Why Nietzsche REALLY Went Mad

There are many legends and lies surrounding the question of why Nietzsche went mad. After the German philosopher had a mental breakdown in a Turin square January 1889, the initial diagnosis was paretic syphilis. But as later investigators point this definitely wasn’t the case. In this episode we are going to explore the “circus-like history of controversies over the syphilis diagnosis”.
Nietzsche was diagnosed with the disease despite meeting none of the five core symptoms of paretic syphilis. This initial diagnosis and its early backer—the notorious popular science writer Dr Mobius—was scrutinised by two biographers in the late 1920s but they were completely overshadowed by the account of the psychiatrist Lange-Eichbaum—an admirer of Mobius—who started the myth that Nietzsche had been treated for syphilis in 1867 during his student years in Leipzig. Despite the fact this information came from Mobius (who allegedly heard it from two Leipzig doctors that nobody has ever been able to track down and whose letters informing him of the matter had since been destroyed) it became canonical history. It took 70 years beyond Lange-Eichmann’s work before this narrative was questioned. In his pivotal article on the matter Leonard Sax sums up the situation as a case of:
“One man's gossip becomes another man's reference, which in turn becomes a scholar's footnote.”
But Nietzsche’s madness was not caused by syphilis and we don’t know the real cause. Sax argues for its being a brain tumour; another author Eva Cybulska argues that it was a result of Nietzsche having bipolar disorder and others again argue its origin was purely psychological. Short of exhuming his body there is no way of confirming for sure.

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📚 Sources:

Primary Papers:
Cybulska, E.M., 2000. The madness of Nietzsche: a misdiagnosis of the millennium?. Hospital Medicine, 61(8), pp.571-575.
Sax, L., 2003. What was the cause of Nietzsche's dementia?. Journal of Medical Biography, 11(1), pp.47-54.

Further Reading:
Breazeale, D., 1991. Ecce Psycho: Remarks on the case of Nietzsche. International studies in philosophy, 23(2), pp.19-33.
Hollingdale, R.J., 2001. Nietzsche: The man and his philosophy. Cambridge University Press.
Huenemann, C., 2008. Nietzsche's illness. in The Oxford Handbook of Nietzsche. edited by Gemes, K. and Richardson, J. Oxford University Press.
Kaufmann, W.A., 2013. Nietzsche: Philosopher, psychologist, antichrist (Vol. 104). Princeton University Press.
Nietzsche, F.W., 1968. Basic writings of Nietzsche. Modern Library Classics.
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🎶 Music Used:
1. Magnetic — CO.AG Music
2. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod
3. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod
4. Mesmerise — Kevin MacLeod
5. Evening Fall Harp — Kevin MacLeod
6. Anguish— Kevin MacLeod

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⌛ Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:36 Nietzsche’s Turin Breakdown
1:28 Nietzsche’s Diagnosis and Syphilis’s Symptoms
3:13 Why Nietzsche Didn’t Have Syphilis
7:26 How the Myth of Nietzsche’s Syphilis Became History
10:45 What Did Nietzsche Really Die of?
11:38 Conclusion
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#nietzsche #thelivingphilosophy #philosophy

[Eternalised]

Fantastic work! I've always thought that people attributed his fall into madness to epitomise the madman archetype because of his madman parable and many other writings. People seem to have the preconceived notion that because he was such an eccentric character that he was bound to fall prey to his own wisdom, falling into madness. Reminds me of Lovecraftian lore, that one should not delve too deeply into the secrets of life lest one goes mad from the revelation.

Then of course adding a myth such as the Turin Horse incident and of course defamation through a syphilis misdiagnosis.

[meetontheledge]

Nietzsche wrote that some men are born posthumously. Perhaps others are ''murdered'' posthumously. I was one of the Walter Kauffmann generation, and just accepted the ''tertiary syphilis'' diagnosis (when it was actually nothing but a theory). This is an excellent corrective. No matter what the ''experts'' said, my heart always believed that he'd stared too long into the abyss. And living a life of solitude has very real dangers as well. How typical of a mother to blame it all on ''drugs'' rather than the endless battle with pain that the drugs were intended to alleviate! This was the first I have ever heard of ''notebooks'' N. wrote in the asylum. I'd be interested to know what happened to them, but can well imagine his sister got rid of them. Great job!

