| Summary: | <p>The goal of this thesis is to shed light on Nietzsche’s reception of Heraclitus and the Pyrrhonists by focusing on the theme of philology. The thesis examines how Nietzsche’s understanding of philology has a profound influence on his interpretation and analysis of ancient Greek thinkers, especially Heraclitus and the Pyrrhonists. The Nietzschean philological method stands in sharp contrast to the wissenschaftlich (‘scientific’) philological tradition typical of 19th German scholarship, which involves a reconstruction of the past primarily based on historical facts. The thesis argues that Nietzsche does not attempt to outline an objective interpretation of Greek culture. Rather, he develops a theory on ancient Greece to which it is possible to attribute some key features of his own philosophical views. </p>
<p>In his reception of both Heraclitus and Pyrrhonism, Nietzsche applies a philological method that has three distinct features. First, Nietzsche’s history of philosophy is, in fact, neither objective nor scientific. Second, Nietzsche’s analysis is motivated by aspects of his epistemic, biological and metaphysical doctrines, which he developed independently, such as ‘perspectivism’ and the ‘will to power’—and he attributes these notions to Heraclitus and the Pyrrhonists. Third, the goal pursued by Nietzsche, by these means, is to address questions and issues that he finds particularly interesting and compelling. These issues range from the Christian belief in anthropocentrism, to the nature of Socrates’ dialectical abilities, Plato’s metaphysics and Epicurus’ attitude towards suffering. </p>
<p>The thesis concludes that an appreciation of the way in which Nietzsche conducts his history of philosophy offers a means of resolving the vexed scholarly issue as to what significance may be attributed to the remarkable degree of similarity between many Nietzschean, Heraclitean and Pyrrhonian ideas and arguments, such as perspectivism and suspension of judgment, and the will to power and the doctrine of flux. My contribution to the field is the demonstration that Nietzsche’s discussion of Heraclitus and the Pyrrhonists goes further and runs deeper than a simple attempt to draw attention to such similarities: Nietzsche’s discussion consists in addressing important themes that range from issues inherent to Christianity, to the beliefs of past thinkers, such as Socrates, Plato and Epicurus. </p>
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