Nietzsche’s Critique in Twilight of the Idols
The text analyzed belongs to the book “Twilight of the Idols” by the German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. In this excerpt, the author makes two criticisms of the philosophy of Western culture and draws from this critique four theses to oppose it. Already in the title of the work from which this text is extracted, the author suggests one of the ideas of what he intends to express: the twilight (decay, disappearance) of the idols (people, objects, or ideas that are admired or loved). To find the origin of this decadence, Nietzsche takes a “look back” that leads him to the origins of philosophy and the patriarchs of Western culture: Ancient Greece. The author realizes that at this time there was a balance between the two forces and principles that make up reality: the Dionysian spirit, which represents the values of life, and the Apollonian spirit, which represents the values of reason. This balance between the Apollonian and Dionysian no longer exists in Western culture, and Nietzsche blames three figures for that loss: Euripides, Socrates, and Plato.
Nietzsche’s Critique of Western Thought
Since the values inherited through the centuries are deemed invalid, Nietzsche criticizes the whole culture of the West to try to rectify these errors. He considers their own morality that of servants who are obliged to obey dictated rules. In contrast, the philosopher proposes a “morality of masters” who extols vital values such as love of life, greatness, pleasure, and liberation from bondage and dogmatism. He also attacks religion, believing it rejects the material world and promotes a morality of slaves.
Critique of Philosophy: Plato and God
Finally, the author criticizes philosophy, as stated in the analyzed text, for two reasons. On the one hand, he criticizes the division Plato makes of reality, creating two different worlds and ignoring what Nietzsche believes is the only true world: the world of becoming.
On the other hand, he rejects the idea of God as used by philosophers to express the most imperceptible aspects of reality. They posit God as the first and most important principle, despite Nietzsche viewing it as the latest and emptiest, thus committing another serious error humanity has paid for throughout its history.
Key Concepts in Nietzsche’s Critique
The Real World According to Nietzsche
For Nietzsche, the senses never lie; reason, therefore, is deemed an invention devoid of substance. The only world that can exist is the one we perceive. This leads the author to state that the apparent world is the real world, while the “real” world (Plato’s realm of Forms) is merely a lie that negates everything we perceive through the senses. He thus continually expresses doubts about the correspondence between “truth” (as traditionally understood) and reality. For Nietzsche, the only world is ours: the world of becoming, of space and time. This leads him to consider the great mistake of metaphysics: inventing a rational world that also detracts from the world to which it is opposed, *the world of becoming*. This confuses philosophers, who end up defending the existence of two worlds: an *apparent* and *unreal* world (the world of the senses) and a *rational* world (the “real” world). Nietzsche called this “Platonism”.
Understanding “Conviviality”
Conviviality: Nietzsche applies this term to the “jovial spirit” he attacks. It is synonymous with gaiety, joy, peacefulness of nature, and good humor.
Reference to Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Incipit Zarathustra: This work is about the teachings of Zarathustra, a figure representing the philosopher Nietzsche, who takes the name of the ancient Persian prophet. It refers to the “death of God” and, from a nihilistic perspective, aims to pave the way for the “Übermensch” (Superman).