The Doctrine of Lightness in Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Abstract

Thus Spoke Zarathustra contains various subjects besides the four “fundamental” ones, which are: the death of God, the Übermensch, the will to power, and the eternal recurrence. Lightness, which is one of those, enables a new reading and sense of the work, a transversal teaching of Zarathustra: the doctrine of lightness. This is a vital doctrine because it articulates with Zarathustra's archenemy, the spirit of heaviness, through its figures: laughter, dance, flight, elevation, play, and chance. It is also proposed that lightness does not signify itself, so ideas and thoughts about it emerge between lightness and heaviness, without seeking synthesis, harmony, or balance, in turn questioning sameness and identity. While the general material for this work is the original conception of the book —a prologue and three sections— emphasis will be placed on the moments when the spirit of lightness plays a fundamental role as a doctrine, for example: in the lightening of the three transformations and when setting itself as one of the highest and deepest goals of the spirit; in producing a new way of being (light); when established as a condition for creation; in grounding the principle and end, the Alpha and Omega, of Zarathustra’s doctrine; the moments when the figures of lightness become substantial for certain actions of Zarathustra and in articulating with the “fundamental” themes. For all these reasons, the doctrine of lightness in Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a cross-cutting and significant subject in the work, even though Nietzsche and Zarathustra did not elaborate on it in any specific discourse.