The day I stumbled upon the likely possibility that I actually knew nothing seemed to be a day in which I actually did learn a thing. The shock of the initial questioning of the fundamental myths that pervade one’s belief system is significant. To come to question the validity, if not the outright existence, of the path that one walks on as a means to serve that ultimate end (purpose of life) often is met with a similar tactic by which that initial question came into being; a deeply life-invasive suspicion of the metaphysical narratives that represent the pseudo-quintessence of our human existences. Thus, in that viciously cyclical fashion, we begin to question our right to question, which leads to further doubt and, if one allows it, a potentially paralytic cynicism at the realization that knowing anything at all does not even seem possible. This reflects the predicament we find ourselves in. Can we ever accurately decipher whom to listen to in this grossly over-communicated world, if anybody? When we allow metaphysical explanations of truth (particularly exemplified in the emergence of the Philosophical Perspective bleeding into New Testament Christianity and further to the Scientific Revolution) attempt to make permanent that which is art, it reflects our insignificant and painfully illusory attempts to master the fundamentally uncontrollable struggle that is the essence of what we think of as the “human condition.”
Whether one chooses to make permanent that which is art as opposed to being suckered into it, a searing question immediately rises to the surface regardless of the important distinction; what are, or will be, the consequences to your life that result from your conviction to those ideas? Further, who decides if such “consequences” are not themselves imaginary explanations? Compounding upon this seemingly never-ending paradox, that if there exists no truth than logically even the lack of it’s existence cannot be a truth, is Friedrich Nietzsche’s non-attempt at consoling us by exposing the illusory and fragile nature of human existence through the fact that all of human identity and perception is not based in truth, but rather in art. The Birth of Tragedy represents young Friedrich’s first real stab at turning the world on it’s head; its profound merit is to be found in the quality of original thought fueled by an ambivalent catharsis of a genius epiphany. This emotionally erratic piece of literature rings of a classic example of a “cold moment of clarity” infused with youthful passion and delivered in rapid-fire-ticker-tape fashion, with an almost hypnotic stream-of-consciousness vibe. Young Nietzsche was so deeply struck by the notion that we were being made literally sick as a function of our commitment to these metaphysical myths that he could not stop the channeling of this ironically spiritual, powerful moment that sprang out of an intellectual abyss.
What Nietzsche is desperately attempting to impress upon our minds in his first book is a deeper understanding of our own pain and suffering. His analysis of the humanly created Heroic Tragic Perspective present during the pre-Socratic period of Greek Tragedy is idealized, and he simultaneously provides a description of this idyllic artistic tradition being drawn and quartered by the double-edged sword of sober rationality and profound fear of chaos. We know this bludgeon of human intellect as metaphysical philosophy, distinguished from the Superior Tragic Perspective by its arrogant claims to the discovery of certainty, thus making what was formerly understood to be art (humanly constructed illusions of reality) into permanent and unchanging truth. The emergence of metaphysics through philosophy is causing humanity to suffer unnecessary sickness through narcissistic nihilism, according to Nietzsche. This hatred of that which cannot be mastered consequentially results in a Pathological Perspective, in which we believe realities of existence that hold no permanence are in fact unchanging, and therefore possessing the essence of truth. This method of making permanent that which is art specifically applies to one very unique artistic phenomena: human identity. It is through this application of metaphysical truths to our sense of self that Nietzsche tell us is the source of the resentment we see on a massive scale in our lives.
Metaphysical Philosophy, as articulated by Socrates and further refined by Plato, would have it that your self, and mine, is a permanently real and unchanging reality that can be clearly evidenced in the notion of the existence of the immortal soul. Opposing this attempt at rationalization of the unintelligible is the reconciliation of the (1) fragile and illusory composition of human existence with (2) the will to act. This cognitive combination allows the necessary reinvention of self, as our identities require permeability to the illusory realities that surround them. This is dubbed the Superior Perspective, as it is a tolerably accurate representation of our naturally adaptive essence, further in conjunction with the idea that humanity has adapted precisely to a reality that we have created for ourselves. Thus in distinguishing these two rival perspectives, Nietzsche is railing against the core of Western Philosophy through indicting Socrates and his pervasive assertion that our souls are immortal entities which are permanent, unchanging and therefore real. (Think of the Eternal aspects of souls and the afterlife as prime examples of the constructs of the myths that are going to cause human resentment, essentially due to frustratingly sincere attempts at nailing down the impossible and the subsequent effects of its inevitable failure to be successful in its task).
