Abstract

This dissertation examines a hitherto neglected aspect of the problem of nihilism. Beginning with Nietzsche's insight that nihilism is the product of what he considers Christianity's misinterpretation of suffering, I consider the importance of suffering in Nietzsche's philosophy and reconstruct his contrast between his own, life-affirming perspective and Christianity's nihilistic, life-negating one. In this, I have two basic projects. The first is to offer a re-interpretation of Nietzsche, based on his published works, particularly those from his final two productive years . In the works Zur Genealogie der Moral, Gotzen-Dammerung, Ecce Homo, and Der Antichrist, Nietzsche offers his own, life-affirming perspective on suffering, amor fati , his "Dionysian" perspective. In Nietzsche's own account in Ecce Homo, the conflict between his philosophy and Christianity is decisive. I try to take that account seriously, and to show how this contrast between "Dionysus and the Crucified," between two opposing perspectives on human suffering, is the central theme of his philosophy. ;My second project is to respond to Nietzsche's criticisms of Christianity. I try to do this, while at the same time showing what kind of religious critic he is, and what kind of resource he can be for understanding Christianity. Nietzsche is adept at highlighting how a certain strand of the Christian tradition can lead to nihilism. Nietzsche's criticisms reveal a tension inherent in the Christian tradition, a tension between negating the world and denying the reality of suffering . Nietzsche equates Christianity with the first extreme, the nihilistic rejection of the world. This is largely what he means by the "Crucified," that the death of god on the cross means the rejection of this world. Although I disagree that this is the "essence" of Christianity, Nietzsche's attacks clarify the danger of nihilism that lies at one extreme of the Christian tradition. I briefly review certain claims by Augustine and Leibniz to show how, at its best, Christianity maintains the tension between these extremes, and affirms this world while acknowledging the reality of suffering