A Study of the Self in Nietzsche's Fatalistic
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A STUDY OF THE SELF IN NIETZSCHE‘S FATALISTIC UNIVERSE OF ETERNAL RECURRENCE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ARGUN ABREK CANBOLAT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY JUNE 2009 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. Ahmet İnam Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Assist. Prof. Dr. Barış Parkan Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Ahmet İnam (METU,PHIL) Assist. Prof. Dr. Barış Parkan (METU,PHIL) Assist. Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Rufayi Turan(Ankara U.,DTCF) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name : Signature : iii ABSTRACT A STUDY OF THE SELF IN NIETZSCHE‘S FATALISTIC UNIVERSE OF ETERNAL RECURRENCE Canbolat, Argun Abrek M.A., Department of Phılosophy Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Barış Parkan June 2009, 106 Pages The doctrine of eternal recurrence is not only an aspect of Nietzsche‘s philosophy, but a notion that structures the base of his philosophy. The doctrine is analyzed by many interpreters in various ways. The cosmological and the ethical-existential approaches to the doctrine are at the very base wrong. The doctrine‘s impact cannot be adequately understood in these terms. Besides, the doctrine of eternal recurrence has multiple problems within it, problems which can be solved if the doctrine is understood and analyzed properly. In this thesis it was suggested, following Lawrence J. Hatab and Pierre Klossowski, that the doctrine should be read in terms of mimetic literality. And in this way the reading and the understanding of the doctrine lead the self to a dissolution which solves many of the problems within the doctrine. Keywords: Nietzsche, Eternal Recurrence, Self, Fatalism, Becoming. iv ÖZ NIETZSCHE‘NİN YAZGISAL BENGİ DÖNÜŞ EVRENİNDE BİR KENDİ ÇALIŞMASI Canbolat, Argun Abrek Yüksek Lisans, Felsefe Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd. Doç. Dr. Barış Parkan Haziran 2009, 106 Sayfa Bengi dönüş doktrini Nietzsche felsefesinin sadece bir parçasını teşkil etmez, aynı zamanda onun temelini de oluşturan bir nosyondur. Doktrin, birçok yorumcu tarafından çeşitli şekillerde yorumlanmıştır. Kozmolojik ve etik- varoluşsal yaklaşımlar temelinden yanlıştır. Doktrinin gücü bu yaklaşımlarla doğru anlaşılamamaktadır. Bengi dönüş doktrini, içinde birçok sorun barındırmaktadır ve bu sorunlar, doktrin doğru anlaşılır ve analiz edilirse çözülebilirler. Bu tezde, Lawrence J. Hatab ve Pierre Klossowski takip edilerek doktrinin mimetik literal biçimde okunmasının gerekliliği vurgulanmıştır. Bu şekilde okunan ve anlanan doktrin, Kendiyi bir çözünmeye maruz bırakır ki bu da doktrin içerisindeki birçok sorunu çözmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Nietzsche, Bengi Dönüş, Kendi, Yazgı, Oluş. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I express my gratitude to the supervisor of this thesis Barış Parkan for her guidance, advice and criticisms. I would also like to thank my family for the motivation during this study. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM...................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................iv ÖZ........................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................vi TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................................................vii CHAPTER...........................................................................................................1 1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................1 2. IN SEARCH OF A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING ETERNAL RECURRENCE..................13 2.1. Eternal Recurrence as a Cosmological Hypothesis.......14 2.1.1. Arthur Danto and a Reconstruction..................17 2.1.2. The Touching Discs...........................................22 2.1.3. Possibilities, Combinations................................23 2.2. Eternal Recurrence as an Ethical and Existential Doctrine.........................................................................27 2.2.1. Eternal Recurrence as an Imperative.................29 2.2.2. Nietzsche ―the Existentialist‖............................33 2.3. Heidegger‘s Reading of Nietzsche: An Existentialist Metaphysical Approach.................................................36 2.4. Übermensch.................................................................. 41 2.5. The Ontology of Becoming...........................................44 3. ETERNAL RECURRENCE AS TRAGEDY AND AMOR FATI: A POETIC READING....................................................53 3.1. The Literal Reading.......................................................53 3.2. Amor Fati......................................................................58 4. ETERNAL RECURRENCE AS TRAUMA AND CREATIVE WILLING: DISSOLUTION OF THE SELF............................69 4.1. The Self.........................................................................69 vii 4.1.1. Self as Person.....................................................70 4.1.2. Self-Cycle & World-Cycle................................73 4.2. Creative Willing............................................................75 4.3. The Dissolution of the Self............................................81 5. CONCLUSION.........................................................................99 REFERENCES...............................................................................................105 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The doctrine of eternal recurrence, maybe the most striking articulation of Nietzsche, is directly linked with essential notions in his philosophy, such as amor fati, Übermensch, becoming, and fatalism. It is also articulated by some writers (such as Löwith and Heidegger) that the doctrine is related to the notion of will to power. I believe that the doctrine is not only linked to other notions in Nietzsche‘s philosophy; it directly constitutes the core. Interpreting this doctrine in this work, I tried to shed light on the doctrine‘s meaning and importance for us and for the philosophy of Nietzsche. There are several places in Nietzsche‘s writings where he explicitly mentions or alludes to what has come to be known as his doctrine of eternal recurrence. It appears in various passages in his work but those which are worthy of close attention are found in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, such as ―On the Vision and the Riddle,‖ ―Yes and Amen Song‖; in The Will to Power especially in the fragments between 1053 and 1066; and in Gay Science. The excerpt that is most often referred to and cited when speaking of this ―doctrine‖ is from Gay Science, the infamous ―The Heaviest Weight.‖ I think it is the right point to begin. The heaviest weight. — What if some day or night a demon were to steal into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: ‗This life as you now live it and have lived it you will have to live once again and innumerable times again; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unspeakably small or great in your life must return to you, all in the same succession and sequence —even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is turned over and over again, and you with it, speck of dust!‘ Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: ‗You are a god, and never have I heard anything more divine.‘ If 1 this thought gained power over you, as you are it would transform you possibly crush you; the question in each and every thing; ‗Do you want this again and innumerable times again?‘ would lie on your actions as the heaviest weight‘ Or how well disposed would you have to become to yourself and to life to long for nothing more fervently than fort his ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?1 It is a striking thought in its core. One might consider the common experience déjà-vu but in fact what Nietzsche is speaking of here is by no means something like déjà vu.2 Of course there are many questions and points that come to mind such as ―What recurs? How exactly does it recur?‖ The first question that someone confronted with this thought tends to ask is ―Will I remember my previous selves?‖ and if not, then ―What difference does it really make?‖ or more importantly ―How can Nietzsche even talk about it?‖ ―Is he putting it forth as a claim about a cosmological fact about the world?‖ In relation to the question ―What difference does it make if I don‘t remember the recurrences?‖ another fundamental question that arises concerns the impact of the doctrine: ―What…if the [doctrine] is true?‖3 Does it then have normative implications concerning