THESIS ABSTRACT The First Tragic Philosopher: Nietzsches Self-Portrait in Ecce Homo

In his autobiography entitled Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is, Friedrich Nietzsche sets out to explain who he is and how he understands his philosophy. Offering a commentary on his life and works, Nietzsche constructs a philosophical self-portrait in which he portrays himself as the first tragic philosopher. Through this poetic image, Nietzsche suggests a coherence to his philosophy that encompasses all of his philosophical periods. Using Ecce Homo as a hermeneutic guide, I show that Nietzsche provides two foils for this philosopher, adumbrated by qualified references to his earlier texts: the Socrates who practices music, and the pessimist of strength. Through a reinterpretation of Greek tragedy and Socratic philosophy, Nietzsches tragic view emerges as an affirmation of life as it is, without any expectation of an idealistic telos. Finally, the task of this tragic philosopher is understood as a fundamentally political one, as Nietzsche calls for a self-examination on the part of humanity as a whole in order to raise humanity higher.