Table Of Content

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/determiningnietz02moos DeterminingNietzsche's Freedom ofthe Will Senior HonorsThesis Submitted inpartial fulfillment ofrequirementstograduate from The Honors Program by Christina Shaheen Moosa Sweet BriarCollege Sweet Briar. Virginia24595 Spring. 2007 ThesisCommmittve i ^1 Zo0^ Adviser: Dr. MatthewCalarco: y Dr. MatthewCalarco, Ph.D., SUNY Binghamton ProfessorofPhilosophy ^A 2nd Reader: Dr. Eric Casey: La^N /fcW^Ori) «| M^ %2CO? EErriicc CCaasseeyy,, PPhh..DD..,, UUnniivveerrssiittyyooffPPeennnnssyyllvvaanniiaa V ' / / ( ProfessorofClassical Studies 3 Reader: Dr. David Schwartz David Schwartz, Ph.D., RiceUniversity ProfessorofPhilosophy DeterminingNietzsche'sFreedom ofthe Will SeniorHonorsThesis Submitted inpartial fulfillment ofrequirementsto graduate from TheHonors Program by ChristinaShaheenMoosa Sweet BriarCollege SweetBriar, Virginia24595 Spring, 2007 ThesisCommittee: Adviser: Dr. Matthew Calarco Dr. Matthew Calarco, Ph.D., SUNYBinghamton ProfessorofPhilosophy 2" Reader: Dr. Eric Casey Eric Casey, Ph.D., UniversityofPennsylvania ProfessorofClassical Studies 3r Reader: Dr. David Schwartz David Schwartz, Ph.D., RiceUniversity ProfessorofPhilosophy Introduction In this thesis I havetaken uponeofthemostcomplicated andcontestedtopics in currentNietzsche scholarship. ThequestionofhowNietzschemanages to salvagesome concept offreedom,orsovereignty, afterprovidingadevastatingcritiqueofthe philosophical concepts offreewill and determinism isapointofcontentionincurrent Nietzschestudies. Thisprojectoriginatedtwo summers ago,whileconductingsummer researchonquestionssurrounding freewill anddeterminism in contemporaryphilosophy. Iwasdriven to studythesetopicsbyanever-growinginterest inphilosophical interpretationsofhuman nature. Ihavebeenparticularlyinterested intheportraitof human naturethat FriedrichNietzscheoffers inhis GenealogyofMorals. Lastsummer, I continued myresearchbyconductinganHonors SummerResearchProjecton Nietzsche's critiqueofChristianmorality. Theseresearchprojects fostered inmean interest inNietzsche'sphilosophical worksregardingfreewill, determinism, and sovereignty. The followingwork isan attempttoarticulateNietzsche'scritiquesoffreewill and determinism, whiledemonstratinghowhisconceptofsovereigntyiscompatiblewith those critiques. Thethesis isdivided into fourchapters. The firstchapterpresents Nietzsche'scritiqueofthe metaphysical concepts that surroundthenotion offreewill; it focuseson hisarguments against incorrectmetaphysical assumptions inherentto thewill, consciousness, andthe"self. ChaptertwotracksNietzsche's argument againstthemoral and religiousconceptoffreewill. Here, I examinehisdestructivecritiqueofthemoral initiativesthathaveguided thedevelopmentofthenotionoffreewill. Nietzscheexamines thedevelopment oftheconcept usingagenealogical approachand critiques itbased on