Zarathustra's Secret - Hardcover

Kohler, Joachim; Köhler, Joachirn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300092784 ISBN 13: 9780300092783

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2002

Synopsis

More than a century after his death in 1900, Nietzsche remains a seminal figure in the history of European intellectual life. Celebrated as a liberator by some, maligned as a pernicious influence by others, he was the subject of controversy during his lifetime, pursuing a hedonistic individualism and espousing concepts such as the Superman and the Will to Power until he died after a decade of institutionalized insanity.

In this groundbreaking biography, Joachim Köhler seeks for the first time to understand Nietzsche’s philosophy through a reconstruction of his inner life. In a revealing reinterpretation of his letters, diaries, and writings, Köhler shows that Nietzsche’s suppressed homosexuality, generating a hatred of Christianity and conventional morality, was a central influence on his work. Further, Köhler argues, his philosophical position was fundamentally compromised by the concealment of his forbidden sexual desire. Throughout his life, the unhappy genius was also plagued by horrible nightmares, stemming from his much-loved father’s death, which led to a profoundly disturbed conscience and an intense loathing of metaphysics.

Seeking to disguise the truth of his innermost torments, Nietzsche contrived the persona of Zarathustra. The story of the great Persian philosopher, contends Köhler, reveals Nietzsche’s own suppression and dionysiac liberation, and presents the culmination of his secret yearnings in the new myth of the Superman who, in his naked beauty, resembled the gods of classical Greece.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"[This book] forces a serious rethinking of Nietzsche and his project."—Allan Megill, Journal of Modern History "Köhler's biography, briskly written, almost a philosophical detective story, is a gripping and fascinating read, even for the uninitiated."—Volksblatt

About the Author:

Joachim Köhler is a leading German writer, journalist, and former publisher. His previous books on Nietzsche have been translated into eleven languages. Ronald Taylor is the author of Berlin and Its Culture, published by Yale University Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0300092784
• ISBN 13: 9780300092783
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384