In my Philosophy of Art course, we’ve been reading Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy for the last two weeks, and we can add him to the list posted here of intellectuals across the ages bemoaning the poverty of their own time’s culture.
Nietzsche on mid-19th century Germany:
“What else, in the desolate waste of present-day culture, holds any promise of a sound, healthy future? In vain we look for a single powerfully branching root, a spot of earth that is fruitful: we see only dust, sand, dullness, and languor” (Birth of Tragedy, Section 20).
That’s interesting. What did Nietzsche overlook? Is civilization continuing its decline on the Nietzschean curve or has there been a jump at some point?
How does this correspond to the similar observations preceding Nietzsche?
I cannot thank you enough for the blog post. Much thanks again. Great.