Nihilism In The Birth Of Tragedy By Nietzsche

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If existence is inherently filled with suffering, what follows? For Schopenhauer, what follows is a life not worth living. Nietzsche disagrees. Although Nietzsche accepts that life is suffering, he does not accept Schopenhauer’s nihilistic conclusion. In The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche attempts to overcome Schopenhauer’s nihilism by appealing to the ancient Greeks. But before explaining the Greek’s response to the suffering, it is important to further explain Schopenhauer’s response. Schopenhauer argues that the source of suffering is what he calls the will or what is more commonly understood as desire. If we don’t get what we want, then we are in pain. If we do get what we want, then we become bored. Either way, we suffer. To end this suffering, Schopenhauer recommends denying the will. By living an ascetic life, one is no longer controlled by the will. Thus, one no longer suffers.
Nietzsche found Schopenhauer’s response to suffering unsatisfactory, so he turned to the Greeks. The Greeks were also aware of the inherent suffering of existence, yet they did not deny the will or acce...

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