Nietzsche’s Philosophy: A 19th-Century Context
Nietzsche’s Philosophy in the Second Half of the 19th Century
A Period of Revolutions
The latter part of the 19th century in Europe was a period of revolutions. The dislocated rights and freedoms brought about by continued socialism had special importance in the revolutions of 1848, which were suppressed, repressed, and persecuted. Nationalist movements emerged, such as those that undertook the unification of Germany and the creation of a hegemonic state under Prussia. Bismarck led this movement. These young nationalists shared Nietzsche’s ideals. French workers promoted the Paris Commune, which would end with the first repression of the labor movement. Bismarck oversaw the alliance of the bourgeoisie (governing with Kaiser Wilhelm II) and the German parliament. After World War I, the Weimar Republic was established. The working class organized to defend its rights, giving birth to the labor movement. The clashes between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie would clarify social, economic, and political change.
Cultural Highlights
- **Liberalism:** Defended individual liberties (John Stuart Mill).
- **Socialism:** Represented the ideology of the proletariat, denouncing exploitation and aiming to establish communism (Karl Marx).
- **German Nationalist Movement:** Demonstrated in the arts, exalted literature, and promoted the freedom of peoples. This movement influenced Nietzsche through Wagner and Schopenhauer. Nietzsche’s work was manipulated by his sister and distorted into a fascist key.
Philosophical Context
In Nietzsche’s philosophical context, we find Marx and Freud, who, together, considered the capacity for self-deception and unconscious romanticizing. Schopenhauer influenced Nietzsche in his second stage, but was criticized in his critical stage.
Nietzsche’s Influences and Legacy
Heraclitus and Schopenhauer
Nietzsche understood reality, in the manner of Heraclitus, as shifting and contradictory, and rejected all of the Western philosophical tradition except that of Heraclitus. Schopenhauer influenced his romantic stage and his later view of the will to power. Nietzsche adopted Schopenhauer’s view of the world, his distrust of progress, and the importance of art in the discovery of reality. However, Nietzsche moved away from Schopenhauer’s pessimism, as it robbed life of meaning, and Nietzsche affirmed the meaning of life.
Wagner and Greek Tragedy
In his first phase, Wagner and Greek tragedy also influenced him. Nietzsche believed that only the artist could represent life in all its complexity, and for him, Wagnerian opera and Greek tragedy were total art forms that revealed the mystery of life. When Wagner became interested in Christian mythology, Nietzsche considered it a sign of treason, which motivated their breakup.
The Enlightenment and Vitalism
The Enlightenment influenced his second stage, as did the life sciences in vitalism. He sometimes quoted Darwin. His work also influenced Nazi ideology, through the manipulation and misrepresentation of his work by his sister.
Later Influence
Notable figures influenced by Nietzsche include Georg Simmel, who mixed Nietzsche with Marx, and Max Scheler, who mixed Nietzsche with phenomenology. In Spain, Fernando Savater stands out. Nietzsche’s impact has extended to the field of literature and, in general, to the whole of culture. His thinking has been vindicated by ideologies of all kinds.