discipline. Asceticism. The principles or practice of the Ascetics; rigorous self-discipline, severe abstinence, austerity."
*Le Petit Robert: "Ascétisme. 1 Mor., théol. Genre de vie religieuse des ascètes, ensemble des pratiques ascétiques. 2 Vie austère, continente, frugale, rigoriste."
In defence of my own answer I would quote the Wikipedia article "asceticism":
"Nietzsche describes the morality of the ascetic priest as characterized by Christianity as one where, finding oneself in pain, one places the blame for the pain on oneself and thereby attempts and attains mastery over the world,[5] a tactic that Nietzsche places behind secular science as well as behind religion."
For argument's sake at least!