Nietzsche’s Core Concepts and Critique of Western Thought
Nietzsche’s Philosophy: A Critique of Western Culture
Key Concepts in Nietzsche’s Philosophy
Vitalism
Vitalism, in Nietzsche’s view, is the affirmation of life. Nietzsche criticized earlier philosophers for advocating a dualistic conception of reality, where there were two worlds: the world of ideas and the sensitive world, with the former being considered the real world. He believed that a world governed by reason, whose values oppose life, rejects the senses and all forms of irrationality. Nietzsche defended vitalism, arguing that values should be based on the affirmation of life, that is, the existence of man.
Monotheism
Nietzsche viewed monotheism as “monotonous-theism.” He considered all religions false because they stem from the belief in one immutable, eternal God, which he saw as being against life itself. He thought that polytheistic religions might be more appropriate, as they express reality without radically separating it from life.
Becoming
Becoming encompasses change, death, old age—everything related to earthly life. While earlier philosophers championed the permanent and unchanging, Nietzsche criticized Parmenides’ concept of “being is, and non-being is not,” from which he believed both Platonism and Christianity emerged, along with the values of Western culture.
Egyptianism
Egyptianism is the opposite of becoming, as it is based on eternal, absolute values and the worship of the ideal. It does not conceive of death as such and defends the afterlife.
Philosophers
Nietzsche referred to philosophers as “idolaters.” He believed they represent the world in a totally erroneous or inadequate way, proclaiming a world where substantiality, unity, God, and essence reign—values totally opposed to those he defended. These philosophers prioritize reason over the senses, typical of decadent nihilism or metaphysics, because they deny all values antithetical to life. Nietzsche believed that reason is just one power over our lives, alongside imagination, instincts, and so on.
Tragic Artist
The tragic artist is able to achieve harmony between the Dionysian and Apollonian worlds, that is, a balance between life and death.
Dionysian vs. Apollonian
The Dionysian world is represented by Dionysus, the god of wine, music, and passion, symbolizing chaos. It is pessimistic in that it accepts both joy and pain. Despite all suffering, Nietzsche adhered to this view, unlike the Apollonian world, represented by Apollo, the god of beauty and youth, symbolizing rationality. With Plato, this harmony of Greek tragedy between these worlds was broken, placing the Apollonian world above the Dionysian as the only true one.
Decadence
Decadence is a sign of going against life. Nietzsche saw the morality, religion, metaphysics, and science of Western culture as decadent. He believed decadence began when Plato separated the world into two: one being the true world, where reason is above the senses and life, promoting values like eternity, permanence, and unity—values that oppose human existence.
Death of God
With the “death of God,” Nietzsche referred not only to the death of God’s existence but also to the traditional values of Western culture. For traditional philosophy, God is a refuge for those unwilling to accept life, representing the supreme value that establishes right and wrong, providing a sense of security against the insecurity of life. After the death of God, according to Nietzsche, man is confused and must accept the innocence of becoming, adopting a new outlook on life.
Contextualizing Nietzsche’s Critique
The text presents Nietzsche’s critique of Western culture, namely, metaphysics, morality, Christian religion, and science. This is included in his work Twilight of the Idols. Nietzsche was influenced by Eastern philosophy, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, due to their conception of life and existence as pain. Like Marx, who urged people to revolt against the government of his time (capitalism), Nietzsche sought a revolution against traditional values, specifically against Christianity. Thus, against the rationalist culture of the traditional Western world, Nietzsche proposed a vitalist irrationalism.
Nietzsche begins his critique with Platonism and its later radicalization in Christianity. Against reason and everything that Western culture had maintained, Nietzsche proposes a celebration of life.
Periods in Nietzsche’s Thought
We can distinguish three distinct periods in his thought:
- Romantic Period: This includes works like The Birth of Tragedy and Untimely Meditations. Against the Enlightenment, where reason triumphs, he highlights romantic feelings as vital expressions. Nietzsche disagrees with the ideal of Greek culture defended by Socrates, seeking instead in Heraclitus, perhaps the only pre-Socratic to defend change. Nietzsche was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, for whom the world of things is the world of will, hence Nietzsche’s “will to power.” Schopenhauer’s works reflect the Greek world, that is, the tragedy, where life is beyond reason, a view he shares with Hegel but not with Nietzsche. Schopenhauer was influenced by a distrust in history and anti-dialectical thinking, asserting the will as the engine of human life against the tyranny of reason. Nietzsche, however, would disagree with Schopenhauer’s thought, as it maintains a reactive nihilism (pessimistic, leading to suicide) as opposed to Nietzsche’s metaphysical nihilism (Dionysian). His thinking is also influenced by the music of Wagner, which represents the apotheosis of passion, nature, and the meaning of the earth. However, Nietzsche eventually realized that Wagner’s music did not represent all that he intended to defend, as he felt it had become a Christianization of life, as reflected in Parsifal.
- Positivist Period: This includes works like Human, All Too Human, Aurora, and The Gay Science. Here, he criticizes metaphysics conceived as essence, substance, unity, and God. For Nietzsche, the world we perceive is just the opposite: change, birth, and death.
- Critical Period of Western Culture: This includes works like Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, The Antichrist, The Genealogy of Morals, Nietzsche Contra Wagner, and Twilight of the Idols. This period is critical of morality, religion, and traditional philosophy, accusing them of inventing unreal worlds.
Influences and Legacy
In addition to Schopenhauer, Nietzsche was influenced by Marx and Stirner, who emphasized individualism above all, which Nietzsche later adopted. Darwin also marked Nietzsche’s thinking on the design of the living, as man was not created by God but descended from lower species as a superior being. This is explained by the theory of Darwinian evolution, and the struggle for survival is proposed in the concept of “will to power.”
Nietzsche had a great influence on both literature and later philosophy, influencing philosophers like Sartre, Heidegger, and Spengler, and novelists like Thomas Mann and Elias Canetti. His ideas even reached Freud’s psychoanalysis, which sought to bring the repressed conscious in the subconscious, such as passions and desires, to the forefront, recognizing them as part of our lives.
Nietzsche’s philosophy also struck a chord with the Generation of ’98, introducing important concepts like the eternal return, the valuation of life, and a predilection for the superman. Azorín named the Generation of ’98, a group characterized by concern for Spain’s identity and the serious humanitarian crisis after losing colonies like Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. They rebelled against the backwardness of traditional Spanish values, seeking solutions to their problems. This is reflected in works by writers like Unamuno, whose Life of Don Quixote and Sancho represents the passion of man, interpreting the symbols of the Spanish soul. Other notable writers of this generation include Ganivet, Maeztu, and P. Baroja, along with philosophers like Ortega y Gasset, María Zambrano, José Ferrater Mora, and Julián Marías, each analyzing Spain and proposing solutions to find the true essence and soul of Spain, and thus the meaning of life.