Nietzsche’s Philosophy: Vitalism, Apollo, and Dionysus
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche: A Philosophical Overview
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844, in Prussia and died in August 1900. His philosophical work is included in a movement he called vitalism (philosophy of life), which stresses the importance of character in the history of philosophy.
Following the death of his father, Nietzsche grew up in a predominantly feminine environment. At the age of 14, he began studying classical literature, and by 25, he was already a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Basel. An accident during his time in the army led to lifelong migraines.
Philosophy of the Night
This period of Nietzsche’s life was significantly influenced by his ill health, the result of a fall. This particularly affected his writing style, as migraines often prevented him from writing for extended periods.
His style was consistently provocative, intemperate, innovative, and deconstructive.
Linguistic Characteristics of Nietzsche’s Thought
This period is characterized by Nietzsche’s linguistic approach to his work. His use of aphorisms is particularly notable:
- Language is both the limit and the possibility.
- Every word is a prejudice. All words are contaminated by Christian prejudices.
- Thinking is like dancing, but we are forced to dance with chains. It would be ideal to stop thinking outside the prison of language.
- He called all artists the philosophers of the verb, criticizing all philosophers because they could only use words to discover the secrets of our world.
Nietzsche criticized the entire history of our culture for denying the desire of life. According to Nietzsche, the will to life could only be found in Pre-Socratic philosophy, specifically in Heraclitus, and in the spirit of Greek tragedy (Apollo and Dionysus).
Influences on Nietzsche
Nietzsche acknowledged two significant influences among his contemporaries:
- The music of Wagner, which he saw as a way of interpreting reality.
- “The World as Will and Representation” by Arthur Schopenhauer.
Nietzsche consistently had more enemies than friends. His only true friend was Peter Gast.
The Birth of Tragedy
The main work of this period is The Birth of Tragedy, which explores the struggle between two opposing forces: Apollo and Dionysus. Apollo represents static wisdom and order, while Dionysus represents creative intoxication. Apollo embodies the spirit of day (light), while Dionysus embodies darkness (night). Apollo represents the values of reason (form, extent, harmony, contemplation, balance, speech), while Dionysus represents the values of life (passion, exuberance, ecstasy, creativity, music, poetry). Apollo opens the door to the world as representation, while Dionysus signifies the world as will.
Nietzsche criticized the entire history of our culture for denying the desire of life. According to Nietzsche, the will to life could only be found in Pre-Socratic philosophy, specifically in Heraclitus, and in the spirit of Greek tragedy (Apollo and Dionysus).
Nietzsche acknowledged two significant influences among his contemporaries:
- The music of Wagner, which he saw as a way of interpreting reality.
- “The World as Will and Representation” by Arthur Schopenhauer.
Nietzsche consistently had more enemies than friends. His only true friend was Peter Gast.
The main work of this period is The Birth of Tragedy, which explores the struggle between two opposing forces: Apollo and Dionysus. Apollo represents static wisdom and order, while Dionysus represents creative intoxication. Apollo embodies the spirit of day (light), while Dionysus embodies darkness (night). Apollo represents the values of reason (form, extent, harmony, contemplation, balance, speech), while Dionysus represents the values of life (passion, exuberance, ecstasy, creativity, music, poetry). Apollo opens the door to the world as representation, while Dionysus signifies the world as will.