Eugen DUhring and Friedrich Nietzsche: A Comparison of Two Philosophical Projects

This article focuses on Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy in the period of its transition from the early problems of the first texts, the most famous of which is The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music (1872), to the second period, namely, a positivist turn taking place since the release of Human, All Too Human (1878). Several factors, including the expansion of his natural-science library, cause changes in Nietzsche's ideas. Thus, we need to examine authors relevant to the philosopher at that time. Eugene Duhring (1833-1921) is one of these important figures. His name is found in Nietzsche's diaries of 1875. In this period, Nietzsche also wrote a summary of Duhring's book Der Wert des Le-bens (The Value of Life) (1865). References to Duhring still appear in later Nietzsche's texts, up to his final Ecce Homo (1888). Due to Nietzsche's close attention to Duhring, there is a need to make a historical and philosophical research to answer a few questions. The first one is why Duhring was so important for Nietzsche. The second is which Duhring's ideas influenced Nietzsche's philosophy, beginning with Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883). This study is based on the textual analysis of Der Wert des Lebens and compares key fragments of this book with Nietzsche's reflections after 1875. The analysis of the texts shows that Nietzsche develops his ideas such as resentment, nihilism, overman. in polemics with Duhring. Moreover, key topics of Nietzsche's works, e.g., overcoming cultural decline, coincide with the main themes of During's book. It is argued that Nietzsche's ideas are formed by reflection on Der Wert des Lebens. Duhring influenced the genesis of Nietzsche's thought by introducing important philosophical problems relevant for the intellectual sphere of the time. Furthermore, Duhring is one of the figures who gave Nietzsche specific medical terminology and helped Nietzsche to develop his own fundamental concepts, some aspects of which were taken from During's book.

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