Nietzsche’s Life in 19th-Century Germany
Nietzsche’s Life and the German Empire
Nietzsche’s life is intrinsically linked to the birth and development of the German Empire. Initially, he embraced the spirit that harbored the Germans’ desire to become a great power, even serving as a medic in the Reich’s army. However, he later abandoned these illusions.
The Rise of the German Empire
By the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Germany had achieved its dream: expanding and consolidating its borders, becoming one of the great European powers envisioned by Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor. The dream of Greater Germany had become a reality.
The German industrial revolution, somewhat later than the English one, caused a significant increase in urban population and a decline in the agricultural state union economy. Banking and industry produced a rapid consolidation of German power.
The Labor Movement and Nietzsche’s Perspective
Labor movements were very important at this time. The Industrial Revolution had created a large working class, impoverished and exploited, working in miserable conditions. The proletariat became conscious and organized class movements and unions. Friedrich Nietzsche lived alongside these movements but never sympathized with them; moreover, he disliked these proletarian movements and socialism. He was always an enemy of workers’ colonial claims.
European Colonialism and 19th-Century Culture
Another aspect to consider in the historical context of the 19th century is that Europe divided Africa without regard for Africans. Regarding the cultural context, Romanticism dominated the scene for most of the 19th century. It is, without a doubt, the pivotal movement across the cultural landscape. Against a universal right for all individuals’ obligations, Romanticism defends individual creativity.
Nietzsche, Wagner, and Romanticism
As we are discussing Nietzsche’s context, we must especially consider musical Romanticism. Wagner and his music, and the entire set of ideals that it entails, profoundly influenced Nietzsche’s thinking and person. So much so that Nietzsche’s philosophy cannot be understood without considering his relationship with Richard Wagner.
The 19th century saw numerous and significant art forms emerge. In painting, there was Impressionism; in literature, names like Balzac and Zola. In short, it was a century marked by revolutions and creation, also revolutionary in many respects.
The Crisis of Enlightenment Reason
Regarding the philosophical context, the most notable aspect is what has been called the crisis of Enlightenment reason. The philosophy of the second half of the 19th century is marked by a deep distrust of human reason. The tradition of Western philosophy had enshrined the idea that human reason could give a sense of unity to life, creating more just and happy societies and providing access to truth and knowledge.
Nietzsche’s Response to the Enlightenment
Nietzsche embodies one of the responses to the failed Enlightenment project. In his first period, he was influenced by Romanticism, from which he adopted the uncompromising defense of the individual and creativity, the idea of genius as a creator of meaning, and an intellectual hierarchy of humans: some men are indispensable to generate a sense of life, while “human copies” contribute nothing to the world. Wagner would be, at first, one of those men of genius carriers.
Schopenhauer’s Influence
The Nietzschean idea of the Superman will draw on the Romantic vision of genius. The other great influence on Nietzsche is Arthur Schopenhauer. Nietzsche’s will to live becomes Schopenhauer’s Will to Power, a kind of creative energy of life that sustains the Superman and overcomes nihilism to make way for a new era. Nietzsche transforms Schopenhauer’s pessimism into a radical optimism.