Macbeth loses his head and soul in the unknowing clouds of his own sin-deceived ego. So does Nietzsche. Far from seeing life as a quest for truth, they are left with nothing but their own bitter inquest on life, signifying nothing. This is the deepest consequence of their rejection of faith and reason.
Ive recently enjoyed six months of discussions on Henri de Lubacs masterpiece, The Drama of Atheist Humanism, with Father Fessio and Vivian Dudro as part of our ongoing series of book discussions for the FORMED Book Club. One of the things that puzzled us was the choice of title. Why would de Lubac frame his study of the ideas of the major atheist philosophers of the nineteenth century as a drama? The answer to this puzzling question didnt fully emerge until the final part of the book in which de Lubac dissects the decline and fall of Friedrich Nietzsche. It was only at this point that the history of humanism in the nineteenth century is revealed as darkly comic and deeply tragic, culminating in a providentially ironic denouement of such dramatic power that it could be seen as a delightfully grotesque tragicomedy.
The drama that de Lubac narrates was such that it seemed to be worthy of the stage but then, as Shakespeare reminds us, the world is a stage and all the men and women of history merely players on times stage. It is, therefore, appropriate to see the striking parallels between the real-life factual character of Friedrich Nietzsche and the larger-then-life fictional character of Macbeth who prefigures Nietzsche in his manic pursuit of self-empowerment in defiance of reason.
Like his tragic Shakespearean forerunner, Nietzsche begins by abandoning reason in pursuit of power. From the very outset, his denial of the existence of God had nothing to do with any rational process of thought: Atheism, is not, for me, the consequence of something else in my case it is something that goes without saying, a matter of instinct. In similar vein, his rejection of Christianity had nothing to do with any rational process of thought and everything to do with pride and its prejudices: [I]t is our preference that decides against Christianity not arguments.
If Nietzsches atheism and anti-Christianity is irrational, there is nonetheless a reason for it, a rationale for his irrationality. The man who refuses to subject himself to reason is freed from the rational constraints that reason imposes. He is the freed man, liberated by the will to power (der Wille zur Macht), who can do what he likes and to whom nothing is now forbidden. The rule of reason, this last bondage, must be cast off. [W]e have abolished the world of truth, Nietzsche proclaimed; nothing is true.
The consequences of such abandonment of reason to the appetite for self-empowerment was obvious enough, even to Nietzsche. The philosopher, he wrote, is a terrible explosive from which nothing is safe.
This being so, de Lubac comments, it was not surprising that the drama that had taken shape in human minds quickly reached the point at which it burst forth in fire and slaughter.
Ironically, Nietzsche would have agreed with de Lubac. I herald the coming of a tragic era, he said, assuming the role of a self-proclaimed prophet of doom. We must be prepared for a long succession of demolitions, devastations and upheavals. [T]here will be wars such as the world has never yet seen. Europe will soon be enveloped in darkness. These words, written at the end of the nineteenth century, would prove to be truly prophetic of the new century about to be born. Europe would soon be enveloped in darkness. It would suffer two wars such as the world had never yet seen, with weapons of mass destruction, produced by those serving the will to power, beyond the imagination of more primitive peoples.
As for who would be to blame for such destruction, Nietzsche claimed that he would himself be responsible for it. Thanks to me, he wrote, a catastrophe is at hand.
His words were true enough, even though others would share the blame, including Comte and Marx, both of whom played leading roles in the drama of atheist humanism which de Lubac recounts.
As for Nietzsche, his ideas would prove not merely destructive but self-destructive. There is more than a suggestion, for instance, that he had ceased to believe his own philosophy and that the living of the lie might have contributed to his final descent into madness. I must persist in my dream under pain of perishing, he wrote. De Lubac is masterful in teasing out the psychological consequences of Nietzsches refusal to confess the lie that he was living: He who smelled out so subtly and flogged so harshly the unconscious hypocrisies of others, he it is who has become in the final analysis, not a masked man, but the man of the mask, almost, as it were, a theoretician of the self-indulgent, obstinate illusion, an adorer of a fiction that he knows quite well in the depths of his heart to be a fiction.
