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The Legend of Nietzsche's Syphilis
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Richard Schain
Book Code: GM1940
ISBN: 0-313-31940-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-31940-2
152 pages, photos
Greenwood Press
Publication: 6/30/2001
List Price: $115.00 (UK Sterling Price: £65.00)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Series Title: Contributions in Medical Studies
Series Number: 46
Reviews:
  • This well-written little book is an easy read with an informed and insightful summary account of the illness and suffering of an icon of Western civilization. General readers; lower-division undergraduates; professionals.
    —Choice     March 2002
Description: In this unique exploration of Nietzsche's life and behavior, Dr. Richard Schain challenges the widely held view that this important philosopher's actions and erratic writings were due to general paresis, or syphilis of the brain. The author offers a detailed biography of Nietzsche's life, at each major turning point offering his own thoughts regarding why the diagnosis of syphilis is unsatisfactory to explain Nietszche's behavioral and thought patterns. With an accessible writing style and close attention to detail, Schain offers important reasons for one to reevaluate the claims made regarding Nietzsche's mental illness. Schain also explores another common diagnosis, namely, that of schizophrenia. While this diagnosis, seems more plausible than that of general paresis, it is still inadequate to fully explain the aberrant behavior and eventual mental deterioration of one of the leading Western philosophers of our time. By examining Nietzsche's life and challenging the medical opinions of the time, Schain lays the foundation for rigorous reexamination of the diagnoses of both general paresis and schizophrenia as causes for Nietzsche's actions, thoughts, and philosophies.
Table of Contents:
  • Preface
  • Background
  • Early Years
  • University Student
  • Basel Professor
  • Homeless Philosopher
  • Breakdown in Turin
  • Asylum Inmate
  • Descent into Apathy
  • Dementia Paralytica versus Dementia Praecox
  • Controversies over Diagnosis
  • "Six-Seventh Blind"
  • What Caused Nietzche's Breakdown?
  • Nietzche's Legacy
  • Notes
  • Selected Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 2001023341
LCC Class: RC201
Dewey Class: 616
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