The abyss above : philosophy and poetic madness in Plato, Hölderlin, and Nietzsche

194 Pages·2002·1.06 MB·English

by  Hölderlin

77420 cover 6/28/02 2:00 PM Page 1
LITERATURE / PHILOSOPHY
w silke-maria weineck
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the abyss above n
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philosophy and poetic madness
in plato, hölderlin, and nietzsche
silke-maria weineck
In The Abyss Above, Silke-Maria Weineck offers the first sustained discus-
sion of the relationship between poetic madness and philosophy. Focusing on
the mad poet as a key figure in what Plato called “the ancient quarrel between
philosophy and poetry,” Weineck explores key texts from antiquity to modernity
in order to understand why we have come to associate art with irrationality. She t
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shows that the philosophy of madness concedes to the mad a privilege that
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continues to haunt the Western dream of reason, and that the theory of creative
madness always strains the discourse on authenticity, pitching the controlled,
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repeatable, but restrained labor of philosophy against the spontaneous produc-
the
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tion of poetic texts said to be, by definition, unique.
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above
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abyss
“This book is a major contribution “Absolutely fascinating on every
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to the exploration of madness. page. One learns from Weineck’s way

Weineck’s original readings demon- of putting things as well as from the a
strate her admirable grasp of German points themselves. “ b
intellectual history and literature. Her — John McCumber, author of
o
argumentation is sophisticated.” Poetic Interaction:Language,
v
— Karin Bauer, author of Freedom, Reason
e
Adorno’s Nietzschean
Narratives:Critiques of Ideology, Silke-Maria Weineck is Assistant
Readings of Wagner Professor of German Studies at the
University of Michigan.
“No one intending to think or write
on Plato, Hölderlin, or Nietzsche can State University of New York Press
afford to do so without a knowledge of www.sunypress.edu
Weineck’s chapters.”
— Stanley Corngold, author of
philosophy and poetic madness
Complex Pleasure:Forms of
Feeling in German Literature in plato, hölderlin,and nietzsche
s
u
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y

THE ABYSS ABOVE

Silke-Maria Weineck
A A
BYSS BOVE
THE
Philosophy and Poetic Madness
in Plato, Hölderlin and Nietzsche
State University of New York Press
Published by
State University of New York Press
Albany
© 2002 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic,
electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, address
State University of New York Press
90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207
Production and Book Design, Laurie Searl
Marketing, Patrick Durocher
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Weineck, Silke-Maria, 1963–
The abyss above: philosophy and poetic madness in Plato, Hölderlin, and Nietzsche/
Silke-Maria Weineck.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-5427-4 (hc : alk. paper) – ISBN 0-7914-5428-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Philosophy–History. 2. Poetry–History and criticism. 3. Literature and mental
illness–History. 4. Plato. 5. Hèlderlin, Friedrich, 1770–1843. 6. Nietzsche, Friedrich
Wilhelm, 1844–1900. I. Title.
B66 .W45 2002
190–dc21
2002017726
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
for my families

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction: Future Perfect 1
Cassandra, or the Belated Truth of Madness 1
Total and Restricted Madness 4
The Limits of Madness and the Limits of
Philosophy 9
From Divine Reason to Madness under the
Death of God 11
Epilogue 17
Chapter One: Talking About Homer: Poetic Madness,
Philosophy, and the Birth of Criticism 19
Talking about Homer 19
Phaedrus: Madly Made Meaning 32
Philosophy’s Mad Demon 45
Chapter Two: The Abyss Above: Hölderlin:
Madness, Philosophy, and Tragedy in the
Absence of the Gods 49
Introduction: Madness and the Labor of Poetry 49
Translating Greece 58
Antigone and Oedipus: Madness and Sign 64
viii Contents
Chapter Three: Nietzsche: The Marketplaces
of Madness 79
Introduction: Nietzsche’s Madness and the Fear of
Contamination 79
Nietzsche’s Madmen (1): The Artist in the Ditch, or
from Metaphysics to Metaphysiology 87
Nietzsche’s Madmen (2): Meta-Morality, or the
Madness of New Thought 100
Nietzsche’s Madmen (3): The Last Madman on the
Marketplace 108
The Hyperborean: La Vache Qui Danse 117
Conclusion: Logos and Pallaksch: Paul Celan’s
“Tübingen, Jänner” 121
Anachrony 121
Appropriation 125
Anamnesis 127
Notes 137
Bibliography 167
Index 175