New Nietzsche: Contemporary Styles of Interpretation [Paperback]

David Allison (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 1985 | ISBN-10: 0262510340 | ISBN-13: 978-0262510349 | Edition: 1

The New Nietzsche offers an important sampling of the rereadings of Friedrich Nietzche's work that have contributed greatly to the development of contemporary European philosophy.The fifteen essays, written by such eminent scholars as Derrida, Heidegger, Deleuze, Klossowski, and Blanchot, focus on the Nietzschean concepts of the Will to Power, the Overman, and the Eternal Return, discuss Nietzsche's style, and deal with the religious implications of his ideas. Taken together they provide an indispensable foil to the interpretations available in most current American writing.Contents: "Nietzsche and Metaphysical Language," Michel Haar; "The Will to Power," Alphonso Lingis; "Who is Nietzsches Zarathustra?" Martin Heidegger; "Active and Reactive," Gilles Deleuze; "Nietzsche's Experience of the Eternal Return," Pierre Klossowski; "The Limits of Experience: Nihilism," Maurice Blanchot; "Nietzsche's Conception of Chaos," Jean Granier; "Nomad Thought," Gilles Deleuze; "Nietzsche: Life as Metaphor," Eric Blondel; "The Question of Style," Jacques Derrida; "Perspectivism and Interpretation," Jean Granier; "Metaphor, Symbol, Metamorphosis," Sarah Kofman; "Beatitude in Nietzsche," Henri Birault; "Eternal Recurrence and Kingdom of God," Thomas J. J. Altizer; "Dionysus versus the Crucified," Paul Valadier.David B. Allison is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

Product Details

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1 edition (April 2, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262510340
• ISBN-13: 978-0262510349
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Note on the Impact of this Important Book and the Milieux in which it First Appeared, December 20, 2010

By 

Joseph Martin "pomonomo2003" (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Nietzsche: Contemporary Styles of Interpretation (Paperback)

Today, after the rise of postmodernism and the never-ending expansion of theory in the academy, it sometimes seems as if there are innumerable interpretations of Nietzsche. But it was not always thus. Generally speaking, way back in the sixties and early seventies, those of us who read Nietzsche seriously were influenced by only a handful of interpreters (the 'Nietzsche Interpretation Industry' as we know it today had yet to rise); mostly, the staid existentialism of Karl Jaspers ("Nietzsche: An Introduction to the Understanding of His Philosophical Activity"), the sobriety of Walter Kaufmann ("Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist"), or the analytically minded work ("Nietzsche As Philosopher") of Arthur Danto. For us, this anthology carried the force of revelation! Today, postmodernism may almost seem old-fashioned, if not yet quaint; but back then Deleuze, Derrida, Klossowski and Kofman were quite new to most of us - and, to be completely honest, most of us barely had any knowledge of Heidegger himself!

Oh yes, of Heidegger's view of Nietzsche there was certainly no end to intimations and rumors; but remember, his epoch-making lectures on Nietzsche had yet to appear in English. Heidegger's "Nietzsche" first appeared (again, in English) as four hardcover volumes that were published separately, if memory serves, throughout the early 1980's. The paperback anthology that we are here reviewing first appeared in 1977. Indeed, I believe that even Heidegger's seminal essay, "The word of Nietzsche: 'God is dead'", only first appeared (in translation) that very same year, in the collection of Heidegger's essays titled "The Question Concerning Technology, and Other Essays".

Now, all these essays in this Nietzsche anthology before us can, to greater or lesser degree, be considered part of the post-Heidegger Nietzsche response. That is to say, they are postmodern. But it would not be correct to say that this book is merely dated. Three contributors appear here who, I believe, still have not had any book translated into English: Jean Granier, Henri Birault, and Paul Valadier. Of these last, I found Jean Granier especially interesting, and if you haven't seen his work I would recommend this collection for his two essays alone.

