Martine Prange

Reviewing his earlier writings in Ecce Homo, Nietzsche casts a vivid light on his philosophical development. However, because Ecce Homo was primarily meant as a “preface” to the planned book Revaluation of All Values (Umwerthung aller Werthe), it is more than just the intellectual autobiography it is usually taken for. It is also a book of “transition”, in which Nietzsche outlines the work to be done next. This essay seeks to sketch out the specific contribution of Ecce Homo to Nietzsche’s revaluation of all values philosophy by reading it as a “preface” and book of “transition”. In following this path, the author stretches the standard interpretation of Ecce Homo as an autobiography, suggesting that the book occupies a place at the center of Nietzsche’s intellectual heritage rather than at the (chronological and symbolic) end and in the margin. At the very least, Ecce Homo is not only an autobiography in which Nietzsche merely recapitulates the intellectual path he has travelled until that point, but also a philosophical work, and, therefore, part of the philosophical program of revaluation that Nietzsche was undertaking in 1888.

The prior issue of Krisis (42:1) published Critical Naturalism: A Manifesto, with the aim to instigate a debate of the issues raised in this manifesto – the necessary re-thinking of the role (and the concept) of nature in critical theory in relation to questions of ecology, health, and inequality. Since Krisis considers itself a place for philosophical debates that take contemporary struggles as starting point, it issued an open call and solicited responses to the manifesto. This is one of the sixteen selected responses, which augment, specify, or question the assumptions and arguments of the manifesto.

Nietzsche, Post-Truth and Media Critique. In this article, I argue that the current post-truth era forces us to re-pose the question of truth. I argue that if we want to understand who we are today and develop an „ontology of the present“ as Michel Foucault called it, we must develop a new question of truth based on Foucault’s remark that „whenever we need to rethink the truth, we must turn to Nietzsche.“ Next, I put forward my proposal for this renewed question, arguing first that this enquiry is a multi-layered one and, second, that Foucault and Nietzsche’s genealogical critique should be expanded to include a critique of media. I then demonstrate how such a media critique can fruitfully begin with Nietzsche by, first, looking more closely at his early reflections regarding which media can or cannot convey the truth. Finally, I argue that by considering Nietzsche’s own relationship with the public, we may learn how to bridge the gap between „the people“ and the „intellectual elite“ while maintaining the critical attitude that public intellectuals are supposed to maintain.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) supported the unification of Europe and reflected on this like few other philosophers before or after him. Many ofhis works are concerned with the present state and future of European culture and humanity. Resisting the "nationalist nonsense" and "politics of dissolution" of his day, he advocated the birth of "good Europeans," i.e. "supra-national" individuals and the "amalgamation of nations." Nietzsche, Wagner, Europe analyzes the development of Friedrich Nietzsche's ideal of European culture based on his musical aesthetics. It does so against the background of contemporary searches for a wider, cultural meaning beyond Europe's economic-political union. The book claims that Nietzsche always propagated the "aestheticization" of Europe, but that his view on how to achieve this changed as a result of his dramatically altering philosophy of music. The main focus is on Nietzsche's passion for and later aversion to Wagner's music, and, in direct connection with this, his surprising embrace of Italian operas as new forms of "Dionysian" music and of Goethe as a model of "Good Europeanism."