Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs An Analysis of Nietzsche’s Conception of Decadence Thesis How to cite: Hurrell, David (2019). An Analysis of Nietzsche’s Conception of Decadence. PhD thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2019 The Author https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21954/ou.ro.00010463 Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk AN ANALYSIS OF NIETZSCHE’S CONCEPTION OF DECADENCE David Hurrell AN ANALYSIS OF NIETZSCHE’S CONCEPTION OF DECADENCE A thesis submitted for the qualification of PhD in Philosophy, April 2019, The Open University. David Hurrell Abstract Nietzsche’s readership often assumes that what is meant by the term ‘decadence’ is simply a condition of moral and cultural decline. This study argues that Nietzsche’s conception amounts to a more complex hypothesis. While Nietzsche gives no formal analysis of decadence, Chapter 1 provides an initial discussion of the ‘formulae’ and ‘recipes’ for decadence that Nietzsche mentions. It emerges that decadence denotes a disunity within a self and a culture, and the dynamic relationship between the two. Moreover, Nietzsche describes decadence as a physiological condition with psychological consequences that inclines those who suffer from it to be against life. An investigation of the method Nietzsche uses to unmask decadence’s workings in Chapter 2 reveals that he arrives at his ‘decadence hypothesis’ by reasoning backwards from the assumption that cultural values stem from individuals’ physiological and psychological weaknesses. Central to his hypothesis is that adoption and proliferation of decadent values inhibit and further weaken decadent lives. An initial critical assessment shows that Nietzsche’s hypothesis is possibly self- referential, incomplete, and cannot be seen as established as the best explanation. Chapter 3 elucidates in more detail the underlying causes of decadence as a process of physiological corruption of humanity by the forces of civilization that suppress an individual’s powers. Decadence emerges as possibly self-reinforcing, self-replicating, and self-propagating. Since Nietzsche and commentators frequently use the term ‘decadence’ to describe also the subsequent psychological expressions of decadence, Chapter 4 presents an analysis of the effects, and then discusses a number of exemplar decadents (Chapters 5-8) to demonstrate a discernible set of common attributes: psychological, epistemological, and metaphysical expressions of weakness underpin decadence’s most important attribute, i.e., restricted agency and failure to realize an authentic self. Chapters 9 and 10 offer further support for a physiological reading of decadence and provide a summary of my findings. Acknowledgements I should like to thank most warmly my primary supervisor, Dr Manuel Dries, for his incisive, challenging feedback and generous, encouraging support. This research was supported by a full Studentship awarded by the Consortium for the Humanities and the Arts South-East England (CHASE), and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Table of Contents Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 PART I: UNRAVELLING DECADENCE 7 Chapter 1: An Outline of Decadence 8 1.1 Introduction 8 1.2 Disunity as the Hallmark of Decadence 8 1.3 Decadence and the Individual: Nietzsche’s Three Formulae, Two Recipes and One Analogy for Decadence 12 1.3.1 The First Formula: Anti-Instincts 14 1.3.2 The Second Formula: Harmful Instincts 17 1.3.3 The Third Formula: Anti-Reality 19 1.3.4 The First Recipe: The Christian 23 1.3.5 The Second Recipe: The Kantian 24 1.3.6 An Analogy for Decadence: Christianity and Alcohol 25 1.4 Decadence and Culture and Their Relationship to the Individual 28 1.4.1 The Individual-Cultural Dynamic: The Example of Socrates 31 1.4.2 The Individual-Cultural Dynamic: Examples from the Secondary Literature 34 1.5 Conclusion 37 Chapter 2: Nietzsche’s Modus Operandi in His Exposition of the Nature of Decadence 38 2.1 Introduction 38 2.2 Nietzsche’s Conception of Physiology 41 2.3 Nietzsche’s Conception of Causality 46 2.4 Nietzsche’s Negative Portrayal of Abductive Reasoning 51 2.4.1 The Role of Causality and Physiology 51 2.4.2 Metonymy as Mistaken Explanation 53 2.4.3 The Correlation between Metonymy, Physiology and Decadence 59 2.5 Nietzsche’s Positive Portrayal of Abductive Reasoning 64 2.5.1 A Backward Inference as a Method of Explanation 64 2.5.2 Genealogy as Explanation 68 2.5.3 Symptomatology as Explanation 70 v 2.6 Conclusion: A Critical Appraisal of Nietzsche’s Method 76 PART