philosophy midterm

1. Friedrich Nietzsche
Eternal Recurrence
Presentation by Prophetess Turner

2. WHO WAS
NIETZSCHE?
- Born October 15, 1844 in Prussia [ Germany ]
- Died August 25, 1900 in Weimar
- He was a German classical scholar as well as a
philosopher who became known as one of the most
influential modern speakers.
- Nietzsche's works focused mainly on questioning
the motives of traditional western religion,morality
and various philosophies.
- Some of his most well-known works include Thus
Spoke Zarathustra and Gay Science.

3. WHAT IS ETERNALRECURRENCE?
• Eternal Recurrence is"the theory that existence recursin an infinite cycle as energyand matter transform over time."
[ https://www.thoughtco.com/nietzsches-idea-of-the-eternal-recurrence-2670659 ]
• In places such as ancient Greece,and in Hinduist and Buddhist teachings,this is the idea that the universe goes through various
stages of a repeated transformation.
• This belief had begun to fade as Christianitygained popularity,but it became one of Nietzsche'smost popular ideas when he
explored it in his book of poems and other selections,The Gay Science.
• Nietzsche hypothesized that all events in the world repeat themselvesin the same sequence through an eternal series of cycles.
• Nietzsche claimed that one day in August 1881 the idea came to him suddenly during his morning walk.He presented it as
a "thought experiment" in his work Aphorism 341 – The Greatest Weight, asking:
"What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest lonelinessand say to you: 'Thislife as you nowlive it and
have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable timesmore; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every
joy and every thought and sigh and everything unutterablysmall or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession
and sequence—even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself.The eternal hourglass of
existence is turned upside down again and again, and you with it, speck of dust!'
"Would you not throwyourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a
tremendousmomentwhen you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.' If this thought
gained possession of you, it would change you as you are or perhaps crush you. The question in each and everything,'Do you desire this
once more and innumerable timesmore?' would lie upon your actionsas the greatest weight. Or how well disposed would you have to
become to yourself and to life?"

4. ETERNALRECURRENCE[ CONT ]
• The idea of Eternal Recurrence becamethe focusof his work that followed GayScience,ThusSpoke Zarathustra. In this work,
Nietzsche'sprophet like character,Zarathustra,proclaimsthat "eternal recurrenceis a joyful truth that should be embraced by anyone
who lives life to the fullest." [ https://www.thoughtco.com/nietzsches-idea-of-the-eternal-recurrence-2670659 ]
• Nietzsche revisited the idea brieflyin a later work titled The Will To Power, a book of notes his sister Elizabeth published in 1901 after
his death. In this work he entertainsthat the idea was true but makessure to never push it towardshis audience as a fact. Nietzsche
viewed it more as a test of one's attitude towardslife.
WHAT WASHIS PHILOSOPHY?
• Nietzsche centered hisphilosophyaround freedom,action,and will.
• He doesn't state that Eternal Recurrence isa truth, but rather asks his audience how
they would live their lives if it were.
• Nietzsche also believed that the ultimate life affirming attitude isone that accepts
Eternal Recurrence and embracesit as something to be desired.

5. LATER LIFE AND IMPACT
• Nietzsche collapsed in the streets of Turin, Italy in
January 1889. He lost complete control of his
mental facilities.
• He spent the last 11 years of his life between a
mental asylum, in the care of his mother until her
death in 1897, and finally under the care of his
sister until he passed away.
• Much of his deterioration was due to a brain
tumor as well as a form of dormant syphilis.
Sadly, he struggled with his health all his life until
he passed.
• Nietzsche' s work was not appreciated until after
his death. It is said that while alive, he was
notoriously unread and uninfluential.
• His works are now closely tied to Hitler and
Nazism due to the way his sister twisted
his writings after he passed. Due to her having
control of his literary estate,she was able to
release bits and pieces of his philosophy in such
a way that made it seem as if he supported anti-
Semitism.
• Some of the famous individuals he influenced
include the philosopher Georg Brandes, the
psychologist Sigmund Freud, and Allen
Ginsburg.

6. QUESTONS?
• Do you believe that the universe goes through multiple stages of
transformation?
• How do you feel Eternal Recurrence differs from the Christian idea of the
afterlife?
• Is Eternal Recurrence [ the idea that we live this life again and again ] something
that you believe in? If you do believe in this idea, does it affect the way that you
live your life?

7. WORKSCITED
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Friedrich-
Nietzsche/Decade-of-isolation-and-creativity-1879-89#ref23657
• https://brians.wsu.edu/2016/10/12/the-influence-of-nietzsche/
• https://www.thoughtco.com/nietzsches-idea-of-the-eternal-
recurrence-2670659