The Dionysian and Apollonian elements that configure the human (A reading of "The Birth of Tragedy" by Nietzsche)

Abstract

We have done an interpretation of "The Birth of Tragedy", starting from the problem of the configuration of existence. From this reading, we will show a typology that will account for the possibilities in the human configuration, as well as a series of considerations that allow the valuation of each of these alternatives, and even more so, the postulation of an idea of man. Specifically, we will posit two principles to explain the different types of existential attitudes: The Apollonian and Dionysiac, as the basic forms of existence. In this same manner, we will discuss concrete examples configured exclusively from one of the coordinates, and we will show why these can be understood as existential pathologies. From there on, it is understood that the synthesis of both principles, the momentary resolution of the tension between the Apollonian and the Dionysiac, is what allows a healthy existence. This statement is put in perspective with the problem of culture and of aesthetics as "deep ethics".