The Moral Meaning of Nature : Nietzsche's Darwinian Religion and Its Critics / Peter J. Woodford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Woodford, Peter J., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900.

Overbeck, Franz, 1837-1905.

Simmel, Georg, 1858-1918.

Rickert, Heinrich, 1863-1936.

Life.

Evolution (Biology)--Moral and ethical aspects.

Evolution (Biology)--Religious aspects.

Philosophy and science--Germany--History.

Philosophy, German--19th century.

Philosophy, German--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 184 pages)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

What, if anything, does biological evolution tell us about the nature of religion, ethical values, or even the meaning and purpose of life? The Moral Meaning of Nature sheds new light on these enduring questions by examining the significance of an earlier-and unjustly neglected-discussion of Darwin in late nineteenth-century Germany. We start with Friedrich Nietzsche, whose writings staged one of the first confrontations with the Christian tradition using the resources of Darwinian thought. The lebensphilosophie, or "life-philosophy," that arose from his engagement with evolutionary ideas drew responses from other influential thinkers, including Franz Overbeck, Georg Simmel, and Heinrich Rickert. These critics all offered cogent challenges to Nietzsche's appropriation of the newly transforming biological sciences, his negotiation between science and religion, and his interpretation of the implications of Darwinian thought. They also each proposed alternative ways of making sense of Nietzsche's unique question concerning the meaning of biological evolution "for life." At the heart of the discussion were debates about the relation of facts and values, the place of divine purpose in the understanding of nonhuman and human agency, the concept of life, and the question of whether the sciences could offer resources to satisfy the human urge to discover sources of value in biological processes. The Moral Meaning of Nature focuses on the historical background of these questions, exposing the complex ways in which they recur in contemporary philosophical debate.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. Friedrich Nietzsche: A Darwinian Religion

2. Franz Overbeck: The Life History of Asceticism

3. Georg Simmel: Evolution and the Self- Transcendence of Life

4. Heinrich Rickert: Th e Autonomy of Agency and the Science of Life

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2018.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 22. Okt 2019)

ISBN:

9780226539928

022653992X

OCLC:

1029200618