Abstract

This article analyses the concept of “the loss of time” in the essays of Mircea Eliade. This concept is shown to be an instrument of knowledge and a form of freedom that saves the human being from falling into historicity, and opens a point of access towards authenticity. The article critically discusses the temporal alternatives of the modern human being: capitalized time, free time, and personal time. The loss of time is subsequently shown to be both a technique for obtaining salvation, and a domination technique de- scribed in scientific works. Finally, the invitation of losing time is seen as a re-activation of an a priori structure that makes possible the “humanitarian engagement” of Eliade in order to re-actualize the sacred at the conscious level of the modern human being, as well as an attempt at revalorization of parusia for the religious Christian