Neuropsychiatric disease in the Nietzsche family: the poiesis of Dionysus

E. Ochoa Monroy
Neurosciences and History 2023;11(2):73-80

Type of article: REVIEW

AUTHOR

E. Ochoa Monroy
Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico.

ABSTRACT

Introduction. Friedrich Nietzsche is one of the greatest thinkers in history. His original style and vision of the transformation of Western culture were not born of a purely rational mind, but rather of one that much of the time was grappling with health issues, mainly neuropsychiatric problems. Numerous members of his family also struggled with mental illness. Were their conditions in some way linked? How did this influence Nietzsche’s thought?

Development. Nietzsche’s health problems began at an early age. Other members of his family, and particularly his father, had previously presented similar mental illnesses. He suffered with early migraines and myopia verging on blindness, periods of extreme mood swings and personality changes, and finally the neurosyphilis that eventually caused his death. This was the backdrop against which Nietzsche lived his life and in which the full force of his philosophy was admirably developed. This philosophy would shape nearly every aspect of 20th-century thought.

Conclusions. Contrary to the nearly axiomatic pejorative connotations attached to illness, Nietzsche teaches us that disease does not necessarily entail the destructive force with which it is associated; rather, in some individuals it may constitute part of the impetus driving the creation of some of the greatest works of their lives.

KEYWORDS

Friedrich Nietzsche, philosophy, neurosyphilis, migraine, dementia, neuropsychiatry

Neurosciences and History 2023;11(2):73-80