Nietzsche's The Case of Wagner and Nietzsche Contra Wagner (Edinburgh Critical Guides to Nietzsche)

Wagner was a lifelong obsession for Nietzsche. No other topic or figure more consistently and persistently appears in Nietzsche's books from beginning to end as do Wagner and his theories. For the first time, Ryan Harvey and Aaron Ridley put Wagner centre-stage in their book to show why he mattered so much to Nietzsche. Looking at both The Case of Wagner and Nietzsche Contra Wagner , they identify and define the trajectory of a number of overarching themes - modernity, decadence and Wagner as the sign of decline - within Nietzsche's work as a whole in order to demonstrate how they crystallise into Nietzsche's final and most substantial discussion of Wagner in The Case of Wagner . Assuming no prior knowledge of Nietzsche or the texts however, the book also offers a section-by-section interpretation of The Case of Wagner addressing especially why Wagner is a 'case' for Nietzsche. Acknowledgements Chronology Primary Sources and Abbreviations Introduction: The Case of Wagner 1. The Artwork of the Future: A Prelude to the Philosophy of the Future The artwork of the future ‘Athenian self-dissection’ and the decline of culture at the hands of science Science, redeemed by her defeat, reaches out to her acknowledged victor: art Vitalism and art The Birth of Tragedy and the ‘music-making Socrates’ Socrates, make music! Knocking at the portals of the present and the future We must now consider similar phenomena in the present 2. The Pessimism of Strength: An Attempt to Revise the Socratic and Tragic Cultures The essence of tragic culture An attempt to self-criticise To ‘make music’ from the materials of life The twilight of an idol The uniting and dividing point of two cultures 3. Music in the Microcosm and the Macrocosm Becoming the legitimate heir and successor to the pre-Socratics Human, All Too Human and the beginning of Nietzsche’s post-Wagnerian confrontation Dawn on the horizon The Gay Science Beyond Good and Evil: prelude to a philosophy of the future Ecce Homo 4. Music as the Late Fruit of Every Culture The Case of Wagner The preface The charges Sections 1–2 Section 3 Sections 4–5 Section 6 Sections 7–8 Sections 9–10 Sections 11–12 5. The Case of Nietzsche; or, How to Become More Wagnerian than Wagner First postscript Second postscript and epilogue Conclusion Coming full circle A dangerous game Glossary of Key Terms Guide to Further Reading on The Case of Wagner and Nietzsche Contra Wagner Bibliography Index The first full-length critical introduction in English to Nietzsche's lifelong obsession with Wagner – essential for understanding Nietzsche's philosophy as a wholeSituates The Case of Wagner within the context of Wagner's intellectual influence on NietzscheAssumes no prior knowledge of Nietzsche or the textsGives you a section-by-section interpretation of The Case of Wagner addressing especially why Wagner is a'case'for NietzscheProvides a contextual backdrop to the many long-standing intellectual threads between Wagner and Nietzsche that find their expression in The Case of WagnerIncludes a chronology of Nietzsche's life and work, a glossary of key terms, an index of names and subjects and a guide to further readingWagner was a lifelong obsession for Nietzsche. Ryan Harvey and Aaron Ridley put Wagner centre-stage to show why he mattered so much to Nietzsche. Looking at The Case of Wagner and Nietzsche Contra Wagner, they identify and define the trajectory of a number of overarching themes – modernity, decadence and Wagner as the sign of decline within Nietzsche's work as a whole – and then demonstrate how they crystallise into Nietzsche's final and most substantial discussion of Wagner in The Case of Wagner.