Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence: The Question of the What of Return
Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence: The Question of the What of Return

Summary/Abstract: Renewed interest in Eternal Recurrence has surfaced recently as the result of an early note from Nietzsche known as the Zeitatomenlehre, a note from 1873. This note languished in obscurity until its resurrection in 1952 and numerous commentators have thrown their voice into the arena on Eternal Recurrence. Traditionally, Eternal Recurrence has been examined from two primary perspectives, the cosmological and hypothetical, with most of the recent examination adopting a cosmological approach. In this article I examine the two traditional interpretations, suggesting that they both fail to adequately reflect a Nietzschean position on Recurrence. In particular, they both adopt a similar answer to the problem of the what that returns (sequential circularity of events), but approach this answer from two different foundations: one factual, the other hypothetical. I will show that because of this they both come into conflict with Nietzsche’s comments on Eternal Recurrence and with his philosophy as a unified whole. My solution to this problem will focus on the Zietatomenlehre note and the depiction of Eternal Recurrence in “On The Vision And The Riddle” in Zarathustra, focusing on the significance of the Moment to properly understanding Eternal Recurrence.

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