Setting the backdrop, Nietzsche describes for us a period of pre-Socratic Greek art that he believed to be widespread in utility among many members of the community, known as the Greek Tragedy. The Superior Perspective that is birthed from these musical dramas, we are told, represents a sort of high-water mark of human artistic transcendental experience. These communal events were extremely symbolic, and their underlying function was to aide the members of this artistically constructed community in appreciating the often-violent struggle that had come to characterize human life. Nietzsche claims this pre-Socratic Heroic Perspective (which he obviously believes we should be emulating due to its title) derives its intellectual legacy from an artistic dichotomy represented in the form of the two opposing Gods of Art, known as Apollo and Dionysus. At the most basic level, the Apollonian element represents reality as differentiated by forms, while the Dionysian element reflects reality as lacking distinction of form. A sort of yin-yang of art (and therefore human existence as we know it), the Apollonian is that force which sets to give form to the formless Dionysian, as the first’s essence is individualistic while the latter’s is chaotic loss of self. As these two intellectual ideal tendencies stroll side by side, their conflict is reflected in the violent struggle that all humans have innate awareness of in terms of the fragility of life; simply put, to look at human existence and to perceive beauty is to look at the empty chaos we are subject to and subsequently have no control over. Greg Graffin of Bad Religion nicely represents our contemporary countercultural understanding of this Superior Perspective in his lyric from the song No Control,
“Culture was the seed of proliferation but its gotten melded
Into an inharmonic whole.
Consciousness has plagued us and we cannot shake it
Though we think we’re in control.
Questions that besiege us in life are a testament of our helplessness.
There is no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end.
When we all disintegrate, it will all happen again.”
Of the Apollonian element, Nietzsche says that all of the things that come to represent form and order (perception of reality) have a source: our dreams. He emphasizes that the first forms were created in the unconscious dream state. The fact that we are unconscious to the outside world when we dream holds significance as it attempts to highlight a real disconnection between our perception of the world and the actual world itself. These forms we perceive as real are a result of human imagination creating them, and moreover are illusions on the sole basis that they are merely the product of human cognitive activities. The early Greek poet Homer represents the Apollonian tendency to a high degree as his epics primarily dealt matters of incredible individual achievement, strongly emphasizing such Apollonian aspects as individuality, moderation, morality and politics. Nietzsche argues that this original moment of Apollonian artistic dominance attempted to ignore the Dionysian. In and through its ability to deconstruct the Apollonian order reflects the powerfully affirmative nature of the Dionysian. Nietzsche is telling us that there is something fundamental within humanity that yearns for a return to the chaotic absence of our extremely prevalent, and altogether necessary, Apollonian illusory forms of reality. Straight-laced as we modern humans can be, we can relate to the powerful influence of the Dionysian taking over our artistically created consciousness as most of us have already experienced it for ourselves.
To offer a relatively benign example, picture yourself at your close relative’s wedding. As the day evolves the bonds between your closest friends and family, who are now representing an artistic community involved in the practice of ritual, draw nearer and nearer to the verge of stumbling upon a Dionysian moment. Starting with the initial ceremony and general gathering shortly thereafter, the Apollonian illusions that serve as our protectors in times of darkness and uncertainty begin to wear down at the overpowering friction of familial and friendship-based emotions created out of the ritualistic experience. Not twenty minutes have elapsed before the whole of those community members over 12 have no doubt imbibed a strong dose of some intoxicant. (This is a perfect moment to reveal how symbiotic the Dionysian and Apollonian truly are, as what allows the Dionysian experience to come to fruition is an energy that is channeled through what would generally considered to be Apollonian illusions. Examples such as rituals and festivals, are done in an attempt to reiterate the myths that make everyday life operable, yet their essence is an ironic yet necessary vehicle of the actualization of the Dionysian moment within humanity.)
