NIETZSCHE'S WAY BEYOND NIHILISM : AN INTERPRETATION AND AN EVALUATION

Abstract

This thesis revolves mainly around the problem of Nietzsche's attempt to formulate a philosophy that could load man to the overcoming of nihilism, which is the primary preoccupation of his philosophical career. The subject-matter of this thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part 9 covering the whole of Chapter II, Nietzsche Is idea of nihilism is clarified and elaborated, 'Ille common view of nihilism as merely a negative set of beliefs concerning the absence of objective truths and values, as is seen in Danto is approach to Nietzsche's philosophy 9 is rejected as inadequate in characterising Nietzsche's idea of nihilism. An 'existential' approach is adopted, because it is more faithful to Nietzsche's conceptualisation of the subject. Through this 'existential' approach, nihilism is viewed not merely as a set of negative beliefs, but as a decadent phenomenon affecting the concrete, living individual at all levels of his being. This approach helps us to see that nihilism, to Nietzsche, is to be explained fundamentally in relation to the will-to-power, the basic driving force of all things. Parejko’s delineation of Nietzsche's various usages of ‘nihilism’ is examined and found useful towards a more consistent and systematic comprehension of Nietzsche's idea of nihilism. Going beyond Parejko, a synthetical comprehension of the various usages is attempted. The result is that Nietzsche's diverse comments on nihilism is seen to revolve around two basic forms of nihilism - the ascetic and the metaphysical. These two forms, far from being conceptually contradictory, are associated insofar as they are manifestations of the ‘diseased’ will-to-power of man, and hence, are phenomena of decadence. An elaboration of these two forms and their historical relationship is also given. In the second part, covering the whole of Chapter III and IV, a systematic account of Nietzsche's way beyond nihilism is provided. Briefly, Nietzsche's strategy is conceived as the attempt to resuscitate the ‘diseased’ will-to-power in man. In relation to the two forms of nihilism, Nietzsche's way of overcoming nihilism is divided into two dialectical phases - the negative and the positive. The negative phase is elaborated in Chapter III, and this consists essentially of the task to destroy the whole of the Platonic-Judeo-Christian cultural tradition. Central to this phase are Nietzsche Is attacks on the traditional notion of truth, and the morality of good-and-evil. The objective here is to overcome ascetic nihilism. The positive phase is elaborated in Chapter IV. In this phase, Nietzsche's constructive efforts to formulate a new world-view that would lead man to the overcoming of metaphysical nihilism is elaborated. Having this objective primarily in mind, Nietzsche in this phase introduces the myths of the will-to-power, the eternal recurrence, and the superman. In the third part, mi evaluation of Nietzsche's method of overcoming the nihilism in Europe is then attempted. This covers the whole of Chapter V. Three contemporary criticisms of Nietzsche's philosophy in relation to the 'nihilism problem' - that are given by Hollingdale, Camus and Berdyaev - are examined and found inadequate. These three criticisms, which are typical of most criticisms of Nietzsche's philosophy, reveal a failure to comprehend the nature of Nietzsche's conceptualisation of nihilism, and as a result, misunderstand Nietzsche's priorities in his efforts to overcome the problem. An evaluation is then attempted, in the light of Nietzsche's own conceptualisation of the 'nihilism problem' and his objective. It is discovered that his solutions meet with certain conceptual and pragmatic difficulties that would obviate the success of his objective of transcending nihilism in both forms. It is also discovered that Nietzsche fails, to a certain extent, to go beyond the existential orientation of the Platonic-Judeo-Christian tradition. In the formulation of the myths of the eternal recurrence and the superman for the purpose of overcoming metaphysical nihilism, His discovered that, far from being successful in this regard, Nietzsche remains more or less caught in the grips of ascetic nihilism.