Nietzsche's Philosophy of Art

This is a clear and lucid account of Nietzsche's philosophy of art.

Julian Young (Author)

9780521455756, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 January 1994

188 pages
22.7 x 15.2 x 1.2 cm, 0.31 kg

"Given the centrality of art for Nietzsche it is surprising that Julian Young's book is the first to address its import for Nietzsche's philosophy as a whole. For this reason alone Nietzsche's Philosophy of Art is a welcome addition to the growing literature on Nietzsche in English. More than that, this study contains a comprehensive, yet concise, account of this topic that soberly elucidates and evaluates Nietzsche's shifting arguments and positions." Daniel L. Tate, Review of Metaphysics

This is a clear and lucid account of Nietzsche's philosophy of art, combining exegesis, interpretation and criticism in a judicious balance. Julian Young argues that Nietzsche's thought about art can only be understood in the context of his wider philosophy. In particular, he discusses the dramatic changes in Nietzschean aesthetics against the background of the celebrated themes of the death of God, eternal recurrence, and the idea of the Übermensch. Young then divides Nietzsche's career and his philosophy of art into four distinct phases, but suggests that these phases describe a circle. An attempt at world-affirmation is made in the central phases, but Nietzsche is predominantly influenced at the beginning and end of his career by a Schopenhauerian pessimism. At the beginning and end art is important because it 'redeems' us from life.

Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1. Schopenhauer
2. The birth of tragedy
3. Human, all-too-human
4. The gay science
5. Twilight of the idols
Epilogue
Notes
Texts and translations
Index.

Subject Areas: Philosophy: aesthetics [HPN]