Intoxication takes effect in many forms in this scenario: booze; camaraderie; familial connectivity; the sense of belonging; all representing the creation of the aesthetic of the Dionysian element (which, paradoxically, exists only within the minds of individuals yet can only be truly manifested by the lack of individuation). The result is that these identity-disintegrating factors collude, and in doing so provide a circumstance where the sense of self that we all carry with us gets left behind. As our perception of the actual existing sense of self dissipates, it retreats into an imaginary realm bordered by the limits of our own mind as the unity of the whole surfaces in the ranks of our cognition. This breaking down of that which makes us tight-asses primarily occurs through the various forms of chemical and emotional intoxication that the ritual dictates, yet only truly begins its climactic ascent that first second you hear those inspirational utterances, “YOU KNOW YOU MAKE ME WANNA SHOUT!!!” A rapid heart rate caused by the full sprint you made to the rapidly filling dance-floor served only to intensify the feeling of transcendence of the moment. Soon enough, all of those sharing that moment in space-time with you pierced the sky with their phalanges in unison, giving the appearance not of a scatter of individuals but of a complete succinct whole, truly worthy of the title Art.
The profound beauty of this type of Dionysian moment can be characterized as a community builder in the most literal sense; the boundaries created by the desperate stranglehold on our sense of self proceed to sublimate into a more communal intellectual reality. Could this lead to a suspension of classism that would arguably strengthen the community bonds among those participants? The Festival of Mardi Gras contains a certain merit worthy of modern comparison for the type of experience that Nietzsche envisioned to increase our awareness of being (not only) an individual but rather also a part of a bigger whole. The effects that music has on breaking down barriers of individualism in a crowd of folks who are basically fucked out of their minds, therefore, seems a relatively honest snapshot representative of Nietzsche’s ideal Dionysian moment. However glamorous he attempts to make the purer forms of the Dionysian seem it would not be done justice without the inevitable inclusion of violent aspects. The climactic moment of chaos is manifested through the actual dismemberment of people; this occurs as a symbol and testament to the combination of the extreme desires to erase individuation and the unchecked disorder of violent intoxication. As he claims, life always involves a struggle between these two elements; the artistic push-and-pull sways its human imaginers into one sort of action or another. It is this action that most concerns our young romantic philosopher.
Nietzsche’s perception of the Greeks necessitated a people grappling with severe pessimism, yet at the moment of the Greek Tragedy community members participated in an art form that allowed them to experience and appreciate the full spectrum of the human condition through this delicate balance of Apollonian and Dionysian elements in unison. Therefore, in addition to the weakening of individuation concurrent with the notion of uncontrollable chaos, this balance was able to induce in its participants (as in those days the audience of such tragedies were literally apart of the show, talking and laughing and crying aloud with, and as apart of, the production) the understanding and appreciation for the illusory nature of truth, the fragility of human life, and the over-arching realization that this fragile illusion does not possess the quality of being able to be put under control. This is the mechanism by which the Greek Tragedy gave birth to what is known as the Heroic Tragic Perspective.
When the Tragic hero gives up the notion of permanence through the acknowledgement that reality is both an uncontrollable and fragile illusion constructed by humanity, he is able to retain that aspect within the borders of his cognition that separates him from fellow Earthly inhabitants; we, as humans, courageously reinvent ourselves in the face of life’s challenges as a function of our understanding that we can act as we must. In doing so, when heroic men and women are faced with the challenges and struggles that life inevitably presents, they take direct action. To bear witness to and let go of the anarchy of the world, over which you have no control; and the subsequent realization that nothing that you can do individually can change what is a fundamentally frenzied fuckfest; these two confluent assertions represent the fundamental DNA structure the Heroic Perspective. Such an honest perspective regarding the notion of one’s place within this world (concerning the nature of the relationship between human thought and the existence of truth) has the profoundly liberating effect on one’s mind in terms of being well equipped to adapt to the uncertainty that codifies the essence of human existence.
A paradoxical definition of truth hereto arrived might consist of a scenario where truth exists as a purely intellectual achievement on our own part, in the sense that all realities known to human existence are human created illusions; therefore manufacturing the concept of truth within the parameters we experience exists as a reminder that our identity/perception and it’s relationship to the world is intellectually phantom. An additional layer of cream is to be spread upon this rhetorical layer-cake currently in construction is done with the recognition that knowledge of the Dionysian encompasses the unveiling of illusion, and often we are left without motivation to continue to act upon those illusions as they exists in our daily lives. This is especially true for those illusions that seek to tame that primal element that burns in our beings. True to paradoxical form, the unifying aspects of the Dionysian may arguably go against the overall efficiency of the actual whole of the political community. The logic behind this is the notion that the Apollonian, while representing positive individuation, also represents the chafing order and control over one’s self.