De Lubacs reading of Nietzsches self-deception is borne out by the words that Nietzsche puts in the mouth of his alter ego, Zarathustra: In truth, I advise you, get far away from me, defend yourself against Zarathustra! Better still, be ashamed of him. Perhaps he has deceived you. Or, as de Lubac suggests, perhaps he had deceived himself.
As early as 1883, long before the onset of madness, Nietzsche confessed to being on the brink of suicidal despair: I will not hide it from you, he wrote to a friend. Things are going very badly. Night overwhelms me more and more. I believe that I am walking ineluctably to my ruin. The barrel of a gun is now a source of relatively pleasant reflections for me. A month later, he wrote that he was no longer interested in anything: At the very depths of my being, a black and immutable melancholy. The worst is that I no longer understand at all to what purpose I should continue to live, be this only for six months ahead. Everything seems wearisome, painful, disgusting to me. Considering that Nietzsches whole philosophy is rooted in radical egocentrism, with the self as the centre of its self-empowered cosmos, it is the very self who is everything. Since this is so, the wearisome painful everything that is disgusting to Nietzsche must ultimately be a radical self-disgust.
We will conclude our survey of Nietzsches decline and fall in the company of his alter ego, not Zarathustra but Macbeth.
Having accepted the lie of the wyrd sisters that fair is foul, and foul is fair, Macbeth seeks to go boldly beyond good and evil blazing a self-delusional trail that Nietzsche would discover and follow almost three centuries later. Having chosen power over reason, Macbeth will live increasingly in the narrow and narrowing confines of his own head, making himself the centre of his own contracted and constricted cosmos. As he speaks to himself in secret, divorcing himself from others, his subjective perception supersedes objective reality. His decay is, therefore, as much a decay of philosophy as it is a decay of morality. The more he thinks of himself, the less he thinks of others, and the less he thinks of others, the less he thinks of the Other, i.e. the truth that transcends the self. The result is that his first thought of murder coincides with the murder of thought:
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man
That function is smothered in surmise,
And nothing is but what is not. (1.3.138-141)
As Macbeths pride takes pride of place on the throne of his soul, he begins to lose his sense of reality. Sin smothers reason so that the normal function of a mans mind, which is to seek and find the truth, is smothered in surmise until nothing is but what is not. Thus, Macbeths nihilism, which will come to bitter and futile fruition in the final act with his dismissal of life as a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing, is seen to have its roots in the plays opening act with his turning away from fides et ratio towards infidelity and irrationality.
When we see Nietzsche in the light or the shadow of Macbeth, we see him as a disciple of his great fictional forerunner. Long before there was the madness of Nietzsche, there was the madness of Macbeth.
Macbeth loses his head and soul in the unknowing clouds of his own sin-deceived ego. So does Nietzsche. Far from seeing life as a quest for truth, they are left with nothing but their own bitter inquest on life, signifying nothing. This is the deepest consequence of their rejection of faith and reason. In losing sight of the significance of others, or the Other, they lose sight of the significance of everything else. In choosing themselves above others, they are not even left with themselves. They lose everything, perhaps even their own souls. They are left with the nothing which is nothing else but the real absence of the good that they have rejected, the ultimate annihilation to which nihilism points.
The Imaginative Conservativeapplies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politicswe approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please considerdonating now.
