Nietzsche and the Anglo-Saxon tradition

218 Pages·2009·1.47 MB·English

by  Nietzsche

Nietzsche and the
Anglo-Saxon Tradition
Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy
Series Editor: James Fieser, University of Tennessee at Martin, USA
Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy is a major monograph series from
Continuum. The series features fi rst-class scholarly research monographs
across the fi eld of Continental philosophy. Each work makes a major
contribution to the fi eld of philosophical research.
Adorno’s Concept of Life, Alastair Morgan
Badiou, Marion and St Paul, Adam Miller
Being and Number in Heidegger’s Thought, Michael Roubach
Deleuze and Guattari, Fadi Abou-Rihan
Deleuze and the Genesis of Representation, Joe Hughes
Deleuze and the Unconscious, Christian Kerslake
Deleuze, Guattari and the Production of the New, edited by Simon O’Sullivan
and Stephen Zepke
Derrida, Simon Morgan Wortham
Derrida and Disinterest, Sean Gaston
The Domestication of Derrida, Lorenzo Fabbri
Encountering Derrida, edited by Simon Morgan Wortham and Allison Weiner
Foucault’s Heidegger, Timothy Rayner
Gadamer and the Question of the Divine, Walter Lammi
Heidegger and a Metaphysics of Feeling, Sharin N. Elkholy
Heidegger and Aristotle, Michael Bowler
Heidegger and Philosophical Atheology, Peter S. Dillard
Heidegger beyond Deconstruction, Michael Lewis
Heidegger, Politics and Climate Change, Ruth Irwin
Heidegger’s Contributions to Philosophy, Jason Powell
Heidegger’s Early Philosophy, James Luchte
The Irony of Heidegger, Andrew Haas
Levinas and Camus, Tal Sessler
Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology, Kirk M. Besmer
Nietzsche and the Anglo-Saxon Tradition, Louise Mabille
Nietzsche’s Ethical Theory, Craig Dove
Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, edited by James Luchte
The Philosophy of Exaggeration, Alexander Garcia Düttmann
Sartre’s Phenomenology, David Reisman
Who’s Afraid of Deleuze and Guattari? Gregg Lambert
Žižek and Heidegger, Thomas Brockelman
Nietzsche and the
Anglo-Saxon Tradition
Louise Mabille
Continuum International Publishing Group
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© Louise Mabille 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN-10: HB: 0-8264-9863-9
ISBN-13: HB: 978-0-8264-9863-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mabille, Louise.
Nietzsche and the Anglo-Saxon tradition / Louise Mabille.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-0-8264-9863-2
1. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844–1900. 2. Anglo-Saxon race – Intellectual life. I.
Title.
B3317.M13 2009
193–dc22
2008035723
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed and bound in Great Britain by the MPG Books Group
I dedicate this to Marinus Schoeman. Not everyone is as
fortunate as to be guided into philosophy by such an unusual
intellect.
And to my mother, Cordie Mabille, who fi rst taught me to
love Shakespeare the way I do.
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Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Abbreviations ix
Introduction: The English Type 1
1 Englishmen Underground; or the Case of
the Abdicated Playwright 16
2 Hobbes against the World 35
3 Locke, Life, Language 50
4 Hume on the Use and Abuse of Scepticism for Life 72
5 ‘Some Have Suspected Me of Darwinism’ 95
6 The Impossible John Stuart Mill 106
7 How Monsieur George Eliot Added Insult to Injury 128
8 Wrong but Romantic 140
9 Shakespeare, Sterne and Stage 152
10 The Great American Who Loved the World 170
Bibliography 194
Index 199
Acknowledgements
I gladly acknowledge the roles of the following people in making this book
happen:
Paul Patton from the University of New South Wales, Sarah Campbell
from Continuum, and P. Muralidharan from Newgen. It is custom to say
so, but it is quite literally true – as much as metaphor allows – that the
book would not have h appened without the respective roles of each of you.
Sincere thanks.
I would also like to thank the following people who all contributed to a
greater or lesser degree:
Prof. Deon Roussouw, for great patience, wise decisions and accommodat-
ing me graciously during the writing of the book,
Proff. Alex Antonites and Marinus Schoeman, for valuable insights gained,
Amanda Oelofse, for always saving the day,
Pite Raubenheimer, Luckaz Novak, Catherine Botha, Marius A. Odendaal,
Ernst Wolff, Estelle Jordaan, Dominic Griffi ths, Maria Prozesky, Rian Leith,
Willem Punt, and Elmé Vivier, for interesting philosophical symposia,
Prof. Jurie le Roux and Dr Frances Klopper, for theological and Gadamerian
insights,
The English department at the University of Pretoria,
Julius Mabille, for making my place of study a comfortable one,
Colin de Bruyn, for all the support,
Prof. Danie Goosen from UNISA, for rich Nietzschean insights.
For the same reason, Dr Herman Siemens from Leiden, and Prof. Paul
van Tongeren from Nijmegen – the entire Nietzsche study group deserve
a mention.
Abbreviations
A The Antichrist
BGE Beyond Good and Evil
BP T he Book of the Philosopher: Refl ections on the Struggle between Art and
Philosophy
BT The Birth of Tragedy
CW The Case of Wagner
D Daybreak
EH Ecce Homo
HC Homer’s Contest
GM On the Genealogy of Morals
GS The Gay Science
HAH Human, All Too Human
KGW Werke, Kritische Gesammtausgabe
KSA Sämtliche Werke, Kritische Studienausgabe
NL Nacgelassen Fragmente
OTL On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense
PHTG Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks
SE Schopenhauer as Educator
TI Twilight of the Idols
UM Untimely Meditation
WP The Will to Power
WS The Wanderer and His Shadow
Z Thus Spoke Zarathustra