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Nietzsche's Last Laugh: Ecce Homo as Satire
- Philosophy and Literature
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 35, Number 1, April 2011
- pp. 1-15
- 10.1353/phl.2011.0010
- Article
- Additional Information
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Against the many who claim that Nietzsche's Ecce Homo is useless, madness, or merely inscrutable, my close analysis of the philosopher's last original composition reveals that his so-called autobiography actually inhabits an ancient literary form: satire. After establishing how to read this much-maligned book, I argue that Ecce Homo gives us the best example of Nietzsche interpreting his own philosophy, and constitutes a rhetorical and therapeutic strategy for him to engage and survive his "dangerous truths" through humor. Finally, I outline the import of reading Nietzsche as a satirist-not only in his final work, but across his corpus.