From False Repetition to Eternal Return: A Comparative Study of Nietzsche & Peterson

[Nilsi]

In Human, All Too Human, Friedrich Nietzsche presents a nuanced critique of metaphysics and its role in human development. He writes:

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One level of education, itself a very high one, has been reached when man gets beyond superstitious and religious concepts and fears and, for example, no longer believes in the heavenly angels or original sin, and has stopped talking about the soul's salvation. Once he is at this level of liberation, he must still make a last intense effort to overcome metaphysics. Then, however, a retrograde movement is necessary: he must understand both the historical and the psychological justification in metaphysical ideas. He must recognize how mankind's greatest advancement came from them and how, if one did not take this retrograde step, one would rob himself of mankind's finest accomplishments to date. With regard to philosophical metaphysics, I now see a number of people who have arrived at the negative goal (that all positive metaphysics is an error), but only a few who climb back down a few rungs. For one should look out over the last rung of the ladder, but not want to stand on it. Those who are most enlightened can go only as far as to free themselves of metaphysics and look back on it with superiority, while here, as in the hippodrome, it is necessary to take a turn at the end of the track.

Nietzsche critiques a purely deconstructive stance toward metaphysics, describing the overcoming of metaphysical beliefs as an "intense effort" that necessitates a subsequent "retrograde movement." This movement involves understanding the "historical and psychological justification" of metaphysical ideas. He warns that without this backward step, one risks "rob[bing] himself of mankind's finest accomplishments to date." The metaphor of the ladder - where one should "look out over the last rung... but not want to stand on it" - suggests a careful balance between transcending metaphysical thought and appreciating its contributions.

At first glance, this passage could be interpreted similarly to Jordan Peterson's critique of postmodernism. Peterson often argues that deconstructing traditional metaphysical and moral frameworks leads to societal chaos and moral decay. He emphasizes the importance of these structures in maintaining order and meaning, cautioning against the wholesale abandonment of established beliefs.

However, Nietzsche introduces a crucial element that Peterson seems to overlook: the concept of the Eternal Return, implicit in the imagery of the hippodrome. The hippodrome - a circular racetrack where competitors loop back to their starting point - symbolizes a process of repetition rather than linear dialectical progression. Nietzsche's reference suggests that the "retrograde movement" is part of a cyclical journey where revisiting and re-evaluating past ideas leads to continual transformation.

This cyclical journey reframes the notion of the "retrograde movement" as a dynamic progression without relying on dialectical opposition. The act of "climbing back down a few rungs" is not a retreat but an essential phase in the evolution of thought. It acknowledges that while metaphysical constructs may be deconstructed, they also hold historical and psychological significance that have propelled human advancement. Thus, the enlightened individual must revisit and reassess these ideas to fully comprehend their value and limitations.

Jordan Peterson appears to remain at a more literal level of "retrograde movement." This could be seen as a manifestation of Freudian repetition compulsion, where individuals unconsciously repeat past behaviors or patterns despite them being unproductive or harmful. This "false repetition" perpetuates the same cycles without leading to genuine transformation or advancement. In this context, the "trauma" is the radical deconstruction and potential dissolution of all established knowledge.

This can also be likened to a freeze response to this trauma, where instead of processing and integrating the experience, an individual becomes stuck in patterns of avoidance or re-enactment. Clinical psychology teaches us that to resolve such trauma, one must not only intellectually acknowledge it - talk about it, as Peterson does so fervently - but also embody and act out the unresolved experiences, much like a horse majestically galloping through the hippodrome.

As Gilles Deleuze elucidates:

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The eternal return is the closest ally of a thought that affirms life in the face of that which denies it. Repetition thus appears as a 'blockage' in the depths of everything which would prevent such an affirmation: not simply a blockage but the source of a power which threatens life from within.

This distinction clearly separates the Eternal Return - the true repetition that affirms life - from the "blockage" of false, compulsive repetition that prevents such an affirmation and "threatens life from within."

By embracing this cycle of deconstruction and reconstruction without the framework of dialectics, individuals move beyond the limitations of both excessive deconstructionism and reactionary conservatism. This process allows for the preservation of humanity's "finest accomplishments" while also making room for new insights and higher forms of understanding. It is a moral prescription that exists "beyond good and evil," emphasizing growth through perpetual self-overcoming and affirmation of life.

Edited October 29 by Nilsi

[Scarecrow]

Very interesting