Nietzsche’s early work On the Birth of Tragedy put forth the Apollonian and Dionysian concepts. Within the work, the German philologist and philosopher states “The effect aroused by the Dionysian also seemed ‘Titanic’ and ‘barbaric’ to the Apollonian Greek: while he was at the same time unable to conceal from himself the fact that he was inwardly related to those fallen Titans and heroes.” Nietzsche goes on further “Indeed, he was obliged to sense something even greater than this: his whole existence, with all its beauty and moderation rested on a hidden substratum of suffering and knowledge, which was once again revealed to him by the Dionysian.” He then strongly concludes, “And look! Apollo was unable to live without Dionysus!”
Nietzsche terms the Dionysian as “Titanic” to indicate his concept’s vastness. This vastness is similar to the vastness of Schopenhauer’s ocean imagery that describes how the earlier philosopher felt about consciousness unconstrained by ego. If an Apollonian Greek were to break his ego, or what Nietzsche would term his ‘shell,’ he creates the possibility of experiencing the pleasure offered by the Dionysian element. He allows himself to be overtaken by an ‘ecstatic’ ocean. The word ‘Titanic’ implies an enormity unable to be controlled. In this sense, the feeling of vastness can present itself as the antithesis to the Apollonian ideal of structure and thus prove overwhelming. So overwhelming, that one may be destroyed.
This is where the description “barbaric” comes into the picture. Nietzsche goes to great lengths to define what he terms the “Dionysian barbarian” and which he separates from the Dionysian Greeks. In this passage he expounds upon the traditional Dionysian festivals which occurred “in all c...
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... about accurately portraying facts. Rather, Nietzsche is interested in affective interpretations. There is also a possibility he had not reexamined the pros of On the Birth of Tragedy until he wrote Ecce Homo. What is more, Nietzsche is blunter in his Nachlass when he states “there are no facts, only interpretations.”
Additionally, some insight can be provided based upon the very nature of Ecce Homo, in which Nietzsche puts himself on trial, ironically in Socratic fashion, and defends his life’s work chapter by chapter. Nietzsche is ultimately interested here in providing a definitive rationale for his philosophy, which celebrates the Dionysian worldview of emotion and instinct over cold rationality and reason. Birth of Tragedy, offers an extended defense of the Dionysian worldview and, with all of its flaws, was a work with which Nietzsche was finally able to com
The juxtaposition of the Titanic and the environment in the first five stanzas symbolizes the opposition between man and nature, suggesting that nature overcomes man. The speaker characterizes the sea as being “deep from human vanity” (2) and deep from the “Pride of Life that planned” the Titanic. The diction of “human vanity” (2) suggests that the sea is incorruptible by men and then the speaker’s juxtaposition of vanity with “the
But here, joy doesn’t come from idealized images but rather musical symbols and sounds. As one listens to music for instance, the person gets “outside of” herself and her pleasure comes from becoming one with nature. Furthermore, the reunion of man and man is reaffirmed. For instance, people at a concert have a feeling of unity as they are all listening to the same music and experiencing the same feeling. Music and dance transform the consciousness of the individual who is immersed in them and the feeling of separation is lost. Nietzsche describes music symbols as resembling the ecstatic state of mind that they suggest, these symbols transfigure and sweeten reality. So, dionysian music symbols don’t necessarily represent one specific thought or emotion. Thus, while listening to music, the world is transfigured into an aesthetically pleasing world, and thereby makes life possible and worth living. But much like apollonian art, diosynian art involves an illusion and once the music stops, we return to the ugly reality and there is a danger of letdown when the dionysian experience is
The Differences between Apollo and Dionysus are not difficult to see. Though both Gods are associated wi...
