Maudemarie Clark

In Defense of an "Esoteric" Nietzsche

Although he finds in it an “ingenuity and daring” that is “remarkable,”1 Richard Schacht evidently does not like our book on Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil. We argue for an “esoteric” Nietzsche, one who sometimes writes in a way that is deliberately misleading, hence does not mean what he initially seems to mean. It can therefore take considerable work to uncover his true meaning. Schacht appears to find this offensive, as if one does not play such games in polite society, but lays all of one’s cards on the table. In any case, he spends most of his discussion objecting to this aspect of our book. He also has a number of other complaints, including that our Nietzsche is as “philosophically mainstream as can be.”2 But in these cases he offers little argument beyond an incredulous stare. When he does offer a clear argument, it is against a very small portion of our book, which he rightly sees as the “springboard” for our esoteric Nietzsche. We will concentrate on showing that our Nietzsche remains airborne after this attack, and address in our conclusion several other complaints, including Schacht’s objection to how we do the history of philosophy. But we begin by explaining our reasons for attempting to interpret BGE esoterically.

The Soul of Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil : Conclusion

This book presents a provocative new interpretation of Beyond Good and Evil, arguably Nietzsches most important work. The problem is that it appears to express merely a loosely connected set of often questionable opinions. Can Nietzsche really be an important philosopher if this is his most important book? Maudemarie Clark and David Dudrick address this question with a close reading that emphasizes how Nietzsche writes. They argue that the first part of Beyond Good and Evil presents coherent and interconnected arguments for subtle and well-thought-out positions on traditional issues. Nietzsches infamous doctrine of the will to power turns out to be a compelling account of the structure and origin of the human soul. And although he rejects some aspects of traditional philosophy, Nietzsches aim is to show how philosophys traditional aspirations to seek both the true and the good can be fulfilled. Beyond Good and Evil turns out to be a major work of philosophy and Nietzsches masterpiece.

Nietzsche on Truth and Philosophy.

Notes on texts and citations 1. Interpreting Neitzsches on truth 2. Nietzsche and theories of truth 3. Language and truth: Nietzsches early denial of truth 4. The development of Neitzsches later position on truth 5. Perspectivism 6. The ascetic ideal 7. The will to power 8. Eternal recurrence.