Patriotic Nietzsche

A patriotic perspective is necessary for great art and vice versa - this is a virtuous circle.

Of the utmost importance to Nietzsche studies is the fact that for Nietzsche, Art is the paradigm for tragic wisdom: Nietzsche's philosophy begins with the assertion that only as an aesthetic phenomenon is life justified.Consequently, I argue that the only justifiable existence is a patriotic one: from that, all else that is beautiful, illusory and tragic follows.

My thesis, as should be known, derives not from my own prejudices, but from a study of Nietzsche in the period when he was close to Wagner - when he was very much a Wagnerian.

During this period he was;
i) at his most aesthetic, and
ii) at his most patriotic.