Nathan J. Jerrell

Nathan J. Jerrell (April 20, 1849-January 14, 1901) is a pseudo-Intellectual nihilist born in Arnhem, in the Netherlands. His mother was Dutch, but his father was English; the couple supposedly met while Jerrell's mother was on Holiday in London.

Early Life and Involvement with Nietzsche

Jerrell excelled in school and religious studies in Arnhem, but he did not stay there for very long. His mother sent him to live with his uncle in Naumburg because she had caught a terrible form of tuberculosis and was unable to support the young Jerrell. Jerrell later said that the passing of his mother and the terrible alcoholism of his drunkard father drove him from the church. Naumburg is where Jerrell would meet Friedrich Nietzsche. The two rebellious apostates became fast friends, and Jerrell looked up to Nietzsche, who was five years his senior. The two enjoyed lengthy philosophical discussions, long walks on the beach, and talking about their feelings, and it is clear that Nietzsche left an indelible mark on the impressionable youth.

Dark Period

Unfortunately, the friendship of Jerrell and Nietzsche did not last. The two had an argument over the value of religious charity that left Nietzsche angry at his young protégé. Because of this, Nietzsche would make no mention of Jerrell in any of his books or writings. Jerrell was very upset by the fight, and he quickly moved back to the Netherlands to distance himself from his disappointment. This was a "dark period" for him, and he attempted to drown his sorrows with alcohol. For a while, he even started going back to church; as he felt that "his death was imminent."

Resurgence of Nihilism

It wasn't until Nietzsche published Human, All Too Human that Jerrell heard about his old friend again. Jerrell read the book, and became interested in philosophy anew. He was rejuvenated, and tried his own hand at writing. He wrote several essays, including "The Failure of Comrades", "On the Nature of Faith", and "The Closed Void". This was all around 1882, but the exact release dates are not known. These essays are among the first Nihilist writings to make mention of the psychological side of religious belief, and his works are sometimes considered a very early usage of Unequibryologic Reasoning. Interestingly enough, Jerrell never used sophisticated language, and much preferred to write in a conversational style. He would occasionally even include vulgar slang in his writings, to the disgust of many critics. This is most likely the reason that Jerrell never developed much of a following.

Later life and Death

Jerrell would write a couple more essays in his time, such as "Unlike the Majority" in 1894, and he even sent his manuscripts to Nietzsche himself. Unfortunately for him, Nietzsche had already started his struggle with mental illness, and did not read the papers at all. There is some speculation among neo-Nihilists that Nietzsche would have enjoyed Jerrell's work if he had received it just a few years earlier. Jerrell spent the rest of his life in the Netherlands, going from city to city without ever landing a solid job or enough money to rent a dwelling. He died of pneumonia on an especially cold January night in 1901. He was childless, and there is no record of any romantic relationships throughout his life. However, a few 20th century philosophers, such as Jacques Derrida, say that Jerrell had a homosexual interest in Nietzsche, and that their argument back in Naumburg was actually caused by Jerrell making an inappropriate advance on Nietzsche at a bar.

ources and Links

* [http://www.csun.edu/coms/grad/jd.nik.html An interview with Jacques Derrida]
* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=nl&id=wnpgbyk0pW0C&dq=filosofie&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=oW_p82mBQx&sig=ll1wkPO0vNNhDZPc1-r-Vg_SLTg#PPA7,M1 The definitive Dutch Philosophy book]