Nietzsche's aphoristic challenge / Joel Westerdale.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Westerdale, Joel.

Series:

Monographien und Texte zur Nietzsche-Forschung ; Bd. 64.

Monographien und Texte zur Nietzsche-Forschung ; Band 64

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aphorisms and apothegms.

Literary style.

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900.

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (196 p.)

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter Mouton, [2013]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The “aphoristic form causes difficulty,” Nietzsche argued in 1887, for “today this form is not taken seriously enough.” Nietzsche’s Aphoristic Challenge addresses this continued neglect by examining the role of the aphorism in Nietzsche’s writings, the generic traditions in which he writes, the motivations behind his turn to the aphorism, and the reasons for his sustained interest in the form. This literary-philosophical study argues that while the aphorism is the paradigmatic form for Nietzsche’s writing, its function shifts as his thought evolves. His turn to the aphorism in Human, All Too Human arises not out of necessity, but from the new freedoms of expression enabled by his critiques of language and his emerging interest in natural science. Yet the model interpretation of an aphorism Nietzsche offers years later in On the Genealogy of Morals tells a different story, revealing more about how the mature Nietzsche wants his earlier works read than how they were actually written. This study argues nevertheless that consistencies emerge in Nietzsche’s understanding of the aphorism, and these, perhaps counter-intuitively, are best understood in terms of excess. Recognizing the changes and consistencies in Nietzsche’s aphoristic mode helps establish a context that enables the reader to navigate the aphorism books and better answer the challenges they pose.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Acknowledgements

Contents

List of Abbreviations and Sources

Timeline of Key Publications Discussed and their Publishers

Introduction. The Challenge

Chapter One. “They’re aphorisms!”

Chapter Two. Aphoristic Pluralism

Chapter Three. The Aphoristic Option

Chapter Four. An Anarchy of Atoms

Chapter Five. An Art of Exegesis

Chapter Six. The Nietzsche Function

Chapter Seven. Excess and Ephexis

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9783110481754

3110481758

9783110324327

3110324326

OCLC:

862816481