'Twilight of the Idols' and Nietzsche’s Late Philosophy : Toward a Revaluation of Values

Thomas H. Brobjer revisits Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols (1888) and positions it as a rich and stimulating work that contains and summarizes Nietzsche’s late philosophy, especially his unfinished magnum opus, The Revaluation of All Values. By examining the contents and the purpose of The Twilight of the Idols in relation to Nietzsche’s Hauptwerk, Brobjer shows the deep influence of the values project on its construction, a theme ignored by almost all previous commentators. This book reveals more of what Nietzsche was reading as well as outlining influences on him at the time of his writing this text, providing a comprehensive commentary that explores both German and English language scholarship. Detailed analyses of the moral, religious, and scientific underpinnings of the text enable a new interpretation that is rooted in the project’s core philosophy, yielding more knowledge about the Revaluation of All Values as well as Nietzsche’s last philosophical thought and position. Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Illustrations Figures Tables Chapter 1: Introduction: The purpose of Twilight of the Idols 1.1 Introduction 1.2 How has Götzen-Dämmerung been regarded? 1.3 The relation of Götzen-Dämmerung to Nietzsche’s planned magnum opus (Hauptwerk) 1.4 Is Götzen-Dämmerung a summary of Nietzsche’s philosophy? Chapter 2: How has Twilight of the Idols been read, understood and used? 2.1 Introduction 2.2 German-language accounts of Götzen-Dämmerung 2.3 English-language discussions of Götzen-Dämmerung Chapter 3: The genesis, chronology and composition of the Twilight of the Idols and the Revaluation of All Values 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The genesis and chronology of Götzen-Dämmerung 3.3 What sort of notes is Götzen-Dämmerung constructed from? 3.4 History of Nietzsche’s work on a Hauptwerk, at the end called Revaluation of All Values Revaluation of All Values Chapter 4: Sources to and influences on Twilight of the Idols 4.1 Introduction 4.2 General and philosophical sources to Götzen-Dämmerung 4.3 Reading of books relating to science and ‘reality’ 4.4 Reading in and about psychology and physiology 4.5 Sources to the chapter ‘The “Improvers” of Mankind’ 4.6 Sources to the chapter ‘What the Germans Lack’ 4.7 The place and role of British philosophy and thinkers in Götzen-Dämmerung John Stuart Mill (1806–73) Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Henry Thomas Buckle (1821–62) George Eliot [Mary Ann Evans] (1819–80) Chapter 5: Reading Twilight of the Idols as relating to Nietzsche’s Revaluation of All Values 5.1 General consequences and observations 5.2 Title, subtitle, foreword and the aphorisms (chapter 1) The main title The subtitle The foreword The first chapter of aphorisms 5.3 The philosophy-critical chapters (2, 3 and 4) 5.4 The morality- and religion-critical chapters (6, 5 and 7) 5.5 The old preface and its critique of the Germans and their educational system (8) 5.6 The long miscellaneous chapter on aesthetics, writers, artists and others (9) A brief commentary to the general contents of this chapter Nietzsche’s ad hominem approach and method Nietzsche’s views on art and aesthetics in Götzen-Dämmerung Nietzsche’s plans for and attempt to construct a physiology of art The late added sections, 32–44, on morality and society Great men and Goethe as exemplum Pointers and references in this chapter to the Umwerthung aller Werthe 5.7 The last chapter on antiquity and the Dionysian (10) 5.8 The epilogue: The hammer speaks 5.9 References to the Revaluation of All Values in Götzen-Dämmerung 5.10 Some conclusions Chapter 6: What is not included in Twilight of the Idols: Or what is it a ‘summary’ of? 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Can Götzen-Dämmerung be regarded as a summary of Nietzsche’s late books? 6.3 Does Götzen-Dämmerung contain anything new? 6.4 Can Götzen-Dämmerung be regarded as containing extracts of or excerpts from the planned Hauptwerk? 6.5 Do the contents of Götzen-Dämmerung pre-empt or exhaust the contents of the Hauptwerk? 6.6 What is not included in Götzen-Dämmerung? – Nietzsche’s own philosophemes Will to power Revaluation of values The Übermensch Nihilism The idea of eternal recurrence 6.7 The affirmative contents of Götzen-Dämmerung Nietzsche’s affirmation of reality and life Five ways to recognize other affirmative aspects of Götzen-Dämmerung Chapter 7: The role and place of the idea of eternal recurrence in Twilight of the Idols 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The discovery of eternal recurrence in 1881 7.3 The place and role of eternal recurrence in Nietzsche’s published books 7.4 The presence of eternal recurrence in Götzen-Dämmerung 7.5 The role and place of eternal recurrence in Nietzsche’s plans for a Hauptwerk 7.6 What ought we to learn from the place of eternal recurrence in Götzen-Dämmerung? Chapter 8: The role of psychology, reason and instinct in Twilight of the Idols 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Nietzsche’s new psychology and his critique of old psychology 8.3 Nietzsche’s view of sublimation 8.4 The status and role of reason and instinct in Götzen-Dämmerung First-level interpretation: Nietzsche reverses the conventional view of mind and body Second-level interpretation: Reason and instinct are not opposites but related Third-level interpretation: Dynamic affirmation of not a static average but of both poles, of both mind and body Chapter 9: The critique of Christianity in Twilight of the Idols and its relation to The Antichrist 9.1 Introduction 9.2 The critique of Christianity in Götzen-Dämmerung 9.3 The critique of Christianity in Der Antichrist 9.4 Conclusions: The relation between Götzen-Dämmerung, Der Antichrist and the further volumes of the Revaluation of All Values Chapter 10: Conclusion and summary Appendix: Tables summarizing aspects of Twilight of the Idols Notes Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Bibliography Index Thomas Brobjer revisits Nietzsche's Twilight of the Idols (1888) and positions it as a rich and stimulating work that contains and summarizes much of Nietzsche's late philosophy, especially his unfinished magnum opus, The Revaluation of All Values . By examining the contents and the purpose of The Twilight of the Idols in relation to Nietzsche's Hauptwerk , Brobjer shows the deep influence of the revaluation project on its construction, a theme ignored by almost all previous commentators. This book reveals more of what Nietzsche was reading as well as outlining influences on him at the time of writing this text, providing a comprehensive commentary that explores both German and English language scholarship. Detailed analyses of the moral, religious and scientific underpinnings of the text enable a new interpretation that is rooted in the project's core philosophy, yielding more knowledge about The Revaluation of All Values as well as Nietzsche's last philosophical thought and position.