Im Zwiegespräch mit Nietzsche und Goethe

Manfred Riedel explains the thought processes of the German mind in the contradictory contexts of Weimar Classicism and classical modernity, a subject which has received little attention up to now. He examines the arguments presented in »Will to Power as Art« and compares them to George's and Hofmannsthal's understanding of Goethe and Nietzsche. In the light of the growing haste to condemn the past and pervaded by the experience that the »good life« is ailing all over the world, Riedel's studies interpret the previously misunderstood idea of the »Conservative Revolution« for all of Europe. All further »arcs« and »curves« which mark the difference between »classical modernity« and new romanticism, Art Nouveau, expressionism etc. converge in Nietzsche's philosophy and his poetry and enliven the discourse on the »reflection of the mind.« The book sees itself as a contribution to a new understanding of the unity of German and European traditions.