II: CAUSES AND EFFECTS 83 Chapter 3: The Causes of Decadence 84 3.1 Introduction 84 3.2 The Immediate Cause of Decadence: A Physiological Disorder of the Self Due to a Lack of Will to Power 85 3.2.1 Will To Power as Demarcation 87 3.2.2 Will To Power as Explanation 93 3.2.3 Weakness of the Will and Exhaustion 96 3.3 The Underlying and Intermediate Causes of Decadence: Civilization and Bad Conscience 98 3.3.1 The Role of Civilization 99 3.3.2 The Inception of a Bad Conscience 103 3.3.3 The Correlations between Bad Conscience and Decadence 108 3.4 Conclusion 117 Chapter 4: The Effects of Decadence 120 4.1 Introduction 120 4.2 The Psychological: Weakness and Suffering 123 4.2.1 Decadence in the Pejorative Sense 123 4.2.2 The Psychology of Sickliness and Morbidity 124 4.2.3 The Psychology of Error and Ressentiment 128 4.3 The Epistemological: Weakness and Scepticism 132 4.3.1 Scepticism as an Effect of Decadence 132 4.3.2 The Moral Origins of Scepticism and the Association with Nihilism 133 4.3.3 ‘Weak’ versus ‘Strong’ Scepticism 135 4.3.4 A ‘Weak’ Scepticism Based on Doubt and Passivity 137 4.3.5 A ‘Weak’ Scepticism Based on Fear and Illusory Hope 139 4.4 The Metaphysical: Weakness and Idealism 143 4.4.1 Decadence and Humanity’s ‘Metaphysical Need’ 143 4.4.2 The Rejection of Reality and the Embracing of Ideals 147 4.5 Restricted Agency: Weakness Not Freedom 150 4.5.1 Freedom as Autonomous Agency 150 4.5.2 Willing and Freedom 152 4.5.3 Unfree Due to ‘Not Willing’: Merely Reactive Behaviour 153 vi 4.5.4 Unfree Due to an ‘Imposed Willing’: The Morality of Selflessness 155 4.5.5 The Advantages and Disadvantages of ‘Imposed Willing’ Over ‘Not Willing’ 159 4.6 Conclusion 162 PART III: EXEMPLARS OF DECADENCE 166 Chapter 5: Exemplar Decadents – An Overview 167 5.1 Introduction 167 5.2 Wagner – The Archetypal Decadent 170 5.3 Goethe – The Archetypal Non-Decadent 174 Chapter 6: Pascal – The Decadent Christian 178 6.1 Introduction 178 6.2 The Psychological: A Weakness Inspired by Christianity 180 6.3 The Epistemological: Pascal’s ‘Weak’ Scepticism 183 6.4 The Metaphysical: Pascal’s Rejection of Reality and Embracing of Idealism 185 6.5 A Restricted Agency: Pascal’s Extreme Asceticism 187 6.6 Conclusion 189 Chapter 7: Pyrrho and Epicurus – The Decadent Philosophers 192 7.1 Introduction 192 7.2 Pyrrho – Sceptic and Buddhist 193 7.2.1 The Psychological: Pyrrho’s Sagacious Weariness 194 7.2.2 The Epistemological: Pyrrho’s ‘Weak’ and ‘Moralistic’ Scepticism 195 7.2.3 The Metaphysical: Pyrrho’s Rejection of Reality and Embracing of Idealism 198 7.2.4 A Restricted Agency: Pyrrho’s Fanaticism 199 7.2.5 A Brief Evaluation of Nietzsche’s Portrayal of Pyrrho 202 7.3 Epicurus – Ethical Hedonist and Proto-Christian 205 7.3.1 A Brief Evaluation of Nietzsche’s Portrayal of Epicurus 211 7.4 Conclusion 213 Chapter 8: Spencer – The Decadent Scientist 215 8.1 Introduction 215 8.2 The Psychological: Spencer’s Need of Moral Certitude 216 8.3 The Epistemological: Spencer’s Claims of Objectivity 219 8.4 The Metaphysical: Spencer’s Rejection of Reality and the Embracing of Ideals 221 8.4.1 The Decadent Ideals of Morality and Altruism 223 8.4.2 The Decadent Ideals of Society 231 vii 8.5 A Restricted Agency: The ‘Imposed Will’ of Spencer’s Science 236 8.6 Conclusion 238 PART IV: A PHYSIOLOGICAL CONCEPTION OF DECADENCE 240 Chapter 9: The Functioning of Decadence and its Potential Remedies 241 9.1 Introduction 241 9.2 Decadence as an Expansive Physiological Process 241 9.3 Combatting and Remedying Decadence 245 Chapter 10: Conclusion 252 Bibliography 258 viii Abbreviations The following abbreviations are used for citations of Nietzsche's writings, and are then associated with an applicable translated edition, or in the case of KGB and KSA, with the original German edition, as cited in the Bibliography at the end of this work. These abbreviations generally conform to the de facto standard used by The Journal of Nietzsche Studies, but with a few required additions. A: The Anti-Christ, Nietzsche (2005). AOM: Assorted Opinions and Maxims, Nietzsche (1996a). BGE: Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche (2002). BT: The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche (1999a). CW: The Case of Wagner, Nietzsche (2005). D: Daybreak, Nietzsche (1997b). DS: David Strauss, the Confessor and the Writer, Nietzsche (1997a). EH: Ecce Homo (sections abbreviated: ‘Wise’, ‘Clever’, ‘Books’, ‘Destiny’; abbreviations for titles discussed in ‘Books’ are indicated instead of ‘Books’ where relevant), Nietzsche (2005). GM: On the Genealogy of Morality, Nietzsche (2007).