NIETZSCHE Explained: Twilight of the Idols - Introduction (pt. 1)

Friedrich Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols is a short work. It was written in just over a week in 1888, one year before Nietzsche’s mental collapse.

In the collected works of Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols stands as a sort of summary of Nietzsche’s entire philosophy up until that point.

The writing style is radical. The contents are radical. There is very little nuance, and the reader gets the impression that Nietzsche is out to shock his audience. Some interpreters have even speculated that in Twilight of the Idols, we can already see the signs of Nietzsche’s coming mental breakdown.

In this series, we’ll go over the most important ideas present in the book. Because the entire book was written as a sort of summary of the late Nietzsche’s philosophy, this series will also serve as a good introduction to Nietzsche’s thought in general. Still, for a more in-depth overview, we recommend our series on Beyond Good and Evil and the Genealogy of Morals.

Twilight of the Idols is a play on words. Nietzsche is parodying the title of the final opera in the famous Ring-cycle by Richard Wagner: Twilight of the Gods. The pun is more obvious in German: Götterdämmerung versus Götzendämmerung.

The fourth and final part of Wagner’s Ring cycle ends with the destruction of the gods: Valhalla goes up in flames, the eponymous ring is returned to the Rhinemaidens, the banks of the Rhine river overflow and extinguish the fire. The gods are dead, but the world is born anew. Humans, from now on, are no longer playthings of the gods, but free beings ready to create their own destiny.

Similarly, Nietzsche envisions a future in which humans are free from the “philosophical gods” of the past – ideas that have come to be regarded as dogmatically true from which mankind must liberate itself.

But Nietzsche named his book Twilight of the Idols, not Twilight of the Gods. An idol, in a religious context, is a man-made object that is venerated for the deity that it represents. In Christianity, Judaism and Islam, idolatry – the worship of man-made objects – is strictly forbidden. In other words, an idol could be said to be false god.

By choosing this title, Nietzsche is saying he will set out to destroy certain false gods – mistakes philosophers before him have made.

[FutureMindset]

I love Neitzsche's work because it's so grounded in realism. While on the one hand, he left his religion and wanted to liberate humanity from it, he also understood the ramifications of giving up the comfort of believing in a God. His work is really to the point and doesn't shy away from the dark side of philosophy.

[gracefitzgerald]

I just watched the movie Twilight of the Gods. I thought it was a bit theatrical but full of tidbits I didn’t know about the relationship between Nietzsche and Wagner. Looking forward to watching your newest series.

[laub]

This channel is golden, I'm so happy I discovered it

[frankchilds]

Thanks as always! I feel people of today need to be shocked into seeing we are not as wise and free as we imagine.

[erisstewart]

Amazing video, good job. Was looking for something about this book.

[rotemsinai]

Could you do
1. schopenhauer on suicodu
2. 3 parter on kant
3. Ayn rands objectivism

[ewanwatp]

Could you do a video covering the Antichrist at some point

[satnamo]

My self is das mother of my idols.

There are more idols in das world
than in reality.