Nietzsche's naturalism : philosophy and the life sciences in the nineteenth century / Christian J. Emden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Emden, Christian, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900.

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm.

Naturalism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 254 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book explores Nietzsche's philosophical naturalism in its historical context, showing that his position is best understood against the background of encounters between neo-Kantianism and the life sciences in the nineteenth century. Analyzing most of Nietzsche's writings from the late 1860s onwards, Christian J. Emden reconstructs Nietzsche's naturalism and argues for a new understanding of his account of nature and normativity. Emden proposes historical reasons why Nietzsche came to adopt the position he did; his genealogy of values and his account of a will to power are as much influenced by Kantian thought as they are by nineteenth-century debates on teleology, biological functions, and theories of evolution. This rich and wide-ranging study will be of interest to scholars and students of Nietzsche, the history of modern philosophy, intellectual history, and history of science.

Contents:

Introduction

Part I. Varieties of philosophical naturalism. Introduction

The neo-Kantian stance

Nietzsche's "anti-Darwinism"?

Psychology, experiment, and scientific practice

Three kinds of naturalism

Part II. Evolution and the limits of teleology. Introduction

Problems with purpose

The politics of progress

Naturalizing Kant

Genealogy and path dependence

Part III. Genealogy, nature, and normativity. Introduction

"Darwinism's" metaphysical mistake

Living things and the will to power

Toward a natural history of normativity

"Naturalism in morality."

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-139-99082-9

1-316-01142-9

1-139-98620-1

1-316-01366-9

1-107-44512-4

1-316-00692-1

1-316-00242-X

1-316-00916-5

1-316-00466-X

OCLC:

881165654