Nietzsche's Inversion of Reality: Becoming vs. Metaphysics
Nietzsche's Critique of Metaphysical Dualism
Apparent World vs. Real World
With these concepts, Nietzsche refers to the division of reality into two worlds established by metaphysics and religion:
- A true upper world: The world of ideas or the sky.
- A lower world: The sensible world, possessing a lower degree of reality.
Nietzsche called this division Platonism—that is, any theory where reality is divided. This term refers not only to Plato but includes the ontological dualism that has been installed throughout philosophy and Western culture. This view is exemplified in Christianity, which Nietzsche saw as "Platonism for the people," because what is valuable in life lies beyond this world. It is also reflected in Western science, which reproduces the same pattern when it seeks an objective and universal description of sensible phenomena.
Nietzsche proposed to invert this division. He considered the real world to be what had hitherto been regarded as the apparent world (the Dionysian), and the false and nonexistent world to be what had hitherto been regarded as the superior and true world (the Apollonian).
A New Dawn: Assumptions of True Reality
Nietzsche proposes a new dawn—a truly real world—that starts with three fundamental assumptions:
- Being is becoming (change and flux).
- Knowledge is expressed in metaphors.
- The purpose of life is its own affirmation.
The Innocence of Becoming
According to Nietzsche, traditional philosophy has always rejected evolution, the changing nature, and the flowing of things. For these philosophers, the flowing nature of reality (becoming) has been a nuisance that does not correspond to the features they claim should define true reality: immutability, eternity, universality, and so on.
Faced with this attitude of rejection and underestimation of the sensible world, Nietzsche affirms the mere existence of the world of becoming and appearances, considering that there is only this world—perpetually moving and changing, without any reality beyond this or any goal or final state that is the culmination of becoming.
Similarly, Nietzsche considered the attempts by metaphysicians and believers to make sense of becoming to be wrong and deceptive. Accepting that the world is as it appears to us, and not as reason would like it to be, involves understanding the innocence of becoming and the vanity of human aspirations and values to find absolute truths.
Life as a Dice Game
Life itself is becoming, and the future is like a dice game in which the plays happen. The player does not decide the outcome of the dice—that is a matter of chance—but the player decides how to play. The player accepts the game lucidly, whatever the outcome, with dignity and elegance, without regret and without withdrawing from the gaming table. They know that however bad the previous rolls were, the game continues, and there is always a new roll of the dice.