Nietzsche states, “Apollo seeks to pacify individuals by drawing boundaries around them.” Therein lies the seduction of metaphysics; in its certainty (search and discovery of truth) its causes us to turn a blind eye to the illusory nature of human existence by asserting that existence of truth is not merely an artistic human construct, but rather that it exists wholly outside human perception and thus must be infused with divine permanence. We are told that it is the Greek Tragedian Euripides who is responsible for the initiation of the collapse of the Tragic Perspective. As was his innovation, Euripides brought the spectator on stage by making the depictions of tragedy more relatable to our actual mundane lives, essentially using the tiptoeing nature of philosophy as a central aspect by which the audience was to come to understand the tragedy. Nietzsche argues that in doing this Euripides essentially changed the vernacular of the community, trumping human resilience in the form of bold and decisive action in favor of carefully calculated inclination towards philosophy. To Nietzsche, this philosophical impulse, soon to be spearheaded by Socrates, leads to two related concepts: first it dilutes the urge of heroic men and women to act courageously and innovatively; and subsequently breeds resentment among humanity through our thought-induced passivity in the face of life’s uncontrollable challenges.
In Nietzsche’s eyes, Socrates is guilty of an imbalance of theory and practice. In other words, Socrates seems to have impressive capabilities of thought, yet it comes at the expense of his refusal to act. Imagine your own life, and think of those people whom you may know who are guilty of this same pattern of execution of existence. Chances are you do not know anyone (unless you hang out with the Isla Vista Transient Club or its affiliates) who was as bereft of action within their own lives as Socrates, the Hero of our precious Western Civilization. As it needs no lengthy explanation, Socrates was well known in his later life in Athens for doing nothing all fucking day long except philosophizing with the youth of the aristocratic population of the city. Additionally he was accustomed to receiving much criticism from his contemporaries for his lowly status in terms of acting as an unemployed pseudo-sophist (instructor of rhetoric), as he apparently did not actually claim to be an instructor due to his never accepting formal payment from his pupils. It goes without saying that Socrates lived the Superior Perspective in his own right using Nietzsche’s standard, as he acted extremely intellectually heroic in the face of the challenges to human existence and the illusory nature of it, using the concept of Socratic irony as a corresponding intellectual example. In the process of unpacking the world in such an innovative way, he does it so completely that he loses the Tragic Perspective that humanly constructed truth is an illusion as he is guilty of being fooled by his own impressive construct. When thinking prevails over action, what occurs as a by-product is articulated in the philosophical worldview, existentially anchored to the view that the source of our understanding of truth resides in the existence of the immortal soul.
Throughout Plato’s writings of Socrates, he insists on the definition that his soul or psyche was rooted in some metaphysical permanence that was made intelligible only through the reasoning afforded to us by philosophy. This position is later clarified by Plato in his Theory of Forms, which loosely can be defined as: the ideals that represent real objects are more real than those actual objects as they are a more perfect and permanent version of the copies. Therefore, as the Forms are eternal and unchanging, and as the psyche is what seems to animate humankind, then in its purest form it must logically never die as its ideal is charged with the opposite task of animation. In this way, the soul is imperishable and immortal. Armed with this singular source of certainty (in addition to the Socratic irony that he claimed to actually truly know nothing, just to supplement the aura of paradox if you have yet to have gotten the point by now), Socrates’ “discovery” of the eternal soul was manifested as proof of the metaphysical explanation consisting of the existence of permanence. The instant that one accepts the notion that the sense of self is real, they are existentially trapped as real things all possess the (in)convenient quality of being controlled.
