Nietzsche between Apollo and Dionysus: an interpretation from psychology

Friedrich Nietzsche, the man who proposed a transvaluation of the moral and intellectual values ​​of western culture to give rise to the Übermensch, is an example of submission, whether desired or forced, to the established values ​​of his time. This is one of the conclusions we reached when analyzing approximately twenty letters that the philosopher addressed, between 1863 and 1888, to Franziska and/or Elisabeth, the author's mother and sister, respectively. Here, we not only find an exaltation of Dionysian values ​​that the author claims to possess, but Nietzsche also displays a wide range of Apollonian values ​​such as: attachment, nostalgia, hope, care, guilt, compassion, and philanthropy. Besides confirming this fact, this correspondence (full of truth, in the author's words) is very useful for a psychological explanation of our hypothesis about a late shift towards Dionysus in Nietzsche's life. Although Nietzsche presents himself to people in disguise, when writing to his closest family he removes his final mask to reveal the most sincere aspects of his life. This veil not only hides the philosopher from the world, but also his philosophy, and so he says in his letters: in The Birth of Tragedy (Die Geburt der Tragödie) this hiding place is due to the need to be accepted among the Germans as one of their own, and in Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Also sprach Zarathustra) he does it so that his work can continue. Ignoring his letters, it is possible that with this allusion to masks he intends to remind us of the depth of his work. From a psychological perspective, Nietzsche seems torn between two impulses: (i) to live according to his upbringing and culture and find happiness (through Apollonian values) or (ii) to courageously investigate in search of truth (through Dionysian values). In our view, this indecision stems from Nietzsche's continued belief that his person and work could still find a place among humanity. Only in the last years of his clear life, when that yearning was definitively frustrated (the incomprehension towards his work and the repulsion towards the author mainly by the Germans), is when the balance of values ​​will shift significantly towards Dionysus, and he himself will stand out as unique among men and a great master of humanity, dedicating himself completely to advancing his work. This attributed superiority and the mission of transmuting values is, in our judgment, the compensation or, better yet, the meaning, for their frustrated attempts to be in communion with the thinking, aspirations and wills of the people. A desire for communion that contrasts, at least apparently, for example, with his violent reaction against sociological positivism, which tends to unify all men, since Nietzsche exalts the values ​​of the individual against the whole. Once again, the contradiction arises: the suffering and resigned masses among whom he longs to belong (in a letter to Elisabeth, he tells her that he needs the most modest qualities, those of modern mediocrity) versus a search for authentic vital values ​​that will affect the future of humanity.