Looking back, there are only two authors who I am surprised to find missing from this superb collection. The first is Georges Bataille. Like Heidegger, his work was formative to many of the contributors to this volume. His book on Nietzsche ("Sur Nietzsche, volunte de chance") first appeared in the forties. I think it would have been useful if an excerpt from it had appeared in this volume. (Of course, Bataille's book now appears in English as "On Nietzsche".) The other surprising omission is the two great Nietzsche essays ('Nietzsche, Freud, Marx' and 'Nietzsche, Genealogy, History') of Michel Foucault. This strong collection of essays that we are here reviewing would've been improved by the inclusion of either of these essays by Foucault. Fortunately, both of these essays have been collected in the anthology, "Aesthetics, Method, and Epistemology: Essential Works of Foucault, 1954- 1984". The first essay contains his famous ruminations on these three 'Masters of Suspicion', while the second nicely demonstrates the difference between Nietzsche and Foucault's understanding of genealogy. The difference, I believe, boils down to the difference between psychology and history...

Now, since we are looking at the reception of this book back in the seventies, there are several important authors whose books were available, but, to my embarrassment, I had yet to encounter any of them at that time. More knowledgeable readers would have already read them. Of these, I would venture that the most important are Karl Löwith and Joan Stambaugh. Löwith's book, "From Hegel to Nietzsche", had appeared in English in the sixties and it gives us a first-rate discussion of the transformations philosophy endured in the nineteenth century. Joan Stambaugh's briiliant book, "Nietzsche's Thought of the Eternal Return", appeared here in the early seventies but, disgaracefully, I only became aware of it in the new millenium. Both of these authors were also very aware of Heidegger.

The table of contents for the 1977 first edition of this book (which I have in front of me) is as follows:

Preface, ix;
Introduction, xi;

Part I. Main Themes, 1;

Nietzsche and Metaphysical Language, Michel Haar, 5;
The Will to Power, Alphonso Lingis, 37;
Who is Nietzsche's Zarathustra?, Martin Heidegger, 64;
Active and Reactive, Gilles Deleuze, 80;
Nietzsche's Experience of the Eternal Return, Pierre Klossowski, 107;
The Limits of Experience: Nihilism, Maurice Blanchot, 121;

Part II. Oblique Entry, 129;

Neitzsche's Conception of Chaos, Jean Granier, 135;
Nomad Thought, Gilles Deleuze, 142;
Nietzsche: Life as Metaphor, Eric Blondel, 150;
The Question of Style, Jacques Derrida, 176;
Perspectivism and Interpretation, Jean Granier, 190;
Metaphor, Symbol, Metamorphosis, Sarah Kofman, 201;

Part III. Transfiguration, 215;

Beatitude in Nietzsche, Henri Birault, 219;
Eternal Recurrence and Kingdom of God, Thomas J.J. Altizer, 232;
Dionysus versus the Crucified, Paul Valadier, 247;

Select Bibliography, 263;
Notes on Contributors, 265;
Index, 267;

Of course, some of these authors have become quite famous, or, if you prefer, notorious, over the subsequent decades. Heidegger, Deleuze, and Derrida all went on to become virtual 'rock stars' even in the Anglo-American philosophical world. I believe that of the above translated essays, only the ones by Heidegger and Derrida had appeared earlier in English translation. Other contributors who were especially important to me were Klossowski, Kofman and Blondel. Perhaps a few words on them will be in order because everyone and her brother has read Heidegger, Deleuze, and Derrida.

Klossowski's contribution was excerpted from his book, "Nietzsche et le Cercle Vicieux", 1969. Much later this book was translated as, "Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle". The essay in this anthology before us is intelligent; he presents a very coherent and compelling understanding of Eternal Return.
"What is at first sight the most crushing pronouncement -namely, the endless recommencement of the same acts, the same sufferings- henceforth appears as redemption itself, as soon as the soul knows that it has already lived through other selves and experiences and thus is destined to live through even more. Those other selves and experiences will henceforth deepen and enrich the only life that it knows here and now. What has prepared this present life and what now prepares it in turn for still others remains itself totally unsuspected by consciousness. (p. 117.)"
Heraclitus said that you cannot step into the same river twice. Nietzsche, as here interpreted by Klossowski, seemingly claims that you cannot even (perhaps more clearly, 'should not') really remain yourself from one step to the next! However, it was the 6th chapter ('The Vicious Circle as a Selective Doctrine') of his book that I found to be most profound. "As Nietzsche's thought unfolded, it abandoned the strictly speculative realm in order to adopt, if not simulate, the preliminary elements of a conspiracy", we read in the Introduction to Klossowski's book. This 'esoteric' conspiracy is compellingly alluded to, even adhered to, but also avoided in the amazing sixth chapter. I strongly recommend reading the book after reading the essay.

