Nietzsche Contra Democracy - Hardcover

Appel, Fredrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801434246 ISBN 13: 9780801434242

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 1999

Synopsis

Apolitical, amoral, an aesthete whose writings point toward some form of liberation: this is the figure who emerges from most recent scholarship on Friedrich Nietzsche. The Nietzsche whom Fredrick Appel portrays is of an altogether different character, one whose philosophical position is inseparable from a deep commitment to a hierarchical politics. Nietzsche contra Democracy gives us a thinker who, disdainful of the "petty politics" of his time, attempts to lay the normative foundations for a modern political alternative to democracy. Appel shows how Nietzsche's writings evoke the prospect of a culturally revitalized Europe in which the herdlike majority and its values are put in their proper place: under the control of a new, self-aware, and thoroughly modern aristocratic caste whose sole concern is its own flourishing. In chapters devoted to Nietzsche's little discussed views on solitude, friendship, sociability, families, and breeding, this book brings Nietzsche into conversation with Aristotelian and Stoic strains of thought.

About this title

Review:

"From the opening words of this new book on Nietzsche's political philosophy, we know we are in the hands of a capable scholar: 'Friedrich Nietzsche's great concern is for the flourishing of those few whom he considers exemplary of the human species.' Appel's book demonstrates, from start to finish, the economy and lucidity found in this pithy statement. Appel eschews all jargon. . . . He laces together textual evidence and strong arguments to make his case, to my mind incontrovertibly, that Nietzsche's opposition to liberal and egalitarian political ideas . . . was unvarying." Philip R. Munger, Boston Book Review" "Nietzsche Contra Democracy is a brilliant piece of scholarship, both clearly written and well argued, or if you prefer, both lucid and logical. . . I give it a ten." David A. Gugin. Perspectives on Political Science" "This concise examination of a number of the most important issues in Nietzsche's political philosophy would be an excellent addition to any university's library." Choice" "The subject and thesis of this book are important and timely." Ethics" "Fredrick Appel offers a thorough and devastating critique of what he calls the 'new orthodoxy' about Nietzsche which dominates contemporary scholarship. Appel not only demonstrates how much scholars have to distort Nietzsche's writings to turn him into an enemy of social hierarchy and domination, but also shows how far Nietzsche's ideas stray from his contemporary portrait of a cheerful and ironic relativist. One of the greatest strengths of the book is the way in which it brings Nietzsche into conversation with Aristotelian and Stoic strains of thought which share much more of Nietzsche's ethical commitments than his violent critique of Plato might make one expect." Bernard Yack, University of Wisconsin, Madison"

Synopsis:

Apolitical, amoral, an aesthete whose writings point toward some form of liberation: this is the figure who emerges from most scholarship on Friedrich Nietzsche. The Nietzsche whom Fredrick Appel portrays is a different character, one whose philosophical position is inseparable from a deep commitment to a hierarchical politics. Appel's work shows a thinker who, disdainful of the "petty politics" of his time, attempts to lay the normative foundations for a modern political alternative to democracy. He shows how Nietzsche's writings evoke the prospect of a culturally revitalized Europe in which the herdlike majority and its values are put in their proper place: under the control of a new, self-aware and thoroughly modern aristocratic caste whose sole concern is its own flourishing. In chapters devoted to Nietzsche's little-discussed views on solitude, friendship, sociability, families and breeding, this text brings Nietzsche into conversation with Aristotelian and Stoic strains of thought. The book challenges political theory to articulate and defend the moral consensus undergirding democracy.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0801434246
• ISBN 13: 9780801434242
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192