Part II, Paper 4 · European Philosophy from Kant
Nietzsche: Tragedy and the justification of existence
“The existence of the world is justified only as an aesthetic phenomenon” (Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy, §5). Discuss.
Your discussion should clarify
- Why does existence need to be justified?
- Why will only an aesthetic justification succeed?
Essay of no more than 2,500 words.
Primary sources
- Nietzsche, Friedrich 1872 [1999]. The Birth of Tragedy, trans. Ronald Speirs, ed. R. Geuss and R. Speirs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Particular focus on §17.
Secondary sources
- Came, Daniel 2006. The Aesthetic Justification of Existence, pp. 41–57 in A Companion to Nietzsche, ed. Keith Ansell Pearson. Oxford: Blackwell. DOI
- Ridley, Aaron 2007. Redemption Through Art: The Birth of Tragedy, pp. 9–33 in Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Nietzsche on Art. London: Routledge. DOI
- Schacht, Richard 1995. Making Life Worth Living: Nietzsche on Art in The Birth of Tragedy, pp. 129–152 in Making Sense of Nietzsche: Reflections Timely and Untimely. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Publisher
- Silk, Michael S. and Joseph P. Stern 2016 [1981]. Chapter 4: The Argument of The Birth of Tragedy, pp. 79–107 in Nietzsche on Tragedy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI