Following the thought-provoking seminar on Nietzsche’s late writings last year, we are thrilled to announce the second part of our Late Nietzsche Seminars, this time dedicated to his final enigmatic work: Ecce Homo. Written in 1888, at the height of his intellectual powers and just weeks before his tragic collapse, it is not a mere autobiography, but rather an autogenealogy, a text about the conditions that made Nietzsche the explosive philosopher he became. In this profoundly idiosyncratic text, Nietzsche revisits his most significant works, raising pressing questions about the relationship between author and text, self-stylization, self-commentary, work policy, and autofictionality—in a way that is itself artistic.
Conceived as a prelude to his unfinished magnum opus, the Revaluation of All Values, Ecce Homo reveals Nietzsche’s inner state as he stands poised on the verge of a philosophical breakthrough—one that threatens to shatter the very foundations of Western civilization. In this text, Nietzsche presents himself as “a disciple of the philosopher Dionysos,” heralding the audacious project of radical self-examination and the revaluation of humanity’s deepest truths. But how convincing is this? Isn’t the text, upon close reading, e.g., fraught with contradictions and paradoxes, such as: becoming what you are?
Through a close and careful reading of this hyperbolic text, we will examine how it serves as a philosophical compass, foreshadowing Nietzsche’s ultimate response to the contemporary crisis of meaning and orientation. In our interpretation, we will draw on Werner Stegmaier’s philosophy of orientation, his essay, “Nietzsche’s Self-Evaluation as the Destiny of Philosophy and Humanity,” and other secondary resources.
The second, Late Nietzsche II: Ecce Homo, explores Nietzsche’s enigmatic and difficult final work. Written in 1888, at the height of his intellectual powers and just weeks before his tragic collapse, it is not a mere autobiography, but rather an autogenealogy, a text about the conditions that made Nietzsche the explosive philosopher he became. This seminar will be led by Dr. Dr. Timon Boehm and Enes Sütütemiz, MA. The seminar will meet Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon (US Central). More info can be found here.