The Question of Human Suffering in Nietzsche

Abstract

Suffering and how one relates to one's own and others' sufferings are important themes in Nietzsche's works from the first to the last, as I examined in my recent monograph, Human Emotions in Nietzsche (Basel: Schwabe, 2021). In this article, I will build on what I wrote on this subject in this book and elsewhere, as I examine five paradigms for dealing with suffering, which I name: aesthetic, critical/historic, emotional, power, and transfiguration. Although these paradigms and the ideas that support them are present in Nietzsche's works and many Nietzsche readers may be aware of them, their organization in this form has appeared to me during the pandemic. I do not claim that these paradigms form a complete picture, but I believe they are sufficient to give us a broad picture of Nietzsche's teachings on suffering.