Following the admission that reality is real and controllable is the pathetically feeble human inclination to thus implement power over such potential control. Thus, as metaphysics allows us to come to the discovery of how the world “truly” is, we are able to make suggestions to individuals that will allow that truth to be realized in pure fashion within our lives. Therefore, if one’s soul is aligned with truth, then the possibility of virtue arises and thus one can decidedly say they are living rightly and not wrongly. The suggesting of this framework begins in the Republic, with the discussion of the definition of justice, as it exists in ideal form. This is what allows the resentment to occur, exemplified in Socrates’ refusal to admit that the three definitions of justice presented to him in the discussion represent anything more than an inferior copy of the “real” thing that is justice. Interestingly, Socrates was generally known for the constant nagging and subsequent degradation of a statement’s validity, yet would hardly ever respond with any sort of affirmation of his own stance. This cowardly tendency is reflective of Nietzsche’s contention that philosophy has caused humanity to pause and think when the correct response is courageous action. However, within the definition of justice discussion is one example contrary to this dodgy pattern, and in a way it exposes an intriguing historical counterfactual; it may be suggested that if Socrates had provided more definitive answers he would not be considered the genius he is today, because his intellectual theory as it relates to the actual living of one’s life is extremely difficult to reconcile. This could be considered a gross understatement at the very least.
What is Socrates’ definition of justice you ask? This genius’ response is noteworthy in its originality and profound complexity- every member of the community doing their part, and only that. Wow. Thank God that we had Socrates to help us discover this simpleton device that will inevitably make control of the individual justifiable as it is done to the betterment of the whole. The reason such control of the individual is of interest is a tertiary concern to the idea of a stable society, so that the first concern is a just society as it is believed to be the only condition under which the just individual is possible. Based on this logic, one who does not experience life in the just city does not possess the capacity for justice within himself. In the effort of controlling society to reflect the true Form of Justice, Socrates likens the just city to the three-part soul. This soul’s composition represents the passions/appetites on the lowest level, above which is our courage/temperance, and residing atop it all is our faculty of reason. Attempting to apply the Theory of Forms to our psyches, Socrates insists that reason is that which allows us to discover truth (The Good) and thus is paramount in importance to our souls. Goodness reflects the superior part of our soul (reason) making an agreement with our courage so that we may control the appetite. Therefore, we essentially owe the legacy of modern society, which seeks to pacify individualism in order for the community to run in an efficiently aesthetic matter, to the genius philosopher and hero of our culture, Mr. Socrates.
Speaking to the world of the Pre-Socratic era: however lovely a picture Friedrich desires to paint for us, we should fully understand that this was a world in which clarity and order to the mysteries of life was minimal due to the overwhelming acceptance that the clarity was of little significance- as reality was illusory. Why bother to clarify that which has no quality of clarity to begin with? The perception of a culture that holds this belief en masse may always be a short-lived historical reality when one considers the potential superiority of the Apollonian element, powerfully represented through the notion that its existence is a pre-cursor to the intelligibility of the Dionysian. More significantly, it lends itself to the reality that an efficient orderly human society is much preferred by those who wish to benefit from such efficient order (those who wish to control the uncontrollable). This remains as the most plausible explanation behind the motivation of the destruction of appreciation of the mysteries of life. Metaphysical Philosophy facilitates the belief that what is truly artistic and illusory is in actuality permanent, causing resentment and the insufficient admiration for the pervasive mysteries of human existence.
Think about that the next time you hear a news report about what the “economic experts” have to bullshit about our current “crisis.” Think of Pat Robertson telling you you’re going to hell for being gay or having an abortion. Think of the psychologists telling you to take that pill, because your unhappiness is a function of your chemically imbalanced self rather than a reflection of the violent, fragile illusion that is the human psyche. Think about every person around you patting you on the back as you enslave yourself day in and day out in the quest for the blingiest-bling. Our own Puritan work ethic dictates that you join them in their misery within the ranks of the “labor force.” It is as they say: “Money Makes the World Go ‘Round,” and money is never(?) given, it is earned. Think about all of them attempting to make permanent that which is art, and by doing so creating bitterness and discord throughout their preciously prescribed human condition. Then think about yourself, and the fact that you have no control. What you do have is a sense of taste, so if you are within the elite ranks and are afforded with the ability to chose a metaphysical definition rather than be suckered into one, go with one that reflects life as an uncontrollable abyss. For this is the only faith that the author shall ever endorse: we can only be sure in our inability to understand reality, as it all exists within the confine of our own heads. Faith through doubt. It’s a fucking paradox.
