Nietzsche's Meta-Existentialism Vinod Acharya - Rice University's

325 Pages·2012·4.29 MB·English

RICE UNIVERSITY
Nietzsche's Meta-Existentialism
By
Vinod Acharya
A THESIS SUBMITTED
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
Doctor of Philosophy
APPROVED, THESIS COMMITTEE:
Steven Crowell, Joseph d Joanna Nazro
Mullen Professor of Philosophy, Chair
Daniel Conway, Professor of Philosoph ,
Texas A&M University
HOUSTON, TEXAS
MAY 2011
.ABSTRACT
Nietzsche's Meta-Existentialism
by
Vinod Acharya
In this work, I offer a new interpretation of Nietzsche's existential philosophy. I argue
that, methodologically, Nietzsche's existentialism is a consequence of making the typical
existential position foundational, and then developing to the fullest the implications of
this position. I call the resultant approach, "meta-existentialism." Further, I show that
Nietzsche's meta-existential philosophy necessarily implicates his complex critique of
metaphysics. In other words, his particular type of existentialism can be understood only
by thoroughly investigating his criticism of metaphysical thought. Previous interpreters
who have sought to portray Nietzsche as an existential thinker, such as Karl Jaspers,
Walter Kaufmann and Robert Solomon, fail to seriously engage his critique of
metaphysics. They set aside the latter issue, precisely in order to explicate his
existentialism. My interpretation remedies this deficiency. This work also addresses those
other commentators who do carefully consider Nietzsche's relation to metaphysics,
although they do not interpret him as an existentialist. While poststructuralist thinkers,
such as Eric Blondel, Sarah Kofman and Michel Haar, have argued that Nietzsche's
thought exceeds the limits of metaphysics, other philosophers, such as Martin Heidegger,
have claimed that Nietzsche remains trapped within its confines. My argument undercuts
this debate by showing that Nietzsche provides an open-ended and ambiguous critique of
metaphysics, in which the problem of metaphysics is never settled once and for all. By
analyzing Nietzsche's central notion of "will to power" and the problem of "decadence,"
I show that an encounter with and an ever-renewed critique of metaphysics is essential to
Nietzsche's meta-existentialism.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people have contributed to my development as a philosopher. First and
foremost, I thank my parents for helping me cultivate the taste for a certain kind of
freedom and the impulse to pursue new and unexplored tasks, without which I would not
have ventured into philosophy. I would also like to thank Michael Gelven and Ted Kisiel,
my teachers at Northern Illinois University, who introduced me to Continental
philosophy, and helped me navigate my way through the complex terrain of Western
philosophy.
In completing this dissertation, I have received invaluable advice and support
from my committee members. I would like to thank Tristram Engelhardt for his interest
in my project. Thanks also to Christian Emden for his encouragement, friendship and for
his useful comments on Nietzsche. lowe a special debt of gratitude to Dan Conway for
his willingness to get involved with my project. I have profited immensely from our
conversations on Nietzsche. I appreciate very much both the positive feedback and the
constructive criticisms that I have received from Dan at various stages of this work. I also
thank him for his enthusiasm and for his confidence in my project.
I am most indebted to Steve Crowell for his constant guidance, his unflinching
encouragement and understanding without which this project would not have been
possible. Steve taught me to be a more meticulous and rigorous philosophical writer by
persistently challenging me to formulate my thoughts precisely and pointedly. He
provided me the essential space and freedom to pursue my own research interests, thus
allowing me to be creative, while at the same time spurring me to think critically about
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my ideas and arguments. I thank Steve for his support over the years in helping me to
secure various scholarships and grants, but, most importantly, for his belief in my
philosophical abilities.
I also wish to thank the rest of the faculty at Rice for their guidance and support.
A special thanks goes to Rachel Zuckert, whose seminars on 19th century philosophy
were engaging and thought-provoking, and whose perceptive comments in our many
discussions benefited me greatly. Thanks to John Zammito for allowing me into his
seminar on European Intellectual History, where I witnessed the power of a great lecture.
Thanks to Uwe Steiner who played an important part in me receiving a DAAD research
grant. I would also like to thank Minranda Robinson-Davis for her friendly help and
expertise regarding all official matters and deadlines.
This dissertation benefited significantly from my stay in Freiburg, Germany in
2009-2010. I thank DAAD for this wonderful opportunity, and also Andreas Urs
Sommer, Gitta Fehrenbach and Philipp Fehrenbach for their friendship and hospitality in
Freiburg. I also wish to thank the Humanities Research Center at Rice for supporting my
research through a Dissertation Writing Fellowship for the academic year 2010-11.
Many thanks to my friend Ryan Johnson for his philosophical acumen, his
provocative and aesthetic style of thinking, his unique talent for asking pointed and
suggestive questions, and for his pre-modernism and post-modernism. I truly cherish our
excursions into the limits of philosophy.
