Nietzsche's Dawn: Philosophy, Ethics, and the Passion of Knowledge

✍ Scribed by Keith Ansell-Pearson, Rebecca Bamford

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 285
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The first focused study of Nietzsche's Dawn, offering a close reading of the text by two of the leading scholars on the philosophy of Nietzsche

Published in 1881, Dawn: Thoughts on the Presumptions of Morality represents a significant moment in the development of Nietzsche’s philosophy and his break with German philosophic thought. Though groundbreaking in many ways, Dawn remains the least studied of Nietzsche's work. In Nietzsche's Dawn: Philosophy, Ethics, and the Passion of Knowledge, authors Keith Ansell-Pearson and Rebecca Bamford present a thorough treatment of the second of Nietzsche’s so-called “free spirit” trilogy.

This unique book explores Nietzsche’s philosophy at the time of Dawn's writing and discusses the modern relevance of themes such as fear, superstition, terror, and moral and religious fanaticism. The authors highlight Dawn's links with key areas of philosophical inquiry, such as "the art of living well," skepticism, and naturalism. The book begins by introducing Dawn and discussing how to read Nietzsche, his literary and philosophical influences, his relation to German philosophy, and his efforts to advance his "free spirit" philosophy. Subsequent discussions address a wide range of topics relevant to Dawn, including presumptions of customary morality, hatred of the self, free-minded thinking, and embracing science and the passion of knowledge. Providing a lively and imaginative engagement with Nietzsche's text, this book:

• Highlights the importance of an often-neglected text from Nietzsche's middle writings
• Examines Nietzsche's campaign against customary morality
• Discusses Nietzsche's responsiveness to key Enlightenment ideas
• Offers insights on Nietzsche's philosophical practice and influences
• Contextualizes a long-overlooked work by Nietzsche within the philosopher's life of writing

Like no other book on the subject, Nietzsche's Dawn: Philosophy, Ethics, and the Passion of Knowledge is a must-read for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, instructors, and scholars in philosophy, as well as general readers with interest in Nietzsche, particularly his middle writings.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Acknowledgments
Editions of Nietzsche’s Writings Used with Abbreviations
Introduction
Notes
Chapter 1 From Human, All Too Human to Dawn
Nietzsche and the Art of the Aphorism
Nietzsche’s Break with Schopenhauer and Nietzsche’s Skepticism
The Moment of Dawn
Notes
Chapter 2 Nietzsche’s Campaign Against Morality
The Retrospective Campaign Against Morality
Nietzsche’s Original Campaign Against Morality
Problems with the Campaign Against Morality
Toward a Positive Ethics
Notes
Chapter 3 Nietzsche on Religion and Christianity
Nietzsche on Christianity in Dawn
Nietzsche on the First Christian
Notes
Chapter 4 Nietzsche, Mitleid, and Moral Imagination
Approaches to Nietzsche’s Engagement with Mitleid
Mood, Mitleid, and Customary Morality
The Critique of Mitleid and the Concept of Moral Imagination
Conclusion
Notes
Chapter 5 The German Enlightenment, Knowledge, and the Passion of Knowledge1
Notes
Chapter 6 Nietzsche on Subjectivity: Drives, Self, and the Possibility of Autonomy
Notes
Chapter 7 Nietzsche on Fanaticism, and the Care of the Self1
Self-care
Fanaticism
Nietzsche on Love and Friendship
Notes
Chapter 8 Nietzsche on Epicurus and Death
Notes
Chapter 9 Dawn and the Political
Notes
Chapter 10 Aeronauts of the Spirit: Dawn and Beyond
Notes
Appendix: Nietzsche’s Letters of 1881 — Concerning Dawn
February 9 to Gast
February to Gast
March 13 to Schmeitzner
March 18 to Overbeck
March 20 to Gast
March 30 to Gast
April 10 to Gast
April 10 to Elisabeth
June 23 to Gast
July 19 to Laban
Mid-July to Elisabeth
Index
EULA

✦ Subjects

Philosophy, Existentialism, Ethics