Overview

A new interpretation of what is arguably Nietzsche's most neglected work. This study is an interpretation of the four essays that comprise Nietzsche's Untimely Considerations (also called the Untimely Meditations) as a single, coherent whole whose focus is to educate their readers toward self-cultivation and genuine culture and ultimately to the philosophic life. Jozef Majerník engages in a close reading of each of the essays, finding in them Nietzsche's theoretical understanding of human life in general as well as the best possible kind of life and plans for large-scale cultural reform in conjunction with Wagner's Bayreuth project. The focal point of Majerník's interpretation is the complex understanding of the nature of the human soul found in the Untimely Considerations, which he terms the ""erotic-historic soul"" after its two main constituent parts, desiring and memory. He argues that this conception of the soul is, at its core, the same model that we find in Nietzsche's mature works.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jozef Majerník (Institute of Philosophy, Slovak Academy of Sciences)
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
Imprint:   State University of New York Press
Weight:   0.363kg
ISBN:  

9798855802474

Pages:   256
Publication Date:   02 January 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Summary of the Argument Note on the Title I. David Strauss the Confessor and the Writer: Nietzsche's Kulturkritik I.1. Richard Wagner and the Origins of the UC I.2. DS 1–3: Nietzsche's Critique of German Culture I.3. DS 4–12: The Portrait of the Cultivated Philistine II. On the Utility and Liability of History for Life: The Human Soul and Its Modern Deformation II.1. HL 1: The Erotic-Historic Soul II.2. HL 2–3: Historia Magistra Vitae II.3. HL 4–9: The Problem of Scientific History II.4. Curing the Historical Sickness III. Schopenhauer as Educator: The Good Life According to the Young Nietzsche III.1. SE 1: Erotic-Historic Self-Knowledge III.2. SE 2–4: The Educator III.3. SE 5: The ""Schopenhauerian"" Affirmation III.4. SE 6–8: The Life of Culture IV. Richard Wagner in Bayreuth: Wagner, Tragedy, and Free Human Beings of the Future IV.1. Becoming Richard Wagner IV.2. Wagner's Tragic Art IV.3. Wagnerian Musical Education IV.4. Finale: The Free Human Beings of the Future V. The Failures — and the Successes — of the Untimely Considerations V.1. The Failure of the Project of the UC V.2. The Sickness of the Thought of the UC V.3. The Successes of the Thought of the UC V.4. The Thought of the UC as a Means to Overcome Itself V.5. Conclusion Bibliography Index

Reviews

""Majerník's original study of the Untimely Meditations convincingly argues that the work cannot be skipped when one treats Nietzsche's philosophy of culture, specifically from a pedagogical and psychological viewpoint. It will no doubt stimulate new research into Nietzsche's philosophical development."" — Martine Prange, author of Nietzsche, Wagner, Europe

Author Information

Jozef Majerník is Schwarz Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

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