The Transmutation of Nihilism: Nietzsche's Doctrine of Eternal Recurrence

Abstract

This thesis examines the problem of nihilism as Nietzsche diagnoses it, and delves into the significance of eternal recurrence as a doctrine that indicates the possibility of its overcoming. I delineate the interpretations of his thought by Heidegger, Deleuze, and Klossowski, outlining their differences. In Chapter 1, I consider Nietzsche’s early work on the Pre-Socratic philosophers, and analyze how his characterizations of certain key thinkers resonate throughout his oeuvre. I demonstrate how the dispute between the Pre-Socratics concerning the relationship between being and becoming illuminates what Nietzsche later identifies as nihilism, as well as its opposite: the affirmation of appearances, which characterizes the pathos of the tragic philosopher. In Chapter 2, I discuss Nietzsche’s critique of Judeo-Christian morality and the pathology of ressentiment that results in the death of God. In this psychological analysis, I compare Freud and Nietzsche’s understanding of consciousness and the unconscious. In Chapter 3, I consider the future overcoming of nihilism embodied in the overman, who is cultivated by a noble class of creators who legislate new values. I argue that the tragic philosopher is responsible for the transmutation of nihilism, embodied by Zarathustra, who dies in delivering the doctrine of eternal recurrence to humanity. In conclusion, I discuss the political consequences of Nietzsche’s thought, which relate to his critique of Darwinism and to his own understanding of the evolutionary process.