Abstract

Nietzsche's horizon motif is explicated here in terms of religious myth. The governing conception of religious myth, delineated in the Introduction, is that such myths are revelatory frameworks which foster and guide a sense of reverence before the mystery of being, by means of determinate imagery. The basic thesis is that in empha- sizing the need human existence has for protective bounds, Nietzsche argues that a healthy culture must accept the necessity of life within religious myth. This theme determines for Nietzsche a philosophical project of criticizing the prevalent Christian myth, and the prevalent scientistic antimyth, in order to engage in renewed mythologizing. Part One of the dissertation demonstrates that Nietzsche's early period works, in which the horizon theme is explicitly central, amount to a polemical preparation for this philo- sophical project. Part Two of the dissertation exhibits how the critical dissection of prevailing metaphysical and moral myths, which dominates Nietzsche's middle period, advances the first stage of his project. The Conclusion maintains that the dissertation has set the stage for an understanding of the great themes of Nietzsche's third period Ubermensch, Will to Power, Eternal Recurrence) as consummating his project of mythic renewal