Is it true that Nietzsche collapsed after hugging a horse?

Question

Please provide source..

Answer 1

Ben Goertzel refers to such an event in his book "Chaotic Logic" (link 1).

It's also referred to in the "Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy" (link 2, paragraph 9 of section 1).

The story has the quality of an oft-told tale. Many have heard of it, but where would we go to get actual evidence of the event? I have heard of no such reliable source.

If only those camera-phones were more popular back then. ( :

Answer 2

lesley chamberlain wrote a book about nietzsche's last days in turin. she offers a thorough description of what happened.

"on 3 january 1889 or thereabouts he tearfully embraced a mistreated nag in the street. the horse under duress was pulling a public conveyance on or near the via po. it may have fallen first or he embraced it and then fell himself, briefly losing consciousness. the accounts are various. anyway davide fino, who came along soon after, confirmed such an event happened. bystanders had called the police by that time. fino may have been passing by chance, but as one well-known in the town, he is more likely to have been summoned. niezsche recognized him and allowed himself to be carried home. elisabeth [forster-nietzsche, his sister,] in her version of the collapse preferred to have her brother simply fall from an invented high pavement in piazza carlo alberto. the parallel 'fall' suggests to me she knew of the horse story, but didn't use it because it made him look mentally unhinged rather than, as she intended in her story, the victim of a stroke."

she cites an italian book as a source, "la catastrophe di nietzsche a torino" by anacleto verrrechia.

edit: the davide fino mentioned owned the lodging house where nietzsche stayed. he is the closest firsthand source i know of, having arrived at the scene just after the collapse.

Answer 3

It's not definite what happened but that's the most 'repeated' story.