In this paper I analyse the critique of language that Friedrich Nietzsche proposes in his first works. I try to explain how his opinions at that time had an essential influence on the further development of Nietzsche’s philosophy, even if he doesn’t seem to investigate them in depth. I will examine the essay called On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense (1873), where language is considered as an arbitrary production of men, i.e. as the consequence of metaphorical poiesis, as Nietzsche points it out. Consequently, the philosopher subverts the classical concept of truth (the adæquatio of things and intellect) and the universalizing process of mind. Moving on from theory to practise, I will consider how this conception of language affects Nietzsche’s argumentative style. To convey his new philosophy, Nietzsche demolishes the traditional way philosophers thought and wrote their ideas. Even if Nietzsche’s critique of language is based on the performativity power of words, his position is often ambiguous, because of his theoretical fragility.
