Philosophy and Literature

Twilight of the Idols is one of the few places in Nietzsche's works where he offers a sustained analysis of both Socratic philosophy and the psychological characteristics of the historical figure known as Socrates. Even so, Nietzsche is notorious for engaging in what appears to be philosophically meaningless personal attacks against many of his predecessors. To demonstrate the poverty of this line of thinking, I will show how Nietzsche's hostility toward Socrates in "The Problem of Socrates" conceals a logically sound argument that explains why Socrates' decadence is a symptom of his overvaluation of reason.