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This dissertation argues that a pervasive ethical vision underlies the work of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900): a concern for the possibility of human flourishing, in the modern world. Notwithstanding Nietzsche's celebrated claim to be "beyond good and evil", and against the standard interpretation of his "perspectivism", it is argued that Nietzsche makes qualitative, normative distinctions between higher, admirable modes of human existence and lower, contemptible ones, and that he wishes through his writings to foster the former and discourage the latter. Furthermore, it is argued that Nietzsche believes human excellence to be the property of a small minority of "higher" human beings, and that he identifies the project of encouraging human excellence with a political imperative of cultivating this gifted elite. The dissertation also argues that Nietzsche's picture of the fully flourishing human life suffers from a number of inconsistencies that may be traced back to his vacillation between two incompatible moral discourses: an Aristotelian discourse emphasising the importance of certain "external goods" (e.g. friendship, recognition, community) in a fully flourishing life, and a rival, Stoic-influenced discourse stressing the virtuous individual's total self-sufficiency. An examination is made of Nietzsche's stance towards the following key concepts and questions: truth, morality, virtue, instinct and "bodily" knowledge, nature, creativity, rationality, discipline and self-mastery, freedom, solitude and sociability, friendship, community, pity, breeding and heredity, women and gender relations, and domination.

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L'objet de la présente recherche est de présenter la critique que Nietzsche formule de la métaphysique platonicienne sous la perspective de la volonté de puissance. Pour ce faire, nous dresserons d'abord un portrait psycho-physiologique de Platon en explorant les influences majeures de ses prédécesseurs sur les idées qui fondent sa métaphysique. Une fois ce portrait établi, nous entamerons la critique de la métaphysique platonicienne en montrant qu'elle résulte d'une mécompréhension du corps et d'erreurs fondamentales de la raison. Cela nous conduira à exposer les raisons pour lesquelles la métaphysique est néfaste pour la vie et doit être surmontée. Nous terminerons en abordant brièvement la question du perspectivisme et du dépassement esthétique de la métaphysique proposés par Nietzsche.

Le présent mémoire aura pour but d'exposer comment l'extase provoquée par l'expérience esthétique, en particulier par la musique, peut fournir un sens à l'existence humaine. Le développement du thème du sens chez Nietzsche passe nécessairement par la critique de deux principaux éléments: la rationalité et la religion. Nous exposerons premièrement les critiques que celui-ci développe au sujet de la rationalité pour mettre à jour les aspects néfastes d'une mauvaise utilisation de la raison. En deuxième lieu, nous discuterons de la critique que Nietzsche fait de la religion en abordant le thème des «arrière-mondes» pour arriver à fonder la question du sens au sein même de l'existence. Finalement, en explorant les thèmes de l'extase, de «l'éternel retour du même» et de la musique, nous serons à même de comprendre comment le paradoxe que pose une expérience d'absolutisation à l'intérieur d'un moment est nécessaire et générateur de sens.

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Informe de Seminario para optar al grado de Licenciado en Filosofía / La presente tesina tiene como objetivo evidenciar y hacer explícita la crítica nietzscheana a la dualidad ontológica tradicional. Para la concreción de dicho propósito, la tesina se divide en tres grandes capítulos: el primero delimita el concepto de dualidad ontológica y lo enmarca dentro de la filosofía nietzscheana, el segundo relaciona esta perspectiva ontológica con la moral, mientras que el tercer capítulo, en base a los contenidos recopilados a lo largo de la investigación, pone de relieve y explicita la crítica nietzscheana a la división de mundos, examinando, por lo demás, la consecuencia más próxima de dicha crítica.

My dissertation details what Nietzsche sees as a normative and philosophical crisis that arises in modern society. This crisis involves a growing sense of malaise that leads to large-scale questions about whether life in the modern world can be seen as meaningful and good. I claim that confronting this problem is a central concern throughout Nietzsche’s philosophical career, but that his understanding of this problem and its solution shifts throughout different phases of his thinking. Part of what is unique to Nietzsche’s treatment of this problem is his understanding that attempts to imbue existence with meaning are self-undermining, becoming pathological and only further entrenching the problem. Nietzsche’s solution to this problem ultimately resides in treating meaning as a spiritual need that can only be fulfilled through a creative interpretive process.

Many of the writings of Leo Strauss were dedicated to combating the "crisis of modernity". This crisis was for him the advent and acceptance of nihilism--a state of being wherein any principle one dare dream is allowed and judgment must be withheld. He claimed that the promotion of nihilism at the hands of modern social scientists would lead to the downfall of civilization. Yet, this work seeks to show that all of these claims are made by Strauss in an attempt to hide the "truth" of nihilism from the masses and that Strauss, in fact, is a nihilist thinker. The introductory chapter of this work introduces the problem of nihilism as outlined by Strauss. It also briefly explains the positions of two other nihilist thinkers, Friedrich Nietzsche and Michel Foucault, in order to establish the thought which Strauss seems to be arguing against in his works. It then explains the writing style of Strauss as being esoteric. The following chapter will deal with the Strauss' argument for the causes of nihilism. Chapter three will be dedicated to the two solutions that Strauss presents for combating nihilism. The exoteric solution calls for a return to the teachings of the classics, specifically the three types of teaching that he recognizes--Socratic-Platonic, Aristotelian, and Thomistic. The esoteric solution, however, is to use the Platonic conception of the "noble lie" in order to hide the "truth" of nihilism. Chapters four and five will compare Strauss' nihilism to that of Nietzsche and Foucault, respectively. Each chapter will expand on the discussion already presented in the first chapter to further elucidate each thinker's version of nihilism. Finally, I will outline the conception of these three thinkers as a continuum for nihilist thought. I will also discuss how the only definitive difference between the three thinkers is their outlook on the human condition. For example, Strauss and his hidden nihilism is a direct result of his pessimistic view of the masses; whereas Nietzsche's Übermensch nihilism is brought about by his outlook on the prospect for development beyond humanity and Foucault's pure nihilism is drawn out from his notion of power/knowledge. In this way, this work will not only show Strauss as a closet nihilist but also show his integral role in understanding the full range of nihilist thought.