Nietzsche (870-873)

Humans can only know through perception; therefore some type of o!ecti"e truth is #a
useful illusion$ $ $ a comfortale lie%
Human #translates% e&perience (perception) into knowing through #naming%; therefore
we ha"e use' (first) metaphor; secon' metaphor is ignoring 'ifferences etween separate(
multiple e&periences in or'er to come up with #concept%
Human reaction against our awareness that all is metaphor (not reality) can take forms
)toicism( en'uring with #'ignifie' e*uilirium%
Nihilism( 'enying the e&istence of any asis for knowle'ge or truth( thus re!ecting
customary eliefs in morality( religion( etc; ultimately( the elief that there is no
meaning or purpose in e&istence
+ill to power( Nietzsche,s choice is for #humans to forcefully an' !oyfully step
into the "acuum create' y the 'eath of truth( of -o'( an' of the other
metaphysical guarantees$ $ $ an' .to/ learn not !ust to accept ut to prou'ly affirm
that 0humanity, is a 0mighty architectural genius who succee's in erecting the
infinitely complicate' cathe'ral of concepts on mo"ing foun'ations( or e"en( one
might say( on flowing water$,%
The Birth of Tragedy
#1rt is the realm of heightene' sensation$%
+alter 2ater( writing at same time( focuses on e&perience of spectator
Nietzsche focuses on #e&uerant !oy felt y the artist3creator in the struggle to
en' recalcitrant materials to his or her will%
N celerates the #superman% who can 'o the ao"e( a fact which stresses the
power of the in'i"i'ual
)uffering is the main concept that N 'eals with4 #in'i"i'ual is su!ecte' to a
worl' that prece'es an' is more powerful than the self%; therefore pre'ates
#in'i"i'uation%
5hus suffering is ine"itale; the essence of the tragic "iew is to affirm that
suffering( to glory in the acti"e wrong'oing y which the hero offen's the way
things are( an' to say( as Nietzsche imagines 1eschylus saying4 01ll that e&ists is
!ust an' un!ust an' is e*ually !ustifie' in oth respects$,%
#5rage'y can e&ist only so long as we recognize( accept( an' affirm the
irresol"ale contra'iction etween our hopes an' how the worl' is%
#Nietzsche urges us to ha"e the strength to lo"e life e"en though suffering is
ine"itale$ 6n'ee'( he suggests that we are most ali"e when we suffer( ecause
that is when we are feeling most intensely$%
#His lasphemous 'emystification of progressi"e( 0enlightene', "alues%
the 'eath of -o'
o"erman
will to power
her' morality
eyon' goo' an' e"il
6mportance for lit crit
along with 7reu' an' 8ar&( accor'ing to 2$ 9icoeur( foun'er of #hermeneutics
of suspicion%
#Nietzsche teaches us not to take any pronouncement at face "alue%
the #genealogy% of a term must e e&plore' to really un'erstan' it .this makes
great sense if all of perception is metaphor through naming an' categorizing/
Notes from #:n 5ruth an' ;ying%
87< #a wor'$ $ $ $ .is/ a copy of a ner"ous stimulation in soun's%
877 #5he 0thing-in-itself, $ $ $ is impossile for e"en the creator of language to grasp%
877 to come up with a #concept% .a general category of our perceptions/ we ha"e to make
#non-e*ui"alent% things #e*ui"alent% y ignoring certain 'ifferences etween the single
perceptions that we are grouping together
878 #.5ruth is/ a moile army of metaphors( metonymies( anthropomorphisms$ $ $ $
which( after they ha"e een in use for a long time( strike a people as firmly estalishe'(
canonical( an' in'ing; truths are illusions of which we ha"e forgotten that they are
illusions $ $ $%
+hen N talks aout this categorizing through making e*ui"alent( he notes that this is
what sets us apart from animals; howe"er( instea' of praising this aility( he seems in the
ne&t paragraphs to show that this aility limits us 3c we fail to see the 'ifferences$ +e
are trappe' in the ol' #truths% of the metaphors that we ha"e forgotten are metaphors
880 N says that we ha"e to forget oursel"es as #su!ect% in or'er to #li"e with 'egree of
peace( security( an' consistency% .perhaps we woul' go ma'( as N 'i' if we 'i'n,t li"e in
our create' worl' of truth/
880 N says that once we,"e passe' the #image% 'own through generations an' we forget
its 'ifferences( it ecomes the same for all humans an' then we attriute #strict causality%
with the original stimulus instea' of seeing the metaphor .this seems 'ifferent from
=ant,s i'ea that man,s min' has the gri's of time an' space that then pour organize' 'ata
into the categories of un'erstan'ing to ecome thoughts>a uni"ersal trait/
88? N 'oesn,t see our categorizing as #won'erful% 3c it only makes sense that we can
categorize accor'ing to the categories that we oursel"es ha"e create' .now here we see N
gi"ing the power( then( to the in'i"i'ual>6 'on,t see a supreme eing getting in"ol"e'
here/
Notes on @irth of 5rage'y
88A references )chopenhauer( stating that #the mark of a person,s capacity for philosophy
is the gift for feeling occasionally as if people an' all things were mere phantoms or
'ream-images% .not !ust works of art( ut men themsel"es( are semlances
8BC-8BA #'issonance assuming human form%Dman #this 'issonance woul' nee'( to e
ale to li"e( a magnificent illusion which woul' sprea' a "eil of eauty o"er its own
nature$% He goes on to say that the 1polline rational( comic si'e .image-making>see
88C/ 'oes this to alance out the Eionysiac #un'ergroun'% of chaotic unity .music-
making>see 88C/$ 5he -reek trage'y he sees as a comination of these si'es4 oth are
necessary for life to e human( *uoting 1eschylus4 #How much 'i' this people ha"e to
suffer in or'er that it might ecome so eautifulF @ut now follow me to the trage'y an'
sacrifice along with me in the temple of oth 'eities$%