Introduction: Nietzsche Contra Bismarck—Culture War

Abstract

This chapter argues that the Untimely Meditations constitute “Nietzsche’s Culture War” because they present his alternative to the culture war [Kulturkampf] that Otto von Bismarck waged in Germany in the late nineteenth century. Nietzsche saw Bismarck’s vision for German culture as symptomatic of the broader degeneration of modern culture, and he openly avowed his intention to oppose this vision in public lectures and private letters. This chapter also argues that the Untimely Meditations present a unified and coherent philosophic narrative, and that the unity of this narrative is not apparent unless the four essays that comprise the book are read in the context of one another and placed in dialogue. This chapter concludes by tracing the compositional history of the book, and addressing why Nietzsche said it deserved the “greatest attention” for understanding his philosophic development.