Nietzsche: Untimely Meditations (Week 1)

Under the title ‘Unzeitgemässe Betrachtungen’, Nietzsche collected four essays published separately between 1873 and 1876:

• "David Strauss the Confessor and the Writer",
• "On the Utility and Liability of History for Life",
• "Schopenhauer as Educator”, and
• "Richard Wagner in Bayreuth”.

These essays—four of a projected thirteen—interrogate what Nietzsche saw as representative of his age: the enlightened self-satisfaction of postwar European, and especially German, “culture” in the wake of the Prussian victory over France in 1871.

Each essay, respectively, seeks to ask and unmask some aspect of our time:

• Have the triumphs of science and bourgeois values have produced a genuine culture?
• Does a wealth of historical knowledge undermine the life it was meant to serve?
• What does it mean to be a model for authentic self-formation in an age of conformity?
• Can great art redeem a decadent culture, serve as a foundation for rebirth and spiritual life?

What must we unlearn to live a more honest, affirming life?

Whether you're new to discussing philosophical texts or can synthesize disparate passages across Nietzsche's corpus, we'd be happy to have you!

**Reading schedule:

1. "David Strauss the Confessor and the Writer", §§1–7
2. §§8–12
3. "On the Utility and Liability of History for Life", Foreword, §§1–6
4. §§7–10
5. "Schopenhauer as Educator”, §§1–5
6. §§6–8
7. "Richard Wagner in Bayreuth”, §§1–7
8. §§8–11

Any translation will suffice. Recommending Gray’s translation.