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An Introduction to Nietzsche as Political Thinker: The Perfect Nihilist (Paperback) - Common
Tracing the development of his thought and confronting his relationship with the Nazis, all of Nietzsche's major works are analyzed in detail, along with his key ideas, in this introduction to his politics. A chronology of his life and works is supplemented by a guide to further reading.
264 pages, Unknown Binding
First published March 31, 1994
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About the author
Keith Ansell-Pearson
44 books39 followersKeith Ansell-Pearson joined Warwick's Philosophy Department in 1993 and has held a Personal Chair since 1998. He did his graduate studies at the University of Sussex. He has presented lectures around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United States. In 2013/14 he was Senior Visiting Research Fellow in the Humanities at Rice University.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 20, 2022
Unfocused, partial and often misleading view on Nietzsche’s politics. It is not really a comprehensive introduction; it is a narrow, personal interpretation that tries to abstract some of Nietzsche’s ideas which the author finds interesting, mostly to salvage less controversial parts which could still be usable in a modern democratic society. Nietzsche is therefore presented as a grumpy, eccentric cultural critic and his more controversial ideas are passingly dismissed as "rhetorical excesses". The author admits that his thinking can be also interpreted in a different way but then "it faces some grave difficulties and becomes highly disturbing".
While skimming over more unpalatable aspects of Nietzsche’s philosophy, the author also exaggerates the parts that he likes. From the fact that Nietzsche opposed German nationalism and that he wasn’t a Nazi he logically concludes that he was actually antifascist, antiracist activist "who tried to warn the world". Somehow the warlike, aristocratic, slaveholding society that he advocated is still better than fascism. Supposedly, he disliked Germany because it practiced authoritarian power-politics, and examples of Nietzschean figures in political history are not Caesar and Napoleon but Hannah Arendt. Every topic in the book, from art to slavery is kept at a vague, abstract level, without reference to numerous specific comments that Nietzsche left. It is never mentioned, for example, that in 1880s there was a campaign in Germany to abolish the colonial slavery and that Nietzsche wrote insulting comments about abolitionists. Instead you get discussions of Thomas Mann, Albert Camus and Richard Rorty.
Large parts of the book are about topics which are not very well linked to politics. A disproportionate weight is given to earlier works, especially Human, All Too Human, even though the author later admits that Nietzsche mostly revised his prior opinions. In a very self-confident way he tries to correct some supposed mistakes in Nietzsche’s thinking, claiming that he is questioning his internal coherence, but mostly just complaining about his more extreme ideas. Some of the problems that he points out exist only because he blatantly ignores parts of Nietzsche’s writings which he finds "excessive". Probably the weakest part of the book is the presentation of Nietzsche as a shallow cultural determinist, completely ignoring his biological, physiological, racial and eugenic interests. In this interpretation, devoid of underlying biologism, it often seems as if he wrote uplifting, liberating self-help books for anxious intellectuals and misunderstood artists.
If you have read Nietzsche’s work there is nothing interesting in this book, large parts of it will seem ridiculous. It does a somewhat decent job in pointing out complexities of Nietzsche’s attitudes toward individualism but that is only a few pages. If you are just starting with Nietzsche this is certainly not a balanced, honest introduction. In any case, it is not worth reading.
While skimming over more unpalatable aspects of Nietzsche’s philosophy, the author also exaggerates the parts that he likes. From the fact that Nietzsche opposed German nationalism and that he wasn’t a Nazi he logically concludes that he was actually antifascist, antiracist activist "who tried to warn the world". Somehow the warlike, aristocratic, slaveholding society that he advocated is still better than fascism. Supposedly, he disliked Germany because it practiced authoritarian power-politics, and examples of Nietzschean figures in political history are not Caesar and Napoleon but Hannah Arendt. Every topic in the book, from art to slavery is kept at a vague, abstract level, without reference to numerous specific comments that Nietzsche left. It is never mentioned, for example, that in 1880s there was a campaign in Germany to abolish the colonial slavery and that Nietzsche wrote insulting comments about abolitionists. Instead you get discussions of Thomas Mann, Albert Camus and Richard Rorty.
