Heraclitus in Nietzsche’s Basel Lectures: A Historical-Philosophical Reconstruction

Abstract

The paper presents a brief reconstruction of the genesis of Nietzsche’s Basel lecture on Heraclitus and an analysis of its key features in comparison to other Nietzsche’s early texts that dedicated to Heraclitus. Hermeneutical and historical approach used in the paper allows to raise the question about the foundations of Nietzsche’s interpretation of Heraclitus. I review Nietzsche’s contemporary sources and interpretations of Heraclitean philosophy in many cases significantly different from those on which contemporary researchers of Heraclitus rely. I show that the Basel lectures rather than Nietzsche’s minor writings on the Greeks appear to be the key element in forming Nietzsche’s views on Heraclitus.