The recent English edition of Nietzsche, the Aristocratic Rebel has reopened the debate on the re-rereading of Nietzsche proposed by Domenico Losurdo in 2002. When dealing with the German philosopher, two opposite errors are to be avoided: interpreting him as directly paving the way for Nazism culturally, or making him athe prophet of ultra-individualism and anarcho-libertarianism whothat anticipates the postmodern turn. The point is to understand Nietzsche in his time and hence to proceed on the basis of a precise historical and political reconnaissance surveythat explains his reception and fortune. Following the line of research suggested by Arno J. Mayer and Charles Maier, this article challenges the idea of a Sonderweg that supposedly led German modernization inexorably to Nazism. It then defines the sociological and cultural characteristics of the aristocratic-bourgeois bloc that furnished the ruling classes of Europe between the late Nnineteenth century and the First World War. Finally, it shows how Nietzsche gave consummate expression to this bloc culturally and philosophically, in a (vain) attempt to rejuvenate its hegemony.
The Persistence of the Old Regime and its Culture: Friedrich Nietzsche and the Aristocratic-Bourgeois Bloc
AZZARA'
In corso di stampa
Abstract
The recent English edition of Nietzsche, the Aristocratic Rebel has reopened the debate on the re-rereading of Nietzsche proposed by Domenico Losurdo in 2002. When dealing with the German philosopher, two opposite errors are to be avoided: interpreting him as directly paving the way for Nazism culturally, or making him athe prophet of ultra-individualism and anarcho-libertarianism whothat anticipates the postmodern turn. The point is to understand Nietzsche in his time and hence to proceed on the basis of a precise historical and political reconnaissance surveythat explains his reception and fortune. Following the line of research suggested by Arno J. Mayer and Charles Maier, this article challenges the idea of a Sonderweg that supposedly led German modernization inexorably to Nazism. It then defines the sociological and cultural characteristics of the aristocratic-bourgeois bloc that furnished the ruling classes of Europe between the late Nnineteenth century and the First World War. Finally, it shows how Nietzsche gave consummate expression to this bloc culturally and philosophically, in a (vain) attempt to rejuvenate its hegemony.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
