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The Casuistry of Little Things

The Casuistry of Little Things The Casuistry Little Things BRIAN DOMINO He that despiseth little things shall perish little by little. --Sirach 19:1 t is not difficult to understand why nearly a century of commentators have viewed Ecce Homo as the product of Nietzsche's incipient dementia: the book is profoundly schizophrenic. On the one hand, like a dethroned philosopher-king desperately trying to sell his wares in the democratic marketplace of ideas, Nietzsche advertises himself as a "force majeure" (EH WA 2 and "Destiny" 8) that has sundered the history of humankind in two, and who alone "know[s] the way out of this dead-end street" (EH WA 2) of sick, petty politics. Such exclamations suggest a preoccupation with the world historical, with the "big things." Yet, in the same book, Nietzsche more often describes the "little things" in his life, such as his aversion to coffee and to alcohol, and the various diets and climes with which he has experimented in his search for health. Indeed, the chapter "Why I am so Clever," with its rantings about cuisine and climate, reads more like a neurasthenic's guide to Europe than the reasoned discourse of a man who alone knows how to escape Western civilization's dead-end. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Journal of Nietzsche Studies Penn State University Press

The Casuistry of Little Things

The Journal of Nietzsche Studies , Volume 23 (1) – Jan 3, 2002

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Publisher
Penn State University Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 by The Friedrich Nietzsche Society.
ISSN
1538-4594
Publisher site
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Abstract

The Casuistry Little Things BRIAN DOMINO He that despiseth little things shall perish little by little. --Sirach 19:1 t is not difficult to understand why nearly a century of commentators have viewed Ecce Homo as the product of Nietzsche's incipient dementia: the book is profoundly schizophrenic. On the one hand, like a dethroned philosopher-king desperately trying to sell his wares in the democratic marketplace of ideas, Nietzsche advertises himself as a "force majeure" (EH WA 2 and "Destiny" 8) that has sundered the history of humankind in two, and who alone "know[s] the way out of this dead-end street" (EH WA 2) of sick, petty politics. Such exclamations suggest a preoccupation with the world historical, with the "big things." Yet, in the same book, Nietzsche more often describes the "little things" in his life, such as his aversion to coffee and to alcohol, and the various diets and climes with which he has experimented in his search for health. Indeed, the chapter "Why I am so Clever," with its rantings about cuisine and climate, reads more like a neurasthenic's guide to Europe than the reasoned discourse of a man who alone knows how to escape Western civilization's dead-end.

Journal

The Journal of Nietzsche StudiesPenn State University Press

Published: Jan 3, 2002

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