THE ETERNAL RETURN OF THE INTELLECTUAL INCEL: NIETZSCHE, BENJAMIN, AND GODARD

Introduction Every generation reinvents its own version of the incel. This is not merely a quirk of modernity but a structural recurrence, an echo in the grand chamber of academia. Friedrich Nietzsche, the unwitting forefather of many a self-proclaimed misunderstood genius, was already an incel prototype before the term had a name. At 25, he became a professor of classical philology at the University of Basel, a feat most would associate with success. Yet his musings on the future of education (Nietzsche, 1871–1872) suggest a profound alienation, one eerily reminiscent of Walter Benjamin’s student years, spent drafting essays in the shadows of more socially adept peers (Benjamin, 1913). The resemblance, both intellectual and aesthetic, between Benjamin and modern-day “proud boys” of academia is uncanny — one wonders if he would have fared any better in the age of Reddit. Academia has always promised an intellectual utopia where like-minded individuals might find solace. And yet, upon arrival, the young scholar often finds the university less a haven for intellectual passion and more a glorified dating market. The same dynamic observed by Nietzsche and Benjamin — young women navigating their romantic and professional aspirations with pragmatism — persists today. The liberalization of gender norms has not necessarily equated to intellectual equity; the number of women in academia has increased, but their engagement in deep, philosophical inquiry remains debatable.