Becoming Nietzsche - by Paul a Swift (Paperback)

About the Book

Becoming Nietzsche is an essential book for understanding Nietzsche's philosophical genealogy from 1866D1868, a phase that is punctuated by the influence of Friedrich Lange and a surprising rejection of Schopenhauer's theory of the will. During this phase, Nietzsche focuses on...

Book Synopsis

Becoming Nietzsche is an essential book for understanding Nietzsche's philosophical genealogy from 1866D1868, a phase that is punctuated by the influence of Friedrich Lange and a surprising rejection of Schopenhauer's theory of the will. During this phase, Nietzsche focuses on the scientific and artistic status of teleological judgments and their relevance for thinking about organic life and representation.

Review Quotes

Paul Swift's Becoming Nietzsche is an important contribution to Nietzsche studies, emphasizing his earliest encounter with Democritus, Schopenhauer, and Kant. Swift ably discusses Nietzsche's response to many of their ideas and concepts relating to, for example, teleology and metaphysics. Swift brings to the fore problems and texts by the early Nietzsche which have received far too little attention previously.

Swift focuses much welcome and needed attention on the still much neglected earliest philosophical writings by Nietzsche.

Swift's monograph makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of Nietzsche's philosophical genealogy tout court. Swift demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt the importance to Nietzsche's later philosophical campaigns of this early period in his development.

About the Author

Paul A. Swift is a lecturer at Bryant University.