The featured image is a painting by Charles A. Buchel of Herbert Beerbohm Tree (18521917) as Macbeth in Macbeth by William Shakespeare. This file is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
See the original post:
Macbeth Revisited: The Decline & Fall of Friedrich Nietzsche - The Imaginative Conservative
- Secular Americans Are the New Values Voters and This Election Proved It - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- Outcry in Hollywood over Minari's placement in foreign-language category - The Guardian [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- Zuckerman: Secular values voters are becoming an electoral force in the US just look closely at 2020s results - Palm Beach Post [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- Secular 'values voters' are becoming an electoral force in the US just look closely at 2020's results - Jacksonville Journal-Courier [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- The authenticity of the virgin birth | Editorial Columns - Brunswick News [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- FL County That Blocked Atheists from Giving Invocations Adopts Revised Policy - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- To the atheist Sartre: Thank you for this vivid incarnation of Jesus - The Irish Times [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- Russian New Year: At The Heart Of A Wide Tapestry Of Winter Traditions - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty [Last Updated On: December 30th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 30th, 2020]
- Conservative Writer: Dr. Anthony Fauci is Immoral Because He's a Humanist - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2021]
- Theres More to James Randi Than Meets the Eye - National Catholic Register [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2021]
- Wrestling With Foam-Pillow Atheism - National Catholic Register [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2021]
- Deadly IS attack threatens China's Belt and Road in Pakistan - Nikkei Asia [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- Pope Francis: We need unity in the Catholic Church, society, and nations - The Catholic Telegraph [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- Kanimozhi: Our culture is different. They (BJP) cant create fear of other religions here. It wont work in TN polls - The Indian Express [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- RTs Waterford Whispers News sketch was woefully unfunny, crude and offensive - The Irish Times [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- Heroes of the Faith: C.S. Lewis - Keep the Faith [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- James "Jim" G. Rice All Obituaries - The Gazette [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- Podcast Ep. 356: Jesus and the Capitol Coup | Hemant Mehta - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- How many Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Mormons and Hindus are in Congress? - Deseret News [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- White Supremacy in the Church: Black Leaders Discuss the Way Forward - University of Georgia [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- Critically Acclaimed Spiritual Fiction Vividly Details an Atheist Woman's Transformative Encounters at an Ordinary Garage Sale, Challenging Her... [Last Updated On: January 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 11th, 2021]
- 'I was fat and in my 30s, then I discovered rugby and it changed my life' - iNews [Last Updated On: January 17th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 17th, 2021]
- Unity has long been a theme, and anxiety, for new presidents - Outlook India [Last Updated On: January 17th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 17th, 2021]
- LETTER: America is divided, but not by Trump - The News Herald [Last Updated On: January 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 29th, 2021]
- Jason Whitlock Doubles Down On Comparing BLM to the KKK - Black Enterprise [Last Updated On: January 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 29th, 2021]
- Horror flick 'Saint Maud' will scare the devil out of you - The Patriot Ledger [Last Updated On: January 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 29th, 2021]
- Clenndenning explores nature of God and belief - Central Wisconsin News - CW Media [Last Updated On: January 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 29th, 2021]
- Catholic Priest: I'd Deny Biden Communion Until He Repents and Converts - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- Women's History Month at the Center for Education - TheHumanist.com - The Humanist [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- Kangana Ranaut Reacts To A Twitter User Who Questioned Her For Claiming She Was An Atheist As A Kid; Tweets A Perfect Explanation - SpotboyE [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- Kangana Ranaut to user who questioned her atheism: My grandfather engraved it in my mind - Republic TV [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- Can you be scientific and spiritual? - Big Think [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- I will be ticking no religion in the census there is so much more at stake than you might think - The Independent [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- Kangana Ranaut responds to Twitter user who questioned her about understanding atheism as a kid, credits grandfather - Hindustan Times [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- For divorced atheist remainers like me, this census was a minefield - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2021]
- GOP County Clerk Candidate's First Goal? Putting In God We Trust on Everything - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- Richard Dawkins on life after death: 'We're all going to die - but we are the lucky ones!' - Daily Express [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- Montenegro was a success story in troubled Balkan region now its democracy is in danger - The Conversation US [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- Who are the religious nones and why is this group of Americans growing? - Deseret News [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- After Exposing a Proselytizing Teacher, an Atheist and His Child Are on the Run - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- Yes, Virginia, Atheists Have a Worldview - National Catholic Register [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2021]
