Eternal Recurrence in Nietzsche: Redemption of Time

This article aims to discuss the eternal return, being the fundamental idea of Nietzschean philosophy, from the perspective of the salvation of time and the insight into nature-human unity through the creative freedom of human existence. The first part of the article argues that the doctrine of eternal return primarily requires an awareness of the cyclical tragic structure of the world of becoming, and all aspects of life can be affirmed only through this awareness. In the second part of the article, the idea of eternal return is addressed in the context of the will to power, which is the fundamental principle of Nietzsche's metaphysics. The doctrine of eternal return is a call to the play of freedom of the creative will, which feels itself as an activity of effort/self-transcendence within the will to powers' arena of eternal struggle. The third part of the article focuses on the overhuman, who is the symbol of the creative will to power and eternal return, and who appears every moment with the struggle to create new values and overcome himself. The fourth and fifth parts investigate both cosmological and ethical interpretations of Nietzsche's doctrine of eternal return and argue that there is no contradiction between these two interpretations in this context. The last part of the article reveals the meaning and possibility of the idea of eternal return through awareness in the moment, where the totality of time is experienced.