The Nietzsche Podcast 120: Erich Heller, The Disinherited Mind, pt 2 - Burckhardt, Nietzsche & History
Aug 12, 2025
Dive into the intriguing friendship between Nietzsche and Jacob Burckhardt, where their contrasting views on history take center stage. Discover how Goethe's insights on intellectual culture echo through Nietzsche's thoughts on European nihilism. Explore the depths of power and morality through Nietzsche's reflections, especially concerning figures like Napoleon. The dialogue on belief and rationalism highlights the complexities of values and aesthetics, leading to a vital discussion on the role of poetry in our lives today.
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The Scholarly Mask
- Friedrich Nietzsche suspected Jacob Burckhardt hid deeper convictions behind a calm scholarly exterior.
- Nietzsche read a "classically serene facade" as a mask of desperation and inward belief.
Atalanta And Raphael's Deposizione
- Burckhardt recounts Atalanta's forgiveness and Raphael's Deposizione as emblematic of Renaissance ethos.
- The tale fuses brutality, repentance, and sacred art to reveal cultural ideals beyond mere facts.
History As Cultural Vision
- Jacob Burckhardt privileged the epoch's spirit over mere factual exactitude in historical writing.
- He framed this method as a "history of culture as distinct from political history."
