Nietzsche's critique of modernity raises more questions than it adequately answers, and perhaps none is more vexing than the question of self-reference. Any claim to expertise in matters of decadence must, by its very nature, call itself into question, for only decadent philosophers formulate theories of decadence. That Nietzsche has an account of decadence thus stands as sufficient confirmation of its self-referential ambit and application.

As we have seen, however, Nietzsche himself is not unduly disturbed by his complicity in the besetting decay of modernity. He openly pronounces his decadence, attributing his superlative critical standpoint to his “dual series of experiences” with decadence and health, which have granted him “access to apparently separate worlds” (EH:wise 3).