Large parts of the book are about topics which are not very well linked to politics. A disproportionate weight is given to earlier works, especially Human, All Too Human, even though the author later admits that Nietzsche mostly revised his prior opinions. In a very self-confident way he tries to correct some supposed mistakes in Nietzsche’s thinking, claiming that he is questioning his internal coherence, but mostly just complaining about his more extreme ideas. Some of the problems that he points out exist only because he blatantly ignores parts of Nietzsche’s writings which he finds "excessive". Probably the weakest part of the book is the presentation of Nietzsche as a shallow cultural determinist, completely ignoring his biological, physiological, racial and eugenic interests. In this interpretation, devoid of underlying biologism, it often seems as if he wrote uplifting, liberating self-help books for anxious intellectuals and misunderstood artists.
If you have read Nietzsche’s work there is nothing interesting in this book, large parts of it will seem ridiculous. It does a somewhat decent job in pointing out complexities of Nietzsche’s attitudes toward individualism but that is only a few pages. If you are just starting with Nietzsche this is certainly not a balanced, honest introduction. In any case, it is not worth reading.
January 10, 2023
It is explained that Nietzche's aristocratic worldview, dominated by the mind of a Creative Madness (Artist), was described, besides, Nietzche's political views were at a stage too different to be associated neither with liberalism, socialism, nor with German fascism, although it was widely used for a while.
The concepts of the will to power and the upper human have been used so much and pulled to one side that every ideology asks, ‘What do I make of this?’ They tried to use Nietzsche as if he was in trouble, but what they missed, I would say, was the sovereignty of the artist's mind. Because ideologies, regardless of their nature, have adopted a strict logical, utilitarian mind instead of thinking about the artist mind. And the result is that the world has been soaked in blood many times. The sub-human has done it again, that is, he will do it.
As soon as it is realized that the ideas, ideologies and moral rules born from the dynamics of past history and shaped according to that period have nothing left to give to man, there is no ideal left for man other than to establish a higher future. So how could a higher future be established? How could a person achieve this? Of course, he could have achieved it by accepting that he was a means and a goal in the end and setting out on the road. Of course, it cannot be expected that only a person will engage in this in an individual sense. At this point, Nietzsche also suggested that people can achieve this in a political climate dominated by artists, where the world is shaped by the perspective of art. In other words, what is described with the superhuman and the will to power are not the things that ideologies tell you about, the author says in this book.
Although fascism has drawn Nietzsche's opposition to concepts such as justice and equality to its own places, it has no destiny other than to take its place in the garbage of history, such as the good and bad misconceptions of the past, the moral rules and justice that take their essence from the way of life. In this sense, the author crumpled up German fascism with his hand and threw it aside. I wish you a pleasant reading.
The concepts of the will to power and the upper human have been used so much and pulled to one side that every ideology asks, ‘What do I make of this?’ They tried to use Nietzsche as if he was in trouble, but what they missed, I would say, was the sovereignty of the artist's mind. Because ideologies, regardless of their nature, have adopted a strict logical, utilitarian mind instead of thinking about the artist mind. And the result is that the world has been soaked in blood many times. The sub-human has done it again, that is, he will do it.
As soon as it is realized that the ideas, ideologies and moral rules born from the dynamics of past history and shaped according to that period have nothing left to give to man, there is no ideal left for man other than to establish a higher future. So how could a higher future be established? How could a person achieve this? Of course, he could have achieved it by accepting that he was a means and a goal in the end and setting out on the road. Of course, it cannot be expected that only a person will engage in this in an individual sense. At this point, Nietzsche also suggested that people can achieve this in a political climate dominated by artists, where the world is shaped by the perspective of art. In other words, what is described with the superhuman and the will to power are not the things that ideologies tell you about, the author says in this book.
Although fascism has drawn Nietzsche's opposition to concepts such as justice and equality to its own places, it has no destiny other than to take its place in the garbage of history, such as the good and bad misconceptions of the past, the moral rules and justice that take their essence from the way of life. In this sense, the author crumpled up German fascism with his hand and threw it aside. I wish you a pleasant reading.
November 28, 2022
Great, except chapter 9, "Nietzsche and feminism." Here is one of Nietzsche's thoughts on woman: "Man should be trained for war and woman for the recreation of the warrior: all else is folly." Sure, maybe in 3rd century B.C. Greece, but I don't think you can do much with this quote nowadays. The feminists Ansell-Pearson can't in my opinion justify or do anything worthwile. Some of the other quotes aren't much better. That said, the other chapters are really good.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews