Nietzsche's Philosophy of Art [Paperback]

This is a clear and lucid account of Nietzsche's philosophy of art.Arguing that Nietzsche's thoughts about art can only be understood in the context of his broader philosophy, this study discusses the dramatic changes in Nietzschean aesthetics against the background of the celebrated themes of the death of God, eternal recurrence and the idea of the Ubermensch.Arguing that Nietzsche's thoughts about art can only be understood in the context of his broader philosophy, this study discusses the dramatic changes in Nietzschean aesthetics against the background of the celebrated themes of the death of God, eternal recurrence and the idea of the Ubermensch.This is the first comprehensive treatment of Nietzsche's philosophy of art to appear in English. Julian Young argues that Nietzsche's thought about art can only be understood in the context of his wider philosophy. In particular, he discusses the dramatic changes in Nietzschean aesthetics against the background of the celebrated themes of the death of God, eternal recurrence, and the idea of the Ubermensch. Young then divides Nietzsche's career, and his philosophy of art, into four distinct phases, but suggests that these phases describe a circle. An attempt at world-affirmation is made in the central phases, but Nietzsche is predominantly influenced at the beginning and end of his career by a Schopenhauerian pessimism. At the beginning and end art is important because it redeems us from life.Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Schopenhauer; 2. The birth of tragedy; 3. Human, all-too-human; 4. The gay science; 5. Twilight of the idols; Epilogue; Notes; Texts and translations; Index. Young has written a mature piece of scholarship that anchors Nietzsche's philosophy of art in Schopenhauerian pessimism...The author is intimately acquainted with Nietzsche's oeuvre and puts this detailed knowledge of Nietzsche's general philosophy to work in an intriguing, cogent, