Customer Reviews

Nietzsche: Naturalism and Interpretation

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I also disagree with the reviewer that left a negative review, who, apparently not having read Nietzsche himself, relies on the very appearance/reality distinction Nietzsche criticizes by denigrating Cox for deviating from "what Nietzsche actually said." Cox presents a compelling interpretation of Nietzsche in refreshingly clear prose. As he states in the forward, he came to Nietzsche through his reading of Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze and the like, and he seeks to explicate the interpretation of Nietzsche that guided the work of those post-structuralist thinkers. Cox explicitly shows how Derrida's concepts of differance and bricolage, Foucault's understanding of intepretation and genealogy, and Deleuze's notion of Chaosmos follow from ideas developed by Nietzsche. As I read this book in order to enhance my understanding of post-structuralism, I found these sections particularly helpful.

But Cox's analysis of Nietzsche is by no means limited to setting up connections with post-structuralist thought (in fact, this is a very minor portion of the book). Cox is primarily interested in developing a comprehensive account of Nietzsche's theory of knowledge. A current debate over Nietzsche concerns whether he is best conceived as a postmodernist or a modern naturalist. Cox argues that Nietzsche is effectively a postmodern naturalist (although, I don't think he ever uses the word "postmodern" in the book), and suggests how Nietzsche's "postmodernism" (or, theory of interpretation) and naturalism mutually inform each other.

If you're looking for a clear and thorough "postmodern" interpretation of Nietzsche's theory of knowledge, this is your book. Also check out "Nietzsche's Theory of Knowledge," which includes a thorough discussion of Will to Power and its relation to Nietzsche's epistemology. If you're looking for a more "modern" take on Nietzsche's epistemology, check out Maudemarie Clark's "Nietzsche on Truth and Philosophy" or Brian Leiter's "Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Nietzsche on Morality." But don't be so lame as to leave a postmodern scholar's work a negative review because you happen to be a modernist (and vice versa, for all you postmodernists out there).

Despite the previous reviewer's mixed-bag of criticism and unnecessary aspersions, I would have to disagree, and rate this book highly. I cannot, myself, put it any better than Peter Groff did, in The Journal of Nietzsche Studies 25 (2003) 100-102, when he described this book as, "clearly and elegantly written" and "a substantial and timely contribution to Nietzsche studies." I, too, found this book quite clear, and extraordinarily helpful in making sense of Nietzsche's thought, and situating it within the larger philosophical tradition. Anyone with an interest in Nietzsche would be well served by picking up a copy.