[seanoneillmcpartlin]

I am currently writing a thesis on Nietzsche, and causally searched for details about his decline. So glad I found a video with more scholarly detail than academic papers I have seen on the topic.

[Lawh]

One thing we can learn from this is, that a doctor should write "I don't know" much more often as the diagnosis, than just making a rampant and wild guess.

EDIT: I was surprised by the conclusion. I have been hospitalized for my thoughts. They still have not diagnosed me properly. My problem was, that all my experiences and thoughts were being held up by a very faulty philosophical structure, and it was holding up an immense weight of trauma, and past and at the time current suffering and incredible stress. When that support structure was evaporized through study and learning, I went insane. I tried to speak of this, but my words were interpreted as that of a madman, though to this day I know I was right in having my thoughts. I had to figure things out myself by more study and experiences, and learning to change myself. I was medicated, without which I surely would never have recuperated.

They only let me out once I could mask myself well enough. I knew that even the mention of philosophy would scatter the room for some reason. What scared me the most during that time was the thought, that the entire world was being run on extremely faulty mental structures, and anyone who learns enough or won't straight up deny facts will be locked away because they can no longer function. I knew I could not bury all my thoughts, so I though I had to literally bury myself, and never speak of what had happened. I felt that if it really is the case, that everything is absolute, pure madness, then I had to die. I have found that this is not really the case, because simply put, more intelligent and well versed people than I are doing just fine. That meant, that intellect or learning in itself was not fatal, though it can be extremely dangerous. It's best not speak of these things, because it causes tremendous suffering for some people. I don't believe in anything supernatural or religious or weird, or in self superiority or any super powers. Quite the opposite. I took life by the horns because I was a naive fool, and got on a terrible ride of my life. I'm not sure whether I was proverbially mauled to death, or whether I held on long enough to become strong enough.

In any case, it is more than possible, that a man with Nietzsche's thinking ended up institutionalized at some point in his life, since it can happen to his lessers.

[Nyet]

I am ashamed to admit I was one of those who had bought into the whole sypilis diagnosis. Your presentation has totally won me over that this was in fact a misdiagnosis. From what I’ve read I am now inclined to believe that he had a benign brain tumour, but as you point out we will never be sure.

[peterlynley]

Didn't Nietzsche's father also die of a brain disorder of some sort? And I also read somewhere that he started getting the headaches, nausea and vomiting as early as 9 years old. That would give weight to the organic disorder hypothesis but organic disorders can also be exacerbated by many other factors to produce a final health crisis. He did take all those drugs and he pushed himself incredibly hard so who really knows and, in the end, his ideas are what they are and should be judged on their merits. Anyway, thanks for putting things in perspective here. The more I learn of history the more cases of misinformation I come across that causes me to rethink some of my positions but in the end one should always want to know the truth above all.

[markdpricemusic]

Many thanks for this, only just found it... Nietzsche's sudden collapse has always fascinated me. My wife is a Nietzsche scholar and over the years translated a lot of the letters and unpublished notebooks - M III (1) contains loads of almost Spinozist or semi-pagan reflections on how ''human consciousness may be a development of the mineral world via plant and animal' ). Over the years I've developed an eye for how much Nietzsche was interacting with the mineral, chemical and plant world... and although he wasn't a 'total 'drug fiend'' he was self-medicating with some very heavy substances throughout his nomadic life. Insomnia caused by chloral hydrate is hellish: three of four days without sleep would twist anyone's noggin. Blinding migraines, ever-deteriorating vision, problems after having part of his sternum removed etc meant he was fairly consistently mooching for chemical remedies. The speed at which he went totally nutzoid and almost totally mute suggests something like a psychotic break... but precisely what caused it is guesswork. In Resa von Schirnhofer’s memoir there is a similar suggestion with a hint of trippy menace, as if the outside has taken root from within: ''With a distraught expression on his pale face [Nietzsche] leaned wearily against the post of the half-opened door and immediately began to speak about the unbearableness of his ailment. He described to me how, when he closed his eyes, he saw an abundance of fantastic flowers, winding and intertwining, constantly growing and changing forms and colours in exotic luxuriance, sprouting one out of the other. “I never get any rest, ” he complained...'' (CWN 164).

