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Home⇛Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal⇛vol. 19 no. 8 (2024)

Friedrich Nietzsche on Aesthetic Experience and the Phenomenon of Depression

Ypril James Cabasag

Discipline: psychology (non-specific)

 

Abstract:

Basically, humans desire nothing but to be happy. Humans exert much effort to make their lives meaningful and worth living. For humans, obtaining the meaning of existence is the foundation of happiness. However, despite humans’ desire to be happy, an ugly truth still remains: life is a tragedy. Friedrich Nietzsche argues that life is a constant struggle and that to live is to suffer. By seeing this ugly picture of life, humans gradually fall into depression. “Depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure . . . and may lead to suicide (WHO, 2021).” More so, science contends that specific brain dysfunctions cause depression, and various solutions are offered to address this, like taking anti-depressants and undergoing psychotherapy, but amidst all these, depression remains. In this case, what other means can be utilized to address the problem of depression? Using the philosophical-qualitative method, this paper will attempt to address the perennial issue of depression. This paper attempts to understand the problem of depression by tracing it to the degradation of meaning and will resolve it by explaining the essential role aesthetics plays in man’s existence.



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