Philosophy Department

Nietzsche (PHEU 4911)

Babette Babich
 

Nietzsche is one the most enduringly popular philosophic authors but the challenge of reading Nietzsche is often overlooked, even by specialists on his works. Known as the prophet of nihilism, linked to the claim “God is dead,” Nietzsche’s writings are diverse and subtle. Nietzsche’s teachings include the mythic coming of the overman, the doctrine of the love of life and of loyalty to the earth, in addition, he challenged the very idea of truth and proposed the paradoxical thought experiment that his Zarathustra called the thought of thoughts: “the eternal return of the same” and proclaimed the ubiquity of the Will to Power in a world of chaos. Participants will explore the range of Nietzsche’s works, raising the question of style and its relation to philosophy.