Lastly, I profoundly thank Summer Henderson. Summer's loving enthusiasm for
my work, her cheerful spirit, her keen eye for clarity and details, her openness to new
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ideas, her ability to entertain conflicting perspectives while maintaining her objectivity
and composure, and her passion for travelling have deeply contributed to the realization
of this work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv
ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................... ix
NOTE ON SOURCES ......................................................................................................... x
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1
I. Project synopsis ............................................................................................................ 1
II. Three groups of interpreters ...................................................................................... 10
III. Chapter outline ........................................................................................................ 19
CHAPTER I: Nietzsche's Meta-Existentialism ............................................................... 24
1.1. Nietzsche as an existentialist: the popular account ................................................ 24
1.2. Indirect versus direct communication: the three stages ofClimacus' argument.. .. 37
1.3. The ambiguity of the existential distinction and the limitations of Climacus'
existentialism .....................................................................................4 8
1.4. Nietzsche's meta-existentialism ............................................................................. 52
CHAPTER 2: Meta-Existentialism and Nietzsche's Critique ofMetaphysics ................. 64
2.1. Existence and the existential mode of philosophizing ............................................ 64
2.2. The interpretative interplay between the subjective and the objective ................... 77
2.3. Nietzsche's critique of metaphysics ....................................................................... 94
2.4. Human, All-Tao-Human: metaphysics and the struggle between science and art ..
..................................................................................................................................... 105
CHAPTER 3: Will to Power: Existence and the Qualitative Aspect of Power .............. 124
3.1. The critique of cause and effect and the will to power ......................................... 124
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3.2. Will to power and metaphysics ............................................................................ 145
CHAPTER 4: Nobility and Decadence: The Vulnerabilities of Nietzsche's Strong Type
........................................................................................................ 170
4.1. The cornerstone of the problem of decadence: the decadence of the strong type ..
..................................................................................................................................... 170
4.2. Typology and topology ......................................................................................... 188
4.3. The "weak" sides of the strong type ..................................................................... 207
4.3.1. Solitude .......................................................................................................... 208
4.3.2. The bestowing virtue ...................................................................................... 213
4.3.3. Need for challenges ....................................................................................... 217
4.3.4. Corruption ..................................................................................................... 220
CHAPTER 5: Greek Glory and Decadence: A Case Study ............................................ 225
5.1. Facets of Greek nobility: the State, art and philosophy ........................................ 225
5.2. The Greek State .................................................................................................... 229
5.3. Greek art ............................................................................................................... 240
5.4. Greek philosophy .................................................................................................. 263
CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 299
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 305
ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations of Nietzsche's texts are as follows:
AOM Assorted Opinions and Maxims
BGE Beyond Good and Evil
BT The Birth o/Tragedy. "Attempt" denotes the 1886 Preface, titled "Attempt
at Self-Criticism." "Foreword" denotes the 1872 Preface, titled "Foreword
to Richard Wagner."
CW The Case o/Wagner
D Daybreak
DW "The Dionysiac World View"
EH Ecce Homo. The four major divisions of this text are indicated by
abbreviations of their titles: "Wise," "Clever," "Books," and "Destiny."
The subsections of "Books" that discuss Nietzsche's individual works are
indicated by shortened titles of these works.
GM On the Genealogy 0/M orality. Roman numerals indicate the essay
number.
GS The Gay Science
HC "Homer on Competition"
HH Human, All too Human, Vol. I
P "The Philosopher"
PCP "The Philosopher as Cultural Physician"
PPP The Pre-Platonic Philosophers
PTAG Philosophy in the Tragic Age o/the Greeks
x
SSW "The Struggle between Science and Wisdom"
TGS "The Greek State"
TI Twilight oft he Idols. The eleven major divisions of this text are indicated
by abbreviations of their titles: "Maxims," Socrates," "Reason," "Real
World," "Morality," "Errors," "Improvers," "Germans," "Expeditions,"
"Ancients," and "Hammer."
TL "On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense"
UM Untimely Meditations. The Roman numerals indicate the particular
Meditation, followed by the section number of that Meditation.
WP The Will to Power
WS The Wanderer and His Shadow
Z Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Roman numerals indicate the part number,
followed by the section number and a sub-section number, if any. The
Prologue at the beginning of the book is indicated by "Prologue" followed
by the section number.
NOTE ON SOURCES
In citing these works, I have used the above acronyms followed by the appropriate
section number, designated by Arabic numerals. Nietzsche's Prefaces are indicated with a
"Preface" after the book's acronym, followed by the section number of the Preface. The
only works where I have cited page numbers instead of section numbers are The Case of
Wagner, "Homer on Competition," "The Philosopher," Philosophy in the Tragic Age of
the Greeks, The Pre-Platonic Philosophers, "The Struggle between Science and
Wisdom" and "The Greek State."