affirmation of life
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Nietzschean affirmation (german: Bejahung) is a concept in the
philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) developed his philosophy during the late 19th century. He owed the awakening of his philosophical interest to reading Arthur Schopenhauer's ''Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung'' (''The World as Will and Represe ...
. The best example of this concept can be found in Nietzsche's ''The Will to Power'':


Opposition to Schopenhauer

Walter Kaufmann wrote that Nietzsche "celebrates the Greeks who, facing up to the terrors of nature and history, did not seek refuge in "a Buddhistic negation of the will," as
Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work '' The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the pr ...
did, but instead created
tragedies Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
in which life is affirmed as beautiful in spite of everything." Schopenhauer’s negation of the will was a saying "no" to life and to the world, which he judged to be a scene of pain and
evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...
. " rectly against Schopenhauer’s place as the ultimate nay-sayer to life, Nietzsche positioned himself as the ultimate yes-sayer…." Nietzsche's affirmation of life's pain and evil, in opposition to Schopenhauer, resulted from an overflow of life. Schopenhauer's advocacy of self-denial and negation of life was, according to Nietzsche, very harmful."For me the issue was the value of moralityand in that matter I had to take issue almost alone with my great teacher Schopenhauer…. The most specific issue was the worth of the 'unegoistic,' the instinct for pity, self-denial, self-sacrifice, something which Schopenhauer himself had painted with gold, deified, and projected into the next world for so long that it finally remained for him 'value in itself' and the reason why he said No to life and even to himself. But a constantly more fundamental suspicion of these very instincts voiced itself in me, a
scepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...
which always dug deeper! It was precisely here that I saw the great danger to humanity, its most sublime temptation and seduction." (Nietzsche, '' Ecce Homo'', "Why I Write Such Good Books," "The Birth of Tragedy," § 2.)
For his entire mature life, Nietzsche was concerned with the damage that he thought resulted from Schopenhauerian disgust with life and turning against the world.


Derridean interpretation

Jacques Derrida appropriates this concept and applies it specifically to language, its structure and play. This application acknowledges that there is, in fact, no center or origin within language and its many parts, no firm ground from which to base any Truth or truths. This shock allows for two reactions in Derrida's philosophy: the more negative, melancholic response, which he designates as Rousseauistic, or the more positive Nietzschean affirmation.
Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
's perspective focuses on deciphering the truth and origin of language and its many signs, an often exhaustive occupation. Derrida's response to Nietzsche, however, offers an active participation with these signs and arrives at, in Derridean philosophy, a more resolute response to language. In " Structure, Sign, and Play", Derrida articulates Nietzsche's perspective as:
... the joyous affirmation of the play of the world and of the innocence of becoming, the affirmation of a world of signs without fault, without truth, and without origin which is offered to an active interpretation.Derrida, Jacques. "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Humanities." ''
Writing and Difference ''Writing and Difference'' (french: L'écriture et la différence) is a book by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. The work, which collects some of the early lectures and essays that established his fame, was published in 1967 alongside ''Of G ...
''. Trans. Alan Bass. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1978. 278–293.
Essentially, Derrida not only fosters Nietzsche's work but evolves it within the sphere of language; in doing so, Derrida acquires and employs Nietzsche's optimism in his concept of play: "the ''substitution'' of ''given'' and ''existing'', ''present'', pieces" (292). Much of this spirit resides in the abandonment of any sort of new
humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...
. This acceptance of the inevitable allows for considerable reliefevident in the designation of the loss of center as a non-centeras well as the opportunity to affirm and cultivate play, which enables humanity and the humanities "to pass beyond man and humanism" (292).


See also

*''
Amor fati is a Latin phrase that may be translated as "love of fate" or "love of one's fate". It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one's life, including suffering and loss, as good or, at the very least, necessa ...
'' *
Everlasting Yea Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...


References

{{Nietzsche Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche Jacques Derrida Philosophy of life