An Eternal “Yes” To an Ever-Returning “Why”—Overcoming Nietzsche’s Socrates and Plato

Abstract

Nietzsche calls Socrates and Plato “symptoms of degeneration” and berates them for “the Greek dissolution.” Why does Nietzsche’s treatment of Socrates and Plato seem so harsh and even clumsy at times? This senior thesis examines Nietzsche’s evaluation of Socrates and Plato and proposes an ironic reading thereof in order to shed light on Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence as an affirmation of suffering.