- Battle For The Soul Of Islam Analysis - Eurasia Review [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Lord Muruga's weapon Vel becomes political tool to woo voters in TN - News Today [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Most Democrats and Republicans Know Biden Is Catholic, but They Differ Sharply About How Religious He Is - Pew Research Center's Religion and Public... [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- A Washington Church Created a Bonkers Video Whining About COVID Restrictions - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- What is New Jersey's most popular superstition? (Hint: It brings good luck) - Asbury Park Press [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Mike Moffett: Educating Ed and Easter | Op-eds | unionleader.com - The Union Leader [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Congratulations, Atheists: Church Attendance in America is at an All-Time Low. - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Researchers study mental health of believers, atheists - Winnipeg Free Press [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- What the New Atheists miss about the meaning of God - New Statesman [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2021]
- Image of 2013 Bangladesh riots shared as violence against Hindus in West Bengal - Alt News [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Mormon Church President: People Who Have Religious Doubts Are Lazy Learners - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Keir Starmer promises bill to protect women and girls in wake of Sarah Everard killing - The Independent [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Thailand: Easter of conversion, Christ as the answer to the meaning of life - Malaysian Christian News [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- 'They tried to pray the gay away': Growing up gay in a deeply religious household - The Tab [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Why did Trump lose non-religious votes at the ballot? - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Check Out This Massive (Resurrected) Interactive Chart of Bible Contradictions - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Frank McNally on A History of Northern Ireland in 100 Euphemisms - The Irish Times [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- TN GOP Will Fix Statewide Ban on Priests in Government (But Atheist Ban Remains) - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Zoom event to promote dialogue between theists and nontheists - Idaho State Journal [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Podcast Ep. 369: Atheists No Longer Have to Swear to God to Vote in Alabama - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2021]
- Why the Universe Itself Can't Be the Most Fundamental Thing - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Everything Wrong With Exodus 1 in the Bible | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- THE REAL MRS MUHAMMAD Will Be Performed as Part of Suidoosterfees at Artscape Theatre This Month - Broadway World [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Ford on Fridays: they call me the scat man. The bird scat man. - Victoria Buzz [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Death Cult Pastor: One Day We'll Answer to God Even You, Friendly Atheist! - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Can you believe it? Religions been taking a hit - The Boston Globe [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Atheist Sues L'Oreal Over Repeated Acts of Harassment by His Christian Boss - Friendly Atheist - Patheos [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2021]
- Understanding the hate factory: How Rohan Joshi and his hateful post against Hindus gives us an insight into the liberal mind - OpIndia [Last Updated On: April 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 21st, 2021]
- Psychiatrist testifies about shooter's possible motivations in 9th day of Sutherland Springs trial - KENS5.com [Last Updated On: April 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 21st, 2021]
- Richard Dawkins loses humanist of the year title over trans comments - The Guardian [Last Updated On: April 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: April 21st, 2021]
- Satyajit Ray's 100th birth anniversary falls on May 2. Sumit Paul dwells on the auteur's cinematic relevance in this age of the pandemic, blind faith... [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Leap of faith: NM-filmed Walking With Herb follows grieving grandfathers spiritual journey - Albuquerque Journal [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Letter to the Editor: By being secular, we include everyone - Canton Repository [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Civil ceremonies overtake religious as marriages fall by 53% in 2020 - BreakingNews.ie [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Rewind: Five Spoilery Teases For Marvel's Heroes Reborn, Out This Week - Bleeding Cool News [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Chimeras, Richard Dawkins, and the madness of Catholicism - Angelus News [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Where Steve Meyer Agrees with an Atheist Marxist - Discovery Institute [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Atheists Respond to National Day of Prayer This Week With Action to Feed the Hungry and Clean Up Litter - Good News Network [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2021]
- Bob Marley: Reggae king's only Scottish gig remembered on 40th anniversary of his death - The Scotsman [Last Updated On: May 11th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 11th, 2021]