Another contributor to the famous collection of essays called the `New Nietzsche' was Eric Blondel. The essay in this anthology is a translation of, "Nietzsche, la vie et la métaphore". Later, Blondel would write a book "Nietzsche: le corps et la culture" that also would find its way into English. The essay in our anthology, as well as the book, is very good. One might describe his position as a 'semi-postmodern' discussion of the intersection of body and culture in the texts of Nietzsche that is quite informative. What I especially liked about his book was that he not only sets himself against `systemizers' who wish to find in (or give to) Nietzsche a Logos (like, I suppose, Heidegger) but also those interpretations, like those of (I think) Derrida and perhaps even Kofman, where "under the pretext of `textuality' the text found itself desubstantialized or rather deprived of substance. (p. 9 "Nietzsche: the Body and Culture".)" Instead of words, images and metaphors merely referring to themselves, endlessly over and over again (the typical postmodern gesture!), Blondel argues that, "in Nietzsche images are interpretations of something, metaphors of the body. (op. cit., p. 10)" ...Imagine that; Nietzsche is actually speaking of something! Who knew!?! I have always found Blondel's combination of psychological and cultural analysis with philosophical interpretation superb. After the essay in this collection, also have a look at his book. He deserves to be read more often.

Now to the last of the three contributors that I wanted to here mention, Sarah Kofman. She has another important postmodern understanding of Nietzsche. (On a side note I have been looking for a copy of the translation of her well-regarded 'Explosion' -a commentary on Nietzsche's "Ecce Homo"- for several years and I am still looking for it.) Among the contributors to this important collection her work ('Nietzsche and Metaphor') on Nietzsche has been unfairly neglected by most readers in the Anglo-Saxon world. It seems that here she is much better known for her work on feminism and psychoanalysis and also the Holocaust. Often thought of as a `Derridean' because of an abiding interest in metaphor and... Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable, September 5, 2007

By 

John Kress (Arnold, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Nietzsche: Contemporary Styles of Interpretation (Paperback)

Thirty years after its original publication, this little book remains by far the finest anthology of essays on Nietzsche, and is indispensable for all serious students of Nietzsche. What is most striking is the uniform level of excellence in the essays included here -- not one of them is less than excellent, and several are seminal for the interpretation of Nietzsche.

The previous reviewer mentioned the absence of Sarah Kofman, but one of her essays is included. The only absence that I regret is Karl Lowith, who may not quite be contemporary (in 1977), but whose book is about the same time as Heidegger's famous Nietzsche lectures (although not their publication). In 2007, the appearance of the word "contemporary" in the title -- or for that matter talk of the "new" Nietzsche -- seems a little dated, but there is nothing dated about the content, and I recommend this book very highly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reinterpreting Nietzsche, August 8, 2007

By 

The Windhover "Reader New York" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Nietzsche: Contemporary Styles of Interpretation (Paperback)

This book is an indispensable guide to the reinterpretation of Nietzsche, which began with Heidegger's multi-volume study in mid 20th century. This reinterpretation was continued by (mostly) French commentators who, by examining Nietzsche's writings from a predominately post-structuralist view, rescued him from prior accusations of proto-Naziism or dismissal as a madman. The present book gives an excellent cross section of Nietzsche scholarship by authors such as Heidegger, Derrida, Deleuze, Klossowski (whose magnum opus "Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle" was not available in English at that time), Blondel and Lingis. (A notable absence is Sarah Kofman.) As an introduction to the work of these reinterpreters of Nietzsche, this book is highly recommended.