Nietzsche (Arguments of the Philosophers) [Paperback]

Richard Schacht (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415090717 | ISBN-13: 978-0415090711 | Publication Date: April 10, 1985 | Edition: Reprint

Few philosophers have been as widely misunderstood as Nietzsche. His detractors and followers alike have often fundamentally misinterpreted him, distorting his views and intentions and criticizing or celebrating him for reasons removed from the views he actually held. Now Nietzsche assesses his place in European thought, concentrating upon his writings in the last decade of his productive life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Original in presenting in English a balanced account of what Nietzsche's fairly steady view really was on such matters as the nature of truth and knowledge, theism, the will to power, morality, and in a valuable final chapter, on art.
From the reviews of the cloth edition:
–Times Higher Education Supplement

Schacht does an honest and thorough job of sorting out Nietzsche's thought and offering it for our inspection.
–Richard Rorty, Times Literary Supplement

This work represents a painstaking and serious attempt to understand Nietzsche which remains in close contact with the texts . . . This is certainly a volume that students of Nietzsche's thought and its practical ramifications must confront and be aware of.
–Gregory B. Smith, American Political Science Review

From the Publisher

This book is available either individually, or as part of the specially-priced Arguments of the Philosphers Collection. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 568 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; Reprint edition (April 10, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415090717
• ISBN-13: 978-0415090711
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,280,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Next Generation of Nietzsche Scholarship, January 4, 2001

By 

Zane Rogers (Blacksburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nietzsche (Arguments of the Philosophers) (Paperback)

Richard Schacht's "Nietzsche" represents the next generation of Nietzsche interpretation after Walter Kaufmann's groundbreaking study, "Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist." Schacht's book is far more philosophically sophisticated than was Kaufmann's. In it, Nietzsche gives surprising answers and new insights into the classical problems of philosophy (the theory of knowledge, metaphysics, value, morality, aesthetics, etc.). The book seems geared for a reader with some background in western philosophy, but not necessarily a background in Nietzsche. I have two criticisms: first, that Schacht's use of Nietzsche unpublished notebooks is unjustifiable and in many cases uncharitable. We should use the words Nietzsche himself decided to publish in determining his final views. The second criticism is that when Nietzsche is interpreted as an academic philosopher--as Schacht interprets him--we "lose the woods for the trees", so to speak, and are inclined to forget the Nietzsche that reminded us of our nihilistic predicament after the death of God, and that its remedy is in action, not words. Overall this book is essential for anyone interested in knowing how Nietzsche's mind came to bear on the classical problems of western philosophy.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Die Weltanschauung Nietzsches, April 5, 2006

By 

Erik Duncan (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nietzsche (Arguments of the Philosophers) (Paperback)

Perhaps you are a grad student or professor looking for a structural aid to your Nietzsche class, or perhaps your simply, like myself, someone very interested in Nietzsche studies; either way, i think that you should ask yourself before buying this book, is Nietzsche really so difficult to read? If your goal is to extract theses from broad Nietzschean themes, as this book sets out to do, the answer should be a resounding "no." Prima facie, Nietzsche is relatively simple. Moreover, it wouldn't take you much longer to read, or re-read, Nietzsche's entire oevre, than it would to read this dry, dense text. But, the selling point, the project and prospect of Schacht's book, is to reorient a confused and disjoint Neitzsche into a coherent systematic thinker. Nevermind, Nietzsche's disdain for empty formalism or his mocking criticisms of the grand hubris entailed by any "first philosophy." The best intentions of this book are undoubtedly in the Kaufmannian tradition of Nietzsche interpretation, but, unlike the case in Kaufmann's time, these days there is absolutley no need for such a plain-faced interpretation.

One book jacket quotation from a review claims that although some people may be put off by a less "high-flying" Nietsche interpretation, Schacht's Nietzsche, avoids leaving all the personal residue that those interpretations tend to mask Nietzsche in (i.e. Heidegger's, Deleuze's, Derrida's, Klossowski's, Jasper's, Bataille's, et al). My objection is simply that Schacht's Nietzsche, despite being more boring than the ones mentioned, is no closer to whatever "actual Nietzsche" we might imagine. To abstract the common theses of Nietzsche's writings, and amalgamate them into the context of some organized metaphysical system doesn't bring any us closer to an accurate Nietzsche reading than piecemealing Nietzsche ideas and incorporating them into a new philosophical stance. Both involve a recontextualization. The only difference between the two lies in that Schacht brings Nietzsche into a context in which he is more familiar to us, that of traditional systematic philosophical argumentation, and thus loses a great deal of Nietzsche that was singular to the history of philosophy.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview and commentary, May 10, 2004

By 

S. Callihan (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nietzsche (Arguments of the Philosophers) (Paperback)

I found this book to be an excellent overview and commentary on Nietzsche's thinking, ranking only behind Kaufmann's book on Nietzsche. Anyone wanting to gain insight into the real Nietzsche will not go wrong by starting with Kaufmann and Schacht, who I take to be the two most reliable guides to Nietzsche's thinking.