I decided to analyze the similarities and differences between the two gods: Zeus and his son Dionysus. Even though Dionysus is of the same lineage of Zeus, this does not mean they share all of the same characteristics of one another. They differ greatly in attitude, appearance and morals. Zeus is considered the king of all gods, and he proudly uses his powers for his own amusement and pleasure, often at the expense of others lives. Whereas, Dionysus is the god of wine and fertility and he uses his powers to bring both pleasure and an escape from the grief that plagues ones mind but this can come at a cost leading the consumer to become unpredictable and easily influenced through overindulgence and addiction.
The book Ecce Homo seems to be an account of Nietzsche establishing a validation of his whole being. This whole book is an opportunity for him to critique himself, and he finds himself more than superb. ."..I have been told how getting used to my writings spoils ones taste. One simply can no longer endure other books, least of all philosophical works" (719). This writing is his way of not becoming perpetually problematic. He wants to make very clear that he is the pivot point around which all change will come and that his goal is to have all things established and idolized ruined. "Whoever uncovers morality also uncovers the disvalue of all values that are and have been believed: he no longer sees anything venerable in the most venerated..." (790). The review of his various works is a way to make sure that the reader cannot accuse him of being something he is not and therefore test the reader's true understanding of his nature. His ideal reader would be one that was strong enough to understand the boldness of an immoralist.
Enter here The ear splitting crackle from a whip is heard as a master shouts orders to a slave. This to most people would make them comfortable. The idea of slavery is one that is unsettling to most people. This is because most people feel it is unmoral or morally wrong to own another human being. However Nietzsche would not necessarily believe this because he did believe in a morality that fits all. Ethics and morality are completely objective and cannot be one set of rules for everyone. Ethics and morality that are more strictly defined are for the weak, the strong do not need a set of rules because they can take care of themselves.
The importance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle will allow one to achieve the most worthwhile existence. Nikos Kazantzakis’ Zorba the Greek dramatizes the significance of balance between the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy, through the characterization of the contrasting protagonists, Boss and Zorba. Kazantzakis typifies the differences amid the philosophical ideologies through the comparison of Boss and Zorba’s beliefs. Moreover, he represents Boss by his willingness to try to improve oneself and live more like Zorba. Through the progression of their journey, Zorba’s Dionysian lifestyle becomes a primary influence to Boss and begins to alter his perspectives on the true meaning of life. Throughout the novel, Kazantzakis outlines the
When one considers the extensive degree to which modern philosophy has invested in scrutinizing the subject of morality, the default reaction would perhaps be one of amenable acceptance. After all, the significance of morality is obvious, and questions such as what constitutes as moral and how exactly does one become moral have been matters of contention for maybe longer than philosophy has even existed. It can be said therefore, that philosophy is steadfast in its fascination with everything morality. It is also precisely this almost fanatic obsession with morality that Nietzsche is so critical of. This is not to say the he would reject the importance or even the necessity of morality altogether. He is concerned however, that
Euripides’s The Bacchae tells the story of Dionysus, son of the Greek god Zeus and the mortal Shemele. Conceived through an illustrious affair between the two, things got complicated when Zeus’s second wife Hera found out. Hera set out to make her husband suffer; she came up with a devious plan, tricking Shemele into convincing Zeus into revealing his true form to her. Thus after initially saying no, Zeus is persuaded and eventually appears to Shemele in the form of a lighting bolt thus causing her to die seemingly instantaneously from his presence. Thankfully for Dionysus, at the very moment of her death, Zeus other son Hermes, whom he had conceived with the goddess Maia, saved his brother’s life by placing and sewing his sibling within his father thigh to protect him from the wrath of Hera until he was fully grown and ready to be born into the world. Unfortunately for Dionysus, his mother’s mortal family, whom he was returned to after his birth, did not believe in his true parentage. Believing “That Semele having slept with some man/ proceed...
