19th Century Bourgeois Europe: A Critical Analysis
The Rise of Bourgeois Society
The 19th century was dominated by bourgeois society. Beginning with the French Revolution and extending through the first half of the century, the bourgeoisie shaped Europe’s image. The latter half saw the rise of new nation-states like Germany and Italy, fueled by nationalism. The Industrial Revolution, consolidating between 1830 and 1840, enriched the bourgeoisie but alienated the proletariat. The need for raw materials and new markets led to the colonization of Africa and Asia, transforming European nations into empires. Nietzsche directed his criticism towards these bourgeois ideals.
Conflicting Ideologies
Two key trends defined 19th-century politics. Adam Smith’s liberalism championed the economic and political freedom of the bourgeoisie. In response to liberalism’s negative consequences for the proletariat, socialist and anarchist policies, rooted in Marx’s philosophy, emerged in the final third of the century. Nietzsche aligned with neither ideology, rejecting their pursuit of a utopian society, whether through bourgeois order or communism. In the life sciences, Darwin’s The Origin of Species was a landmark publication. Nietzsche’s concept of the superman and the will to power resonated with Darwinian evolution.
Cultural Critique
Nietzsche viewed 19th-century culture, with the exception of Wagner’s music, as a symptom of decline in bourgeois Europe. The symbolism of Verlaine and Rimbaud’s poetry expressed this disillusionment. Despite their break from tradition and rejection of the bourgeoisie, these artists maintained an aristocratic, elitist air. Oscar Wilde epitomized the bohemian artist, striving to transform life into art. This seemingly carefree attitude, reflected in the paintings of Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, masked a bitterness and nihilism also present in Nietzsche’s philosophy.
Challenges to Positivism
Positivism dominated the latter half of the 19th century, but reactions emerged. Dilthey’s historicism and vitalism, with which Nietzsche identified, sought to understand reality beyond scientific explanations. Comte’s positivism equated reason with scientific reason and truth with scientific truth, an objective, fact-based view. Nietzsche opposed this ideal, arguing that science relied on extra-scientific assumptions. He saw reality not as objective but as a collection of interpretations. His philosophy critiqued Enlightenment thought, from its faith in reason and science to Hegel’s idealism. He believed the Enlightenment shared values with Christianity—truth, goodness, and beauty—and positivism was a continuation of this trend.
Beyond Rationalism
Freud’s theories also challenged the rationalist tradition. Psychoanalysis emphasized instincts and libido in shaping personality. The pleasure principle, Freud argued, governed human life, its fulfillment or frustration determining our being. This was a critique of his time’s neurotic society. Schopenhauer, another Enlightenment critic, argued that the world is our “representation,” organized from perceptions using categories of understanding. This world is essentially “will” to exist, the desire to persist. This will, the driving force behind all movement and change, influenced Nietzsche, particularly in his early work. Schopenhauer’s view of reason as a tool for survival and his cyclical view of history resonated with Nietzsche. However, Nietzsche diverged from Schopenhauer’s pessimism, advocating a resounding affirmation of life.