Although Breuer and Nietzsche never met, the philosopher’s perspective on the human condition and methods of self-analysis anticipates, at least in Irvin Yalom’s version, much of what is attributed to Freud. With Sigmund Freud, at that time still undertaking his medical training but collecting dreams as a “hobby”, also having a role as Breuer’s sounding board, the novel provides an alternative history of the origins of psychoanalysis. The philosopher – obviously, from the title – is Friedrich Nietzsche, and the doctor Josef Breuer, one of the founding fathers of psychoanalysis. Penniless yet proud, the philosopher cannot agree until the doctor proposes an exchange: he will treat the philosopher’s physical problems while the latter treats his despair. Alert to the risk of suicide, the doctor proposes he admit the philosopher to his clinic. The philosopher has been persuaded to travel to Vienna to consult the doctor about debilitating migraines that blight the majority of his days.
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