Dr. Seuss and Philosophy - Jacob M. Held [18]
In order to promote a positive, affirmative view of life, Nietzsche has to be able to redeem our pain and suffering. This will not include an argument based on facts and figures, since these seem to point toward Schopenhauer’s pessimism. Instead, it will require a shift in perspective, a shift in how we interpret those facts and contextualize them within our lives. As Nietzsche says, “Life is no argument,”9 and in the voice of Zarathustra indicates it’s hard enough to remember his own opinions, let alone to be the “keg of memory” required to remember his reasons for them.10 One must make a choice on how to approach and value life in light of those things we can’t deny, like suffering. One can’t argue one’s way to the good life; one must craft it, like a work of art. Crafting one’s life requires that we see life as a work of art: a serious, creative, playful endeavor. Nietzsche’s writing is thus often geared toward transforming the reader, not convincing him. Beyond arguments, Nietzsche wants his work to create a shift in the reader’s mentality, very much like the works of Dr. Seuss. Most of Seuss’s more ethically or profound works have a powerful impact on their readers young and old, not because we can turn them into arguments that are more convincing than any alternative but because they present an image of life that gets us motivated to be better than we currently are. The works transform us, hopefully for the better. These books operate at the level of great art by inspiring and transforming the reader in a way that causes her to see and experience the world in a new way. Nietzsche’s works are geared toward a specific kind of transformation. In the face of pessimism or nihilism, the idea that nothing matters, Nietzsche wants to provide us a picture of life that is laudable so that we might transform ourselves into nobler creatures who can affirm existence in all of its ugliness, who can stare into the abyss of existence and still stand tall and say “yes.” Nietzsche maintains that this response is the only one adequate to Schopenhauer’s pessimism. He even laments Socrates’ plea in the Phaedo that a cock be sacrificed to Asclepius. Nietzsche ponders: “Is it possible that a man like him, who had lived cheerfully and like a soldier in the sight of everyone, should have been a pessimist? . . . we must overcome even the Greeks.”11 In order to redeem this life we must get past pessimism. We must overcome the view that life is to be cured in favor of the notion that it is to be celebrated. We can’t change what life is, but we can change how we react to and interpret it.
Affirmation (with a Bat!)
Instead of renouncing life and becoming ascetics, instead of quieting our wills and giving in to the unrelenting pain of life, and instead of resigning ourselves to the inevitable pitfalls of life and just bearing through it, Nietzsche advocates self-creation and affirmation. At first blush this may seem a nonanswer. After all, if suffering is caused by striving, how can more projects and more goals solve the problem? More willing will result in more suffering. Schopenhauer is right about that. Whenever we give ourselves goals, we are bound to encounter obstacles that will frustrate us. We will often fail, and the successes we do win will be temporary, often bookended with more pain and suffering. But it’s not the end result Nietzsche is concerned with; it’s our disposition, our attitude. We can’t escape pain; we can’t escape the essential nature of our lives. But we do have a choice. We can give in and relent, or we can fight, persevere, and create a life worth living, a noble life. Pain is a fact; our evaluation of it is a choice. Pain can be valuable, and even welcome. Our trials and tribulations strengthen us and prepare us for greater deeds in the