Nietzsche's Philosophical Context: An Intellectual Biography

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Thomas H. Brobjer Nietzsche’s Philosophical Context An Intellectual Biography I N T E R N A T I O N A L N I E T Z S C H E S T U D I E S Fr infl ne H. B v as w I N and by which of them he was influenced. The result is a new and much more contextual understanding of Nietzsche’s life and thinking. Thomas H. Brobjer is an associate professor in the department of the history of science and ideas at Uppsala University, Sweden, and the author of Nietzsche’s Ethics of Character: A Study of Nietzsche’s Ethics and Its Place in the History of Moral Thinking. A volume in the series International Nietzsche Studies, edited by Richard Schacht Design by Dennis Roberts International Nietzsche Studies Richard Schacht, series editor Editorial Board Rüdiger Bittner (Bielefeld) Eric Blondel (Paris-Sorbonne) Maudemarie Clark (Colgate) David Cooper (Durham) Arthur Danto (Columbia) Kathleen Higgins (Texas-Austin) Bernd Magnus (California-Riverside) Alexander Nehamas (Princeton) Martha Nussbaum (Chicago) Gary Shapiro (Richmond) Robert Solomon (Texas-Austin) Tracy Strong (California-San Diego) Yirmiyahu Yovel (Jerusalem) A list of books in the series appears at the back of this book. International Nietzsche Studies Nietzsche has emerged as a thinker of extraordinary importance, not only in the history of philosophy but also in many fields of contemporary inquiry. Nietzsche studies are maturing and flourishing in many parts of the world. This internationalization of inquiry with respect to his thought and significance may be expected to continue. International Nietzsche Studies is conceived as a series of monographs and essay collections that will reflect and contribute to these developments. The series will present studies in which responsible scholarship is joined to the analysis , interpretation, and assessment of the many aspects of Nietzsche’s thought that bear significantly upon matters of moment today. In many respects, Nietzsche is our contemporary with whom we do well to reckon, even when we find ourselves at odds with him. The series is intended to promote this reckoning , embracing diverse interpretive perspectives, philosophical orientations, and critical assessments. The series is also intended to contribute to the ongoing reconsideration of the character, agenda, and prospects of philosophy itself. Nietzsche was much concerned with philosophy’s past, present, and future. He sought to affect not only its understanding but also its practice. The future of philosophy is an open question today, thanks at least in part to Nietzsche’s challenge to the philosophical traditions of which he was so critical. It remains to be seen—and determined —whether philosophy’s future will turn out to resemble the “philosophy of the future” to which he proffered a prelude and of which he provided a preview, by both precept and practice. But this is a possibility that we do well to take seriously. International Nietzsche Studies will attempt to do so while contributing to the understanding of Nietzsche’s philosophical thinking and its bearing upon contemporary inquiry. —Richard Schacht Nietzsche’s Philosophical Context ...