Postmodernism's Use and Abuse of Nietzsche

Abstract

I focus on Nietzsche's architectural metaphor of self-construction in arguing for claim that postmodern readings of Nietzsche misunderstand his various attacks on dogmatic philosophy as paving way for acceptance of a self characterized by fundamental disunity. Nietzsche's attack on essentialist dogmatic metaphysics is a call to engage in a purposive self-creation under a unifying will, a will that possesses strength to reinterpret history as a pathway to the problem that we are. Nietzsche agrees with postmodernists that unity is not a pre-given, however he would disavow their rejection of unity as a goal. Where postmodernists celebrate the death of subject Nietzsche rejects this valorization of disunity as a form of Nihilism and prescribes creation of a genuine unified subjectivity to those few capable of such a goal. Postmodernists are nearer Nietzsche's idea of Last Man than his idea of Overman.Article