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Thus Spoke Zarathustra Is Seemingly a Polemic On BENDING CALYPSO: A SEARCH FOR MEANING IN FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE'S THUSSPOKEZARATHUSTRA By Elliot Lyons Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of the Arts In Philosophy Date 2008 American University Washington, D.C. 20016 AMERICAN UNIVERSllY LIBRARY UMI Number: 1455148 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UM I M icroform 1455148 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PO Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 BENDING CALYPSO: A SEARCH FOR MEANING IN FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE'S THUSSPOKEZARATHUSTRA BY Elliot Lyons ABSTRACT Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra is seemingly a polemic on Christianity, with Zarathusra being the bete noire of the pious and devout. One could conversely, due to the similarities between Zarathustra and the Christian scriptures, argue Nietzsche as well as Zarathustra uphold Christianity. However, neither of these black-and-white explanations are adequate towards the goal of understanding Zarathustra because, as I argue, his text is meant to explicate and display a spiritual journey and process, one in which Christianity must be overcome due to it's unhealthy spiritual repercussions, being recognized as a malady and thus a starting point for spiritual growth; much like Nietzsche believes that Socrates' philosophy reminds us of the need of its antithesis, art, for the formation of Greek tragedy. From the tension between Zatrathustra and his antithesis, Jesus, arises a healthy, progressive spirit which has utilized the past, Christianity, to propel itself into the future. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge, first and foremost, Matthew Emmanuel Strand for kindling my interest in philosophy of religion by introducing me to Kierkegaard, an interest without which this thesis would have never come to be. Additionally, there are those who challenged me by trying to understand my ideas, and consequently forced me to revise them and relay them in a more palpable manner. To all of you, namely my father and Emily Channell, my deepest gratitude is extended. There are also my advisors, Andrea Tschemplik and James Stam, who wholeheartedly took-on the task of overseeing my thesis despite the fact that I had begun it only months before it was due. Lastly, and certainly not the least in terms of importance, I would like to acknowledge my mother, whose encouragement and support have consistently sustained me throughout the years: to you, I owe the world and then some. Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ......................................................................................... .ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................... .iii Chapter INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1 1. A GOD RECALIMS ITS THRONE: SPIRITUALITY WITH A HAMMER ............................................................................. 6 Critical Components to Understanding Zarathustra: Over and Under The Perilous Nature of Overcoming: Walking the Tight-Rope Oh My God is Dead!: The Significance of Irrelevance Bad Air Bad Air!: The Genealogy of Morals and the Re-evaluation of Values Stages of the Spirit: The Camel, Lion, and the Child Eternal Return to Nowhere: A Philosophy of Existence 2. CHAPTER TWO: BEHOLD:THE MOVEMENT OF THE BIRTH OF THE COOL ..................................................................... .37 Hegel: Aufhebung and Growth through Negation Ecce Homo, Gay Science, and the Birth of Tragedy: Nietzsche's Advise to the Reader Nietzsche, Socrates, and Music: Marching to a Different Beat The Tragedy of Socrates: The Dionysian and the Apollonian Socrates' Redemption?: Cultivation of the Arts in the Phaedo 3. JESUS AND ZARATHUSTRA GO TO THE MIKVEH ....................... 62 Jesus as Physician: Bringing Israel Back to God IV Zarathustra as Physician/Teacher: Not Leading those who Follow Jesus Denies his Followers: Denial, Contradiction, and the Strength of the Divine Call The Reconciliation of Opposites: A Higher Purpose The Last Temptation: Pity CONCLUSION ............................................................................ 88 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................... 91 v INTRODUCTION Faust: What do you want of me, To tum to stone? That's not where my salvation lies. Shuddering awe is the greatest part of man. However fiercely the world may seek to stifle it, Once we're stirred profoundly, We're open to the infinite. 1 --Goethe, Faust Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra presents a challenging philosophy wrapped in an even more challenging imagery littered with metaphor and allusion. One of the most prominent and recognizable elements of Zarathustra is Nietzsche's use of the bible, an issue that creates more questions than answers. A question which stands above the rest is why does Nietzsche use this particular element, the bible, when constructing a philosophy that is so opposed to this very biblical element, and not only this, but the religions which claim its pages as their own, specifically Christianity and Judaism? Another question that arises is why craft philosophy in prose, two things which seem to serve two very different ends. The answer to these questions is deceptively basic, but its simplicity introduces us to deeper levels of meaning in the text. Nietzsche realized the power of images, signs, and symbols to point beyond the words that describe them, and thusly crafted the story of 1 Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust, trans. Carl R. Mueller (Hanover: Smith and Krauss, 2004). 2 Zarathustra and his spiritual journey around this idea; it is the prose that stirs the soul, inspiring it to move and progress, breaking it from its otherwise sedentary, stone-dead existence. There is, however, accompanying this felt or intuited nature of the spiritual journey, a rational side also: one must discontinue propagating systems and ideals that no longer function. 2 In this thesis, I seek to prove how Nietzsche uses biblical imagery to shudder the soul and ignite the spirit in a new way, a way which negates many Christian elements and at the same time uplifts others, creating something distinctly new, but built upon the old. I therefore approach the text of Zarathustra from a standpoint of trying to understand how Nietzsche wanted his philosophy to be used, not arguing whether or not he liked or disliked so and so; rather, I essay to peer into how he uses particular thoughts within the greater context of his philosophy, or in other words, how his opinions work to produce and serve the goal of overcoming in his work in general and in particular Zarathustra. My method of inquiry will go as follows: I will begin in chapter one with a general look at how the spiritual functions in Zarathustra to an analysis, in the second chapter, of Nietzsche's particular relationship to Socrates and its function within Nietzsche's general philosophy of overcoming. The third chapter will use the first two chapters as a basis for a look at Zarathustra's affinity to Jesus. More will be explained below. The first chapter, "A God Reclaims its Throne: Spirituality with a Hammer," seeks to highlight the spiritual nature of Zarathustra in light of its biblical allusions and the 2 I am heavily indebted to Paul Tillich and his explanation of the difference between symbols and signs and also Ruldolph Otto for his thoughts on the place of the rational and the mystical within the holy. 3 spiritual messages the work strives to overthrow; that of slave morality which spawned Christianity, ressentiment, and nihilism. What is indispensable to understanding this "spiritual nature" of Zarathustra is the idea of overcoming, whether it be the Judaeo­ Christian morality system or a tooth ache, and that in overcoming we affirm ourselves as human beings. Consequently, when Nietzsche casts aside Christianity using its own, albeit perverted, imagery he is saying no to that particular type of spirituality and yes to a new, healthier form, that represented by the process of overcoming. Nietzsche's use of biblical imagery and Christianity is, however, not simply a negation of something detrimental; it is also a recognition of the place Christianity has in the development, one could say, evolution, of the spirit. This complex spiritual relationship, which includes negation as well as recognition is detailed in the second chapter, "Behold!: The Movement of the Birth of the Cool." Here, I seek to display the spiritual movement of Nietzsche's seemingly pure antagonism for prominent figures through chronicling his relationship to Socrates, a relationship that can be described using the oppositional and expositional language of the Hegelian Aujhebung. I chose this term because it means to both preserve and to, at the same time, cancel, having recognition as one of its critical
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