TOW #21 - IRB Part 1

Nietzsche's Daybreak is a strange work. It does not read like a series of treatises or like an allegorical parable that one might expect from books written by philosophers. Instead this text is nearly entirely filled with stanzas ranging from a sentence to a paragraph, loosely grouped by subject and often titled with a phrase like, "On Popular Medicine", or "On Doubt as a Sin". These fortune-cookie-esque phrases are most likely meant to encourage questioning and attract youth to Nietzsche's ideas (but not without skepticism). The interpretation of a younger audience is presented in the preface, and is accomplished by challenging widely more than deeply held beliefs and through an easily digestible arrangement.

Like many of the philosophers before him, Nietzsche seems to realize that deep philosophical ideals are easier to transfer to other minds in short bursts. It is difficult to sit down and plow through a few chapters of Diogenes or Machiavelli. Therefore, Nietzsche presents his ideas in short bite-sized chunks. Repeatable and slightly ambiguous phrases like, "He who is punished is never he who performed the deed. He is always the scapegoat" are just begging to be mulled over in one's head. This is an effective manner to prevent readers from being scared off.

The other rhetorical strategy Nietzsche uses in this text is perhaps a bit more tactical. Nietzsche is a bit of a contrarian. This is to be expected as it comes hand-in-hand with deeply skeptical philosophies. However, while Nietzsche does attack deep seated beliefs about morality and the role of gods in modern society, the majority of his attacks are small, half-hearted attacks on widely, but not deeply held beliefs which make his work seem edgier but maintains inoffensiveness. For instance, one stanza reads, "The great wars of the present age are the result of the study of history." While most people believe in the old adage about studying history to learn from previous mistakes, a quote like this is unlikely to seriously ruffle any feathers (with the exceptions of history teachers and war buffs). This strategy is also effective. While it may not actually present new information or practical ideas, it does further Nietzsche's cause of total re-examination of modern society in the reader.

While Nietzsche has so far been unusual and at times superficial (transgressing into down right ignorance when discussing women), I believe I am beginning to grow used to the writing format and his tactics remain effective. The next quarter of the book is titled, 'Beyond Good and Evil', a text which I own and have previously read years ago. I wonder how time and context will effect the impact of this new section.