Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
(1844-1900)
Early Life
 Born
October 15, 1844
 1849 father dies
 1864 goes to Bonn University to
study theology and philology
(classics and ancient languages)
 1865 transfers to Leipzig University
to study philology
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
emphasized the
centrality of the
will/desire in
understanding the
world (most
importantly
humanity)
 Philosophical
pessimism
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Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
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Met in 1868
Became a father
figure for Nietzsche
Nietzsche saw him as
the reincarnation of
Greek tragedy
Heavily influenced
Nietzsche’s
understanding of art
Broke with Wagner
due to anti-Semitism
and Parsifal
Scholarly Career
 Offered
the Chair of the Department
of Philology at Basel University in
1869 before completing his doctoral
work
 Gave popular lectures on Homer,
Greek Tragedy and Pre-Socratic
philosophy
“On Truth and Lie in Their
Nonmoral Sense”
1870
 First
began to question the notion of
eternal truth
 Defined ‘truth’ as “errors whose
origin has been forgotten”
 Left unpublished at the time of his
death
The Birth of Tragedy
1872
 Originally
dedicated to Wagner;
removed in the 2nd edition
 Focused on Greek theater (especially
drama) and music
 Saw these as the Greeks’ way of
overcoming pessimism
 Distinguished between Apollonian
and Dionysian lives—sought a
reconciliation of them
The Apollonian
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Apollo was charioteer
of the sun and the god
of reason
The Delphic Oracle, an
oracle of Apollo,
inspired the mission of
Socrates
Represents life as a
problem that must be
solved through reason
and principle
Who is Apollinian?
 Music
and Art: Johann Sebastian
Bach, Jacques-Louis David, Richard
Collier, Duke Ellington, George
Gershwin, Josh Groban
 Religion and Philosophy: Moses,
Tsadok, Confucius, Plato, Rene
Descartes, Immanuel Kant
 Fictional: Captain America, Darth
Vader, Doctor Doom, Sherlock
Holmes, Superman, Yoda
The Dionysian
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Dionysus (Roman:
Bacchus) was god of
wine
His dismemberment
by the gods was
recreated in traditional
bacchanalia
Represents passion
and the overcoming of
pessimism through
celebration
Who is Dionysian?
 Music
and Art: Heironymous Bosch,
James Ensor, Jim Morrison, Little
Richard, Elvis Presley
 Religion and Philosophy: Carvaka,
Ezekiel, John the Baptist, Friedrich
Nietzsche
 Fictional: Barbarella, Krishna, Han
Solo, Spider-Man
Human, All-Too-Human
1878-1880
Nietzsche’s first approach to
understanding human psychology
 One of the earliest developments of depth
psychology
 Developed several ideas crucial to
Freudian psychoanalysis, including
repression, sublimation and projection
 Critically influential on his later work on
religion and morality
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Health Problems
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Visited a brothel in his college days, where he
contracted syphilis
Long list of physical ailments, including
gastrointestinal problems, migraines and vision
problems
Retired due to his condition in 1879
Spent summers in cooler climates (primarily SilsMaria, Switzerland) and winters in warmer
climates (primarily Turin, Italy)
Tertiary effects eventually led to his breakdown
from dementia in 1889
Spent last 11 years of his life as an invalid
Daybreak
1881
 First
initiated his evaluation of moral
ideals
 Insisted in looking for the
motivations that led to certain moral
concepts and ideals—genealogical
method
 First contrasted ‘morality’ with ‘life’,
insisting that morality as we know it
is hostile to worldly life
The Gay Science
1882 (part 5: 1885)
 First
proclaimed the death of God
 Completes his break with
Schopenhauer’s pessimism and
begins constructing his positive
philosophy
 Begins his full-scale assault on the
ideas of eternal truth and ethics
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
1883 (part 4: 1887)
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Inspired by the historical
Zoroaster (c.628-551
BCE); written in scriptural
style
Proclaims the coming of
Nietzsche’s higher man,
the Übermensch
Introduces the idea of the
Eternal Recurrence of the
Same (first mentioned in
The Gay Science)
Aims at the overcoming of
pessimism through
celebration of life
Beyond Good and Evil
1886
 One
of Nietzsche’s best-known and
widely read works, inaugurated a
period of incredible productivity
 Explicitly connected morality and
religion to hatred of life
 Advocated a return to ancient
systems of ethics that focuses on
character
 Advocated an ethics of nobility
The Genealogy of Morals
1887
 Nietzsche’s
most “traditional”
philosophical writing
 Sought to locate the origin of
morality in ressentiment
 Exposed the negative psychological
motivations behind pity, guilt,
responsibility and punishment
Twilight of the Idols
The Antichrist
1888
Nietzsche’s grand declaration of war
against Christianity and morality
 Twilight focuses on the origin of
philosophy’s errors in Socrates
 The Antichrist focuses on Paul as the
initiator of Christianity’s denial of life
 Treats Paul as a perversion of Jesus’
teachings as a result of his commitment to
the philosophy of Plato
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Ecce Homo
1888, published 1908
 Retrospective
on his own work
 Outlines his approach to philosophy
 Intended to prevent both misuse of
his work and blind obedience to his
philosophy
Success and Destruction
First public lectures were given on
Nietzsche’s philosophy in 1888, leading to
a sudden interest in his works
 Nietzsche’s long-time friend Lou Salomé
publishes the first book on Nietzsche’s
philosophy in 1894
 Suffered mental breakdown in early 1889
 Died August 25, 1900
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Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche
1846-1935
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Had control of Nietzsche’s
literary estate
Estranged from her brother
because of her husband
Bernhard Förster, an early
member of the Nazi party
Founded the Nietzsche
Archives in 1894, to which
she alone granted access
Used Nietzsche’s writings
to support Hitler and
National Socialism
Published My Sister and I,
a fraudulent work of
Nietzsche’s proclaiming her
to be his sole interpreter
The Will to Power
1901
 Edited
by Nietzsche’s sister
 Made up of notebook entries from a
10-year period ordered thematically
 Presented as Nietzsche’s
uncompleted masterwork
 Exposed for what it really is by
Walter Kaufmann
Nietzsche Rehabilitated
1950 publication of Walter Kaufmann’s
Nietzsche rescues Nietzsche from
traditional Nazifications of his thought
 1952 Walter Kaufmann exposes My Sister
and I as a fraud
 1965 Arthur Danto’s Nietzsche and
Philosophy sufficiently “normalizes”
Nietzsche to make his work studied in the
English-speaking world
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