Pessimism, “Darwinism,” and the Value of Life in Hartmann and Nietzsche

In the Germany of the 1860s and 1870s, the problem of the value of life was urgently debated, as a consequence of the two culture-defining systems of thought that had risen to prominence in those decades—Schopenhauerian Weltschmerz and the theory of evolution—and the degree to which they could be re...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Nietzsche studies 2023-10, Vol.54 (2), p.151-176
Main Author: Martin Moore, Gregory
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Darwinism
Eduard von Hartmann
evolution
General Interest
nihilism
pessimism
Philosophy
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the Germany of the 1860s and 1870s, the problem of the value of life was urgently debated, as a consequence of the two culture-defining systems of thought that had risen to prominence in those decades—Schopenhauerian Weltschmerz and the theory of evolution—and the degree to which they could be reconciled. On one hand, the struggle for existence affirmed the pessimistic inference as to the suffering and meaninglessness of the cosmos; on the other, it appeared to promise moral and material improvement in human affairs. This article reconstructs the historical connections between the emergence of pessimism and Darwinism, most clearly represented by the work of Eduard von Hartmann, and it argues that Nietzsche’s programmatic statements on life, culture, and pessimism, from the Untimely Meditations on, are best understood in light of this context and his engagement with Hartmann’s writings.
ISSN:0968-8005
1538-4594
DOI:10.5325/jnietstud.54.2.0151