Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Nietzsche's Title and Preface
- 2 “On the Prejudices of the Philosophers”: A Critique of Metaphysical Ground (Part 1 §§1–23)
- 3 “The Free Spirit”: The Philosopher Realigned to Will to Power (Part 2 §§24–44)
- 4 The Nature of Religion: Beyond Nihilism, Towards the Immanent Ideal (Part 3 §§45–62)
- 5 “Epigrams and Entr'actes” (Part 4 §§63–185)
- 6 The Natural History of Morality: The Development of Affects and Reactions (Part 5 §§186–203)
- 7 We Scholars: Science as the “Hammer” of Philosophy (Part 6 §§204–13)
- 8 Our Virtues: Honesty and the “Democratic Mixing” of Peoples, Classes, Genders (Part 7 §§214–39)
- 9 Peoples and Fatherlands: Towards the Political Task of Philosophy in Europe (Part 8 §240–56)
- 10 What is Noble? Past and Future Aristocracies (Part 9 §§257–96)
- 11 From High Mountains: Aftersong
- Glossary
- Selected Further Reading
- Index
9 - Peoples and Fatherlands: Towards the Political Task of Philosophy in Europe (Part 8 §240–56)
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Nietzsche's Title and Preface
- 2 “On the Prejudices of the Philosophers”: A Critique of Metaphysical Ground (Part 1 §§1–23)
- 3 “The Free Spirit”: The Philosopher Realigned to Will to Power (Part 2 §§24–44)
- 4 The Nature of Religion: Beyond Nihilism, Towards the Immanent Ideal (Part 3 §§45–62)
- 5 “Epigrams and Entr'actes” (Part 4 §§63–185)
- 6 The Natural History of Morality: The Development of Affects and Reactions (Part 5 §§186–203)
- 7 We Scholars: Science as the “Hammer” of Philosophy (Part 6 §§204–13)
- 8 Our Virtues: Honesty and the “Democratic Mixing” of Peoples, Classes, Genders (Part 7 §§214–39)
- 9 Peoples and Fatherlands: Towards the Political Task of Philosophy in Europe (Part 8 §240–56)
- 10 What is Noble? Past and Future Aristocracies (Part 9 §§257–96)
- 11 From High Mountains: Aftersong
- Glossary
- Selected Further Reading
- Index
Summary
Nietzsche wants us, his readers, to hear the title in a particular way. “Völker und Vaterländer” would have had two immediate connotations. Much more than “people” in English, “Volk” is a German nationalist's word, and thus might be taken to refer to the right or destiny of German unification. This is still more evident in “Vaterland”. Clearly, then, Nietzsche is evoking a particular type of nationalism that, with good reason, he saw all around him. But, of course, in the title of Part 8, these words are plural. The whole point, the whole ideal, of German (or any other nationalism) is that “people” should be one, and the nation united. Simply by using the plural, Nietzsche is evoking nationalism but then also pulling the rug from under it, at least by suggesting nationalism is itself not something national, but shared with other peoples. There are two implications. First, that this Part will be dealing with the variety of and differences between different peoples and nations. Secondly, though not yet obvious, Nietzsche is or wants to be a European. Every nationalism is a kind of insanity, for Nietzsche. First of all, it is the apparent insanity of a rejection of those “modern ideas” that threaten to carry away Europa (see end of previous Part) – thus, the notion of the “good European” that we shall encounter at the beginning of §241, who allows himself a brief lapse into nationalism.
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- Reading NietzscheAn Analysis of Beyond Good and Evil, pp. 173 - 192Publisher: Acumen PublishingPrint publication year: 2006