The article offers an extensive interpretation of Human All Too Human I, 114: “The non-Greek element in Christianity”. The origin of this section goes back to 1875 when Nietzsche was preparing a course on “The Religion of the Greek”. It is pointed out that for Nietzsche the opposition as such and in general is much more important than this specific opposition between Greek and Christian religion or culture. Christianity is in Nietzsche's writings almost always presented in some sort of opposition, (...) but there are many different oppositions in which it appears. The nature of the opposition which is so highly valued by Nietzsche, is described as agon, and is shown to be very different from the metaphysical opposition as criticized by Nietzsche in Beyond Good and Evil § 2. Nietzsche attempts to put Christianity back into an agonistic relation with Greek culture. But whereas Greek culture recognizes the principle of the agon, it is denied and condemned in Christianity. Greek culture shows the agon to be a principle of measure. Christianity turns out to be a religion of excessiveness. (shrink)

The significance of tradition for moral life seems at the same time to be obvious and controversial. Both evaluations refer to the meaning of tradition as the rule that reigns with the force of self-evidence. The first section of the article elaborates a philosophical basis for the significance of tradition. Human life is characterised by logos, which is interpreted as the capacity to understand and communicate meaning. Meaning does not exist outside tradition, taken as the conversation or controversy among different (...) interpretations. The second section of the article concentrates on the ethical meaning of tradition. With the help of Nietzsche, tradition is suggested to be the name for the adequate realization by human beings of their own historicality. (shrink)