The aphoristic form causes difficulty Nietzsche argued in 1887 for today this form is not
taken seriously enough. Nietzsche's Aphoristic Challenge addresses this continued neglect by
examining the role of the aphorism in Nietzsche's writings the generic traditions in which he
writes the motivations behind his turn to the aphorism and the reasons for his sustained
interest in the form. This literary-philosophical study argues that while the aphorism is the
paradigmatic form for Nietzsche's writing its function shifts as his thought evolves. His turn
to the aphorism in Human All Too Human arises not out of necessity but from the new freedoms
of expression enabled by his critiques of language and his emerging interest in natural
science. Yet the model interpretation of an aphorism Nietzsche offers years later in On the
Genealogy of Morals tells a different story revealing more about how the mature Nietzsche
wants his earlier works read than how they were actually written. This study argues
nevertheless that consistencies emerge in Nietzsche's understanding of the aphorism and these
perhaps counter-intuitively are best understood in terms of excess. Recognizing the changes
and consistencies in Nietzsche's aphoristic mode helps establish a context that enables the
reader to navigate the aphorism books and better answer the challenges they pose.
