Twilight of the Idols

Twilight of the Idols, or, How to Philosophize with a Hammer (German: Götzen-Dämmerung, oder, Wie man mit dem Hammer philosophiert) is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, written in 1888, and published in 1889.

Genesis

Twilight of the Idols was written in just over a week, between 26 August and 3 September 1888, while Nietzsche was on holiday in Sils Maria. Nietzsche wrote about Twilight in a letter: "This style is my philosophy in a nutshell—radical to the point of criminality..."

The latter title, Götzen-Dämmerung in German, is a pun on the title of Richard Wagner's opera Götterdämmerung, or "Twilight of the Gods". Götze is a German word for "idol" or "false god". Walter Kaufmann has suggested that in his use of the word Nietzsche might be indebted to Francis Bacon who used the concept of the idol in his philosophy.

Synopsis

Nietzsche criticizes German culture of the day as unsophisticated, decadent and nihilistic, and shoots some disapproving arrows at key French, English, and Italian cultural figures who represent similar tendencies. In contrast to all these alleged representatives of cultural decadence, Nietzsche applauds Caesar, Napoleon, Goethe, Thucydides and the Sophists as healthier and stronger types. The book states the transvaluation of all values as Nietzsche's final and most important project, and gives a view of antiquity wherein the Romans for once take precedence over the ancient Greeks, albeit only in the field of literature.

The book is divided into twelve sections:

Foreword

In the foreword, Nietzsche says that the book is an escape into the idle hours of a psychologist. He then calls his book a "Great Declaration of War", saying he intends to sound out famous idols with a hammer.