The Eternal Recurrence

[Theaetetus]

So I have decided to post Nietzsche's first instance of a mention of the eternal recurrence in his body of work. Many scholars have posited both theoretical and practical interpretations of the doctrine of the eternal recurrence, but in his body of work, the theoretical is only argued for in his notes which he chose not to publish found in The Will to Power. Thus, Nietzsche himself would probably not support the theoretical position and instead favor the practical as seen with his conditional that he posits in The Gay Science.

So I ask, what does Nietzsche mean when he writes on the eternal recurrence? Some questions to ponder: Is there such thing as choice if everything has happened and will again? How is the eternal recurrence the ultimate life affirming act? Would a Christian be horrified by the thought of the eternal recurrence? Is the eternal recurrence something to even take seriously...explain? What does amor fati have to do with all of this? Anyway, discuss away.

“What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: ‘This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession and sequence—even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is turned upside down again and again, and with it, speck of dust!’”

“Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: ‘ You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.’ If this thought gained possession of you, it would change you as you are or perhaps crush you. The question is each and every thing, ‘Do you desire this once more and innumerable times more?’ would lie upon your actions as the greatest weight. Or how well disposed would you have to become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more feverently than this ultimate eternal confirmation and seal? (The Gay Science 273-274)

[Reconstructo]

Rorty tackles this brilliantly I think. Here's my assimilation.

Amor fati, the love of fate, is to be able to say yes (and mean it) to one's contingency. We born in a certain place and time with a certain body, all of which we did not choose.

To say yes to eternal recurrence is to say yes to the mess and suffering of it all. It is to say yes to all the youthful despair that precedes our partial illumination. It is to say yes to every heartbreak in our lives over and over again.

It is to accept life as it is, again and again, no heaven or progress in sight.

I think it's important to assume that one's memory is wiped clean between recurrences, and that every recurrence is exactly the same -- and it is not experienced as a recurrence. It is experienced each time with all the terror and bliss of the first time.

I think Heidegger's concept of authenticity is strongly related to Nietzsche's "amor fati." Both men criticize the escapism in so much philosophy.

(This doesn't keep me from finding escapism in Heidegger and Nietzsche, though. And is escapism bad in the first place?)

My 2 cents.

[Victor Eremita]

I think the popular interpretation and consequence of the eternal recurrence is one of the few great things that Nietzsche came up with, something that I wished Kierkegaard had brought up first. And it's this:

"A good life is a life you're willing to live over and over again. "
(Not a direct quote from Nietzsche, but that's one interpretation of it)

I'm not saying one should live the same life over and over again, but if one has to, make it the best damn life the first time around.

[Reconstructo]

I like the terseness of your paraphrase. I think it should be stressed that Nietzsche saw such eternal recurrence as a test. Could one find the strength to embrace the contingent circumstances of one's unique life in their totality, knowing that these contingent circumstances and experiences would be the entirety of existence --forever. Didn't he joke that his sister was a serious obstacle to this Yes in his own case?

[Theaetetus]

The doctrine of the eternal recurrence was definitely not a form of determinism or metaphysical fatalism as many scholars and readers have posited. It is, though, if one was to hold the Christian ideal of being rewarded for this life in an after life in heaven. To these people the eternal recurrence would send them in despair that their lives were pointless and meaningless. Thus, the doctrine the ultimate revaluation of values that overcomes the nihilism caused by the fact that God is dead.

As a result, Victor is right that the idea is to make this the best life possible this time. I can also see how Nietzsche's sister would be a hindrance in N's life affirmation through the eternal recurrence.

[Reconstructo]

T.
Not to be difficult, as I respect you both, but Victor said something slightly different. He offered a definition of the good life. And it's a good definition. I just wanted to stress that one must affirm the life one is thrown into, in all its ragged and lonely particularity. Man must find his heaven on the dirt of planet Earth. Indeed indeed.

[jeeprs]

I think the origin is oriental. He might have absorbed it from Buddhism and the cosmic cycles of the Hindu Veda, via Schopenhaur. See Mircea Eliade 'The Myth of the Eternal Return' - classic work on the the idea that that which distinguishes the Eastern from the Judeo Christian conception of history is the cyclical idea of time (among other things).

[Reconstructo]

Interesting, you mention the contrast of Eastern versus Judeo Christian conception of history. Have you read any Spengler? He writes brilliantly on exactly such things as that. Brilliantly.

[Theaetetus]

Originally Posted by Reconstructo

T.
Not to be difficult, as I respect you both, but Victor said something slightly different. He offered a definition of the good life. And it's a good definition. I just wanted to stress that one must affirm the life one is thrown into, in all its ragged and lonely particularity. Man must find his heaven on the dirt of planet Earth. Indeed indeed.

Well, if you take "Schopenhauer as Educator" and reconcile it with the eternal recurrence, then it would be about making something out of this life and affirming the entire life that one is thrown into with all of its warts, wrinkles, and loneliness. That is the only way to find one's own heaven on this earth in this life.

[Arjuna]

Originally Posted by Theaetetus

It is, though, if one was to hold the Christian ideal of being rewarded for this life in an after life in heaven. To these people the eternal recurrence would send them in despair that their lives were pointless and meaningless. Thus, the doctrine the ultimate revaluation of values that overcomes the nihilism caused by the fact that God is dead.

As a result, Victor is right that the idea is to make this the best life possible this time. I can also see how Nietzsche's sister would be a hindrance in N's life affirmation through the eternal recurrence.

Not all forms of Christianity place a carrot in front of the soul. Calvinism suggests that nothing you do affects your afterlife. You do good to glorify God. Notibly, this is the religious aspect of the merchant class... you can see how it sharply contrasts with the greed and money grubbing of merchants. It could be seen as the religious part of the merchant class trying to reign in earthly lusts before they plunge us into meaninglessness.

How does eternal recurrence compare with Keirkegaard's idea of repetition? The idea there is that there is a melancholy that goes with the idea that there is nothing new. He wasn't saying that there's nothing new, just that there's two ways to look at things:

1. You're unique, this event in front of you is unique and will never come again... there's drama and anxiety with this outlook.

2. You're just another human, this is another morning, on another day, in another year... it's the same year over and over.. it can be a balm on an strife-ridden psyche to know this... that no matter how bad it may seem, we drink the same stream, see the same sun, and run the same course our father's have run....(William Knox)