Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T23:30:46.903Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 13 - “The Great Seriousness Begins”

Nietzsche’s Tragic Philosophy and Philosophy’s Role in Creating Healthier Racialized Identities

from Part IV - The Aims of Philosophy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2019

Paul S. Loeb
Affiliation:
University of Puget Sound, Washington
Matthew Meyer
Affiliation:
University of Scranton
Get access

Summary

In this chapter, I argue that one of Nietzsche’s goals in the late works was to experiment with ways in which his contemporaries might rethink the aims and methods of philosophy to enable the healthiest among them to affirm meaningful lives in the face of a tragic view of life. I further contend that Nietzsche’s tragic philosophy was meant to act as a counterpoint to the bad conscience and the ascetic ideal. It is meant to guide those who embrace it out of the ressentiment and world-weariness resulting from the “truths” of traditional philosophy to a more creative way of affirming life. Nietzsche referred to this as “tragic wisdom” and he proclaimed himself to be the “first tragic philosopher.” I conclude by indicating the importance of Nietzsche’s tragic approach for contemporary philosophy. In particular, I maintain that this approach could be fruitful for those looking for healthier ways of enacting race. Adopting a tragic view of our racialized lives entails an acceptance of the endemic and chronic nature of racism in our society without falling victim to the bad conscience-induced resignation and resentment that plague so many people today.

Type
Chapter
Information
Nietzsche's Metaphilosophy
The Nature, Method, and Aims of Philosophy
, pp. 247 - 264
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×