Nachlass: Writings from the Late Notebooks
The working notes behind Nietzsche’s experiments in philosophy.
Nachlass
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In Nietzsche’s life
When it was written
- Written
- Notebooks, 1869–1889
- Publication
- Posthumous editions; critical edition from 1967
The Nachlass is a changing body of working notes, not one finished book. This passage comes from a notebook of late 1886 to spring 1887.
“There are no facts, only interpretations.”
Original German
nein, gerade Thatsachen giebt es nicht, nur Interpretationen.
What it’s about
Nachlass names a body of unpublished material, rather than a single completed book. Chronological editions reveal drafts, revisions, and abandoned possibilities that should not automatically be treated as final doctrines.
Key ideas
- 1
A working archive
A fragment can record an experiment rather than a settled position.
- 2
Chronology matters
Dating and context change how a note should be read.
- 3
Published and unpublished
The notebooks are best approached in conversation with the books Nietzsche released.
Who it’s for
- Readers exploring Nietzsche’s thought
- Anyone interested in philosophy, culture, and the history of values
