Nietzsche, godfather of fascism? : on the uses and abuses of a philosophy / edited by Jacob Golomb and Robert S. Wistrich.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Golomb, Jacob.

Wistrich, Robert S., 1945-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900.

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm.

National socialism and philosophy.

Fascism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (359 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, c2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Nietzsche, the Godfather of Fascism? What can Nietzsche have in common with this murderous ideology? Frequently described as the "radical aristocrat" of the spirit, Nietzsche abhorred mass culture and strove to cultivate an Übermensch endowed with exceptional mental qualities. What can such a thinker have in common with the fascistic manipulation of the masses for chauvinistic goals that crushed the autonomy of the individual? The question that lies at the heart of this collection is how Nietzsche came to acquire the deadly "honor" of being considered the philosopher of the Third Reich and whether such claims had any justification. Does it make any sense to hold him in some way responsible for the horrors of Auschwitz? The editors present a range of views that attempt to do justice to the ambiguity and richness of Nietzsche's thought. First-rate contributions by a variety of distinguished philosophers and historians explore in depth Nietzsche's attitudes toward Jews, Judaism, Christianity, anti-Semitism, and National Socialism. They interrogate Nietzsche's writings for fascist and anti-Semitic proclivities and consider how they were read by fascists who claimed Nietzsche as their intellectual godfather. There is much that is disturbingly antiegalitarian and antidemocratic in Nietzsche, and his writings on Jews are open to differing interpretations. Yet his emphasis on individualism and contempt for German nationalism and anti-Semitism put him at stark odds with Nazi ideology. The Nietzsche that emerges here is a tragic prophet of the spiritual vacuum that produced the twentieth century's totalitarian movements, the thinker who best diagnosed the pathologies of fin-de-siècle European culture. Nietzsche dared to look into the abyss of modern nihilism. This book tells us what he found. The contributors are Menahem Brinker, Daniel W. Conway, Stanley Corngold, Kurt Rudolf Fischer, Jacob Golomb, Robert C. Holub, Berel Lang, Wolfgang Müller-Lauter, Alexander Nehamas, David Ohana, Roderick Stackelberg, Mario Sznajder, Geoffrey Waite, Robert S. Wistrich, and Yirmiyahu Yovel.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

A note on sources and list of abbreviations

Contributors

Introduction / Golomb, Jacob / Wistrich, Robert S.

Part One: In Theory

1. How To De-Nazify Nietzsche'S Philosophical Anthropology? / Golomb, Jacob

2. Misinterpretation As The Author'S Responsibility (Nietzsche'S Fascism, For Instance) / Lang, Berel

3. Experiences With Nietzsche / Müller-Lauter, Wolfgang

4. Nietzsche And "Hitler" / Nehamas, Alexander

5. Nietzsche And The Jews / Brinker, Menahem

6. Nietzsche Contra Wagner On The Jews / Yovel, Yirmiyahu

7. Between The Cross And The Swastika: A Nietzschean Perspective / Wistrich, Robert S.

Part Two: In Practice

8. Ecce Caesar: Nietzsche'S Imperial Aspirations / Conway, Daniel W.

9. A Question Of Responsibility: Nietzsche With H¨Olderlin At War, 1914 - 1946 / Corngold, Stanley / Waite, Geoffrey

10. The Elisabeth Legend: The Cleansing Of Nietzsche And The Sullying Of His Sister / Holub, Robert C.

11. Nietzsche, Mussolini, And Italian Fascism / Sznajder, Mario

12. Nietzsche And The Fascist Dimension: The Case Of Ernst Jünger / Ohana, David

13. A Godfather Too: Nazism As A Nietzschean "Experiment" / Fischer, Kurt Rudolf

14. Critique As Apologetics: Nolte'S Interpretation Of Nietzsche / Stackelberg, Roderick

Works Of Nietzsche Cited

Select Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [323]-332) and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9786612087660

9781282087668

1282087665

9781400825332

1400825334

OCLC:

355812233