In this thesis I attempt to elucidate the complex relationship between life and justice in Nietzsche's thought. My basic contention is that this relationship needs to be understood metaphysically as a relation ofaccordance, such that just people and their acts accord with the nature ofthe world. I argue that the recent preference in the literature for naturalistic readings ofNietzsche misses something important about life and justice and in doing so fails to give an adequate account ofNietzsche's moral thought. In the opening introductory chapter I set out the ways that Nietzsche uses the terms 'life' and 'justice' and then outline three basic questions that his usage provokes. I go on to look at the way these terms have been understood in the secondary literature, focusing on two examples representative ofdifferent styles ofinterpretation and giving reasons for favouring my own metaphysical reading. In the second chapter I pursue the question ofjustice through an analysis ofHeidegger's interpretation ofNietzsche, in which I introduce the idea ofjustice as a metaphysical idea. I develop this in chapter three by tracing out the influence ofHeraclitus' conception ofjustice on the second Untimely Meditation. In chapter four I consider the alternative naturalistic account of justice through an engagement with Nietzsche's critique ofutilitarianism. The final two chapters ofthe thesis are concerned with the key idea ofself-overcoming, through which the relationship between life and justice is mediated. In chapter five I examine this in relation to the idea oflove in Thus Spoke Zarathustra and in chapter six I trace the connections between Nietzsche and Kant by offering a close reading ofthe third essay ofOn the Genealogy ofMorality. I return to the questions posed at the outset in my conclusion.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:487967 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Gillham, Simon |
| Publisher | University of Sussex |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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