[jamm_affinity]

I don’t understand why people use his mental condition as a reason to disregard him, because his same opinions today are less controversial.

Nietzsche suffered a lot in his life no doubt, so it’s easy to be skeptical of his way of life, but he welcomes suffering.

It’s his very suffering that lead to the creation of his great work, and the same is often true of us as individuals. Our deepest trenches can lead us to our greatest stories of overcoming.

As someone who has been both depressed and grandiose at different times in my past, it is a blessing and not a curse. It’s a signal that can be learned from, and it’s ultimately an impulse that is trying to lead you somewhere. Some of my greatest achievements were born out of a feeling of grandiosity, and I suspect many others have the same experience. It’s not a purely negative state although it’s not sustainable.

[mikec]

Self hatred and abuse by putting one self judgment to a perfectionist standard can make many mentally sick

[patrickirwin]

Profoundly grateful for this work! I read Nietzsche seriously for several years as a very young man in the 60s and 70s. Kaufmann's intro to Nietzsche was my first real intro to western thought beyond Euclid and some Plato and Descartes. I learned German and Latin and Greek, mostly poorly, but I did immerse myself in western thought and literature, all because of my youthful passion for Kaufmann's translations, especially of BG&E and the Genealogy.

Nietzsche's "descent into madness" was a central romantic myth of my youthful quest. I took Kaufmann's word on the subject as scholarship. In the background was Thomas Mann's treatment of the theme in Doctor Faustus. I think I used the horse flogging thing in a tweet as recently as this year. I have been disabused of many other romantic myths over the years, so this came as no real shock except for the pleasant surprise at the concise way you demolished it. Truly grateful for the education.

[aryanmishra]

I finished reading Crime and Punishment a couple of days back and before that, I finished reading The Brothers Karamazov. Reading what his fate had been like of Ivan's and Raskolnikov really shocks me.

[mikemx]

Thanks for clearing this up, I noticed some videos would still mention the syphilis diagnosis.
Have you read what Carl Jung thought on Nietzsche's decent into madness? A video about Jung on Nietzsche would be interesting.
Enjoying the videos, thank you.

[viperzerofsx]

Without examining his body or dining a DNA test I bout we will ever know. However I’ve always found the Bipolar theory very compelling. You can see both depression and grandiosity in his writing. He seems so similar to a number of famous artists speculated to have the condition, some of which he admired.

[mralexander]

It is so refreshing to find this out....after all this the waste of opportunity -- for those who have dismissed him throughout the years, from misperceived wrong views -- of one of the most prolific thinkers that has come along since Socrates. I love it...because the more we can lift the curtain on history we mostly find how inaccurate it really is...a
kind of entropy in time.

[maksymiliankowalczyk]

Nice. And for me is funny that a lot of times when people say that an artist, thinker, etc. had mental issues, it's kinda like... normal, like can't have one without the other. But with Nietzsche he is often called a madman, to completely discredit his work. That is my experience when talking about Nietzsche with people. A quick question. Did Nietzsche say he is Polish, just to mock the Germans, or is there some truth behind it??

[AquarianAgeApostle]

Nietzsche is the incarnation of that ancient of all ancient archetypes: he who straddles the tightrope between genius and insanity. Nothing below but an abyss looking up at him.

[remcovansanten]

Another clear video. Thank you so much for sharing and setting the record straight.

[gregruland]

Fascinating - well done - great production - love the artwork - God Bless

[jordil]

I always suspected that it was linked to his Eternal Recurrence. It gave everything significant and made his reality too vivid. Paralysis was the most rational response to operating under such a reality. It may be a too romantic reading of the situation, but I've had a hard time shaking the notion. Reality became too vivid to continue to think in the abstract.

[hummingpylon]

He probably did had some genetic predisposition that has contributed to his psychosis, at least on his father's side. He was paranoid that he will end up like his father, he did mention that he might be going insane, but that might have been caused by the drugs he was taking which was opium and sodium chloride. If you haven't yet read Jung's seminar on Nietzsche's Zarathustra, it is a bone chilling hypothesis on what really might have happened to Nietzsche.