A descida e a subida estratégica às margens da caverna em Platão e Nietzsche

Abstract

The movements of descent (ϗαταβαίνέν – katabasis) and ascent (Ἀνάβασις – anabasis) of the characters Socrates and Zarathustra, in Books I and VII of Plato’s Republic and the prologue and fourth part (“The Ass Festival”) of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, respectively, although revealing apparently similar strategies, have radically divergent philosophical aims. Socrates’s descent to the Piraeus is a cunning retreat on his journey for knowledge; far from abandoning it, this descent represents a gradual preparation for his ascent to a supersensible reality. Socrates descends so that he can guide others to ascend. In stark contrast, Zarathustra’s ascent to the mountain illustrates moments of introspection and “self-knowledge”. His subsequent decline only occurs after he is “overflowing with wisdom”, a knowledge that symbolizes the valorization of the sensible world, a fundamental stage for the emergence of a new type of human being (Übermensch). In this article, we will argue that the allegorical representation of entering and exiting the cave, which can be observed in key passages of both works, is a fundamental indication of Nietzsche’s attempt to invert Platonism.