The Birth of Tragedy / Unpublished Basel Writings (Winter 1869/70–Fall 1873): Volume 1 (The Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche) - Softcover

Nietzsche, Friedrich

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0804750378 ISBN 13: 9780804750370

Publisher: Stanford University Press, 2026

Synopsis

During his early years in Basel, as professor of classical philology, Nietzsche develops an original understanding of ancient Greek poetry, philosophy, and culture, alongside a biting critique of contemporary German society and a call for its reform. These years see him publish his first book, The Birth of Tragedy, where tragic drama is understood as the harmonizing of Apollonian and Dionysian drives. In it, Nietzsche traces the rise of tragedy as an art form, diagnoses its demise at the hands of Socratic rationalism, and champions its revival in Wagnerian music drama, as part of a larger project of German national renewal. The unpublished texts gathered here allow us to see The Birth of Tragedy within the larger context of Nietzsche's concerns at this time and chart the compositional and interpretive development of that first book while revealing some roads not taken. Included also are three book-length projects: On the Future of Our Educational Institutions, a literary presentation of a program for sweeping educational reform in the name of producing the genius; Five Prefaces to Five Unwritten Books, a set of short philosophical, cultural, and historical interventions; and Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks, an investigation of early Greek philosophy in its cultural context. The celebrated essay "On Truth and Lies in an Extra-Moral Sense," and two short pro-Wagner pieces, "Exhortation to the Germans" and "A New Year's Word for the Editor of the Weekly Im neuen Reich," round out this essential collection of early writings. Extensive translators' annotations supply critical background information and context for Nietzsche's comments on ancient Greek and contemporary German culture.

About this title

About the Author

Sean D. Kirkland is Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University. He is the author, most recently, of Aristotle and Tragic Temporality (2025). Andrew J. Mitchell is Professor of Philosophy at Emory University. His books include The Fourfold: Reading the Late Heidegger (2015).

Edition details

• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804750378
• ISBN 13: 9780804750370
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 762
• Editor: Schrift Alan D.