Schelling finds Greek mythology to be the highest point of mythology as it is able of expressing all three potencies with a degree of spirituality that we find nowhere else in the pagan world. The Hellenic representation of the three potencies is of them as the three different forms that the god Dionysus assumes. However, although Greek mythology acknowledges that the three potencies are one, it still fails to see the oneness underlying the different images of God, and how the potencies can be one without their differences ceasing to be. The three forms of Dionysus are separated from one another, and do not enjoy the same degree of oneness which binds the three persons of the Trinity. Thus, only with revelation we finally come to an understanding of God's oneness which represent the potencies in an organic oneness.
... I see a bull.” (Line 917) Pentheus, after disregarding the existence of the god of nature, Dionysus, in the entire duration of the play, finally sees the god’s true form: a bull. As a consequence of possession, his blindness is partially cured. His own old preconceptions about the world, about his own superiority, and denying the existence of nature is now split into two worlds: one side that does believe, and one side that still does not—resulting in his skewed vision of the city. Even after being partially enlightened (especially seeing Dionysus’s true form for the first time), Pentheus still underestimates the god’s powers and foolishly heads to the hills to be mauled by his own family and the other women under Dionysus’s spell of frenzy. It is almost ironic that Pentheus perishes at the hand of his own mother as a result of her blindness—she sees him as a lion.
...trated this by betraying the trust that people had in men and the gods with his foolish and reckless action against Cadmus and his family. Dionysus refuted rational thinking by letting his emotions for revenge stand in the way of his contemplating how a god should behave. In doing all the things Dionysus has destroyed the ideal way one would expect a god to conduct their self. Euripides portrays a Dionysus that single handily destroys all the cultural values of Hellenic Greece; however, Euripides is able to capture the changing values of his audience and pave the way for the culture of Hellenistic Greece to begin to dominate societal thought.
In Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche, Nietzsche talks about will to power. Before talking about the will to power, one must understand power itself. What is power? Power can be interpreted in different ways. Power can be interpreted in making a person do what one wants even if the person will not in any way be subjected. Today in international relations, power is what make international relations. According to Nietzsche, the will to power is the main focus for humans. Everyone wants power for different reasons. One reason is to be the leader of a country or another reason is so their name will live on. Today most people want to achieve the most powerful position in the world and that is being the President of the United States of America. The President of the United States is the most powerful person in the world because of many reasons. One reason is because the President of the United States is the only leader of a country that is a superpower. Other countries around the world according to international relations, are great powers but none of them can be a superpower.
A tragic story represents the downfall of goods and destruction by evil. Tragedy is a descending story shape. It can be compared to the season of fall because both fall and tragedy go from good to evil where living things die. Tragedy starts with "Destruction of the Beautiful," in which virtuous characters are destroyed through no fault of their own; this descends to "The Death of Innocence" where faultless characters meet the realities of life and are changed forever; "Triumph and Defeat" shows us a state where a quest either fails or triumphs but in the midst of suffering; "Pride and Death" in which a character who is familiar with evil is presented with affliction; "Nothingness" where a character only knows suffering and evil in life; and "Horror" where a victim of great horror can only escape through death. Tragedy is like a black hole of misery where a victim becomes a prisoner in hell like life and suffers until death. In Night, a horrific autobiography of Elie Wiesel's life in the Nazi concentration camps, Wiesel witnesses unspeakable acts of appalling pain and suffering. These included a boy killing his father for a piece of bread and the death of Wiesel's own father. Wiesel is eventually liberated from the concentration camps but it is after witnessing the loss of his friends, family, country, faith, and religion. Wiesel was one of millions who faced the tragic and unspeakable acts of the Nazis. In the concentration camps people gave up and lost any hope. This ultimately led to destruction, which can be compared to the phase of "Horror."
All of Friedrich Nietzsche quotes were made before the age of 44. For the last 11 years of his life, he had no use of his mental capabilities. While many of Friedrich Nietzsche quotes were focused on religion, or the fallacy of it, it would be interesting to see what he would have written about later in his life and if his opinion would have changed. Although, the statement 'God is dead' did come from him, so there would likely have been no change in how he viewed religion. Many of his quotes are focused on human behavior and existence, and following are some that moved me.