Nietzsche and Political Thought (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought) - Hardcover

Warren, Mark E.

9780262231350: Nietzsche and Political Thought (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0262231352 ISBN 13: 9780262231350

Publisher: Mit Pr, 1988

Friedrich Nietzsche was a troublesome genius, a figure outside the mainstream philosophical tradition whose very apartness has made him central to contemporary philosophy. Nietzsche and Political Thought reclaims the political implications of Nietzsche's work: it shows how his philosophy of power addresses key issues in modern political thought especially those having to do with the historical and cultural nature of human agency.

In this thought-provoking study, Mark Warren claims entirely new ground. He develops a "postmetaphysical" political philosophy that provides a link between Nietzsche's work and the later philosophies of the Frankfurt School and Michel Foucault.

Warren comes to terms with Nietszche's views on power, freedom, domination, equality, ideology - topics that recent interpretations have neglected in favor of a focus on the literary and philosophical aspects of his work, but that in fact make these literary and philosophical concerns relevant to social and political thought. Importantly, Warren draws a distinction between the implications of Nietzsche's theories concerning power and agency for contemporary political thought and Nietzsche's own politics. He demonstrates how Nietzsche's actual political views did not reflect - and in large part falsified - his own philosophical insights which taken by themselves point toward a pluralistic society in which egalitarianism underscores individuality. But his politics, Warren argues, derived too heavily from a deficient understanding of modern social and political organization.

Nietzsche and Political Thought is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy.

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About the Author:

Mark Warren is Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University.

Review:

This is a first-rate piece of work. It articulates a clear position, is award of the issues that have to be taken into account, and defends itself against most possible objections. No book I know of makes it as clear why so many diverse opinions of Nietzsche's politics can exist.

(Tracy B. Strong, University of California)

This book is always intelligent and is written with clarity. The breadth of the author's concerns keeps the text in touch with the catholic interests of Nietzsche himself.

(William E. Connolly, The John Hopkins University)

A most remarkable book....an impressively sustained piece of argumentation.

(Michael Tanner Times Literary Supplement)

...come to terms with the question of Nietzsche's political philosophy.

(Paul Franco Ethics)

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