Die dionysische Ästhetik in Nietzsches Dithyramben

The Dionysian was developed as an aesthetic theory in German-speaking countries at the end of the 18th century and represents one of the most important literary impulses that has shaped epochs and remains the focus of academic discussion to the present day. However, the concept of the Dionysian shows a clear development from the end of the 18th century to the late 19th century, is broadly defined and therefore eludes a clear definition in terms of content. The essential characteristics of the Dionysian originated from irrational art theorists, natural-mythical thinkers and philosophical mystics who developed increasingly extreme positions in which ecstasy, violence, immortality, sexuality and Dionysus as the religious center within a sacred antiquity took on essential significance and were positioned in opposition to the ideals of the Enlightenment era. Nietzsche likes to remain vague about his Dionysian attributes, which means that Dionysian aesthetics eludes a precise definition and is the subject of wide-ranging and contradictory debate in research. Due to the different phases and changing views of Nietzsche, the term has not yet been clearly defined. The aim of this work is to explain Nietzsche's aesthetic approach to the Dionysian. An essential result of the work is that the Dionysian in Nietzsche forms a new aesthetic theory, represents a significant further development compared to all existing approaches and the preliminary climax of the discourse. Consequently, Nietzsche invented the category of the Dionysian in the sense we know it today. His Dionysian is the artistic drive under the sign of horror with an exuberant pleasure in becoming, driven by sudden creativity and dynamism, performed and lived by the tragic poet. The practice of tragic art is intuitive, instinctive and intoxicating and is not bound to intellectual thought. The negative is reinterpreted as a terrifying positive, because there is a desire to destroy and perish, including one's own, as well as a revaluation of Christian morality, in whose place art is positioned. Such a philosophy of creative lust for life gives rise to a valuation of existence beyond good and evil. In addition to the pronounced aesthetic topos, inherent components of the Dionysian are a methodical psychologism, the irrationalistic glorification of life and a tendency to transgress established moral norms and conventions. Nietzsche's Dionysian aesthetics had a lasting effect on important authors of the 20th century. The definition of the Dionysian in this work is intended to contribute to future interpretations of Nietzsche's late writings. The Dionysus Dithyrambs are of central importance in Nietzsche's work and establish the link between poetics, the Dionysian theory of art and the philosophical themes. The literary impact of these poems can still be felt today. It is therefore surprising that Nietzsche research has so far only dealt with the Dionysus Dithyrambs in a marginalized form and that the Dionysian aesthetics they contain have been largely ignored. One reason for this is the dominant poetic character compared to the philosophical topoi. In this work, the results of the investigation of the Dionysian in Nietzsche will be incorporated into the analyses of the dithyrambs to broaden the spectrum of interpretation. This approach will also open up new perspectives for the interpretation of the dithyrambs in future research. The investigations prove that Nietzsche reveals his most important philosophical approaches in the Dionysus Dithyrambs, fully implements his new aesthetic theory and reveals his understanding of Dionysus as a philosophical principle. An opulent imagery is a basic component of the new aesthetic theory, at the center of which is the appearance of Dionysus as an event. Linked to this is the Dionysian moment as an a priori understood transcendental aesthetic category of perception. The Dionysian moment is used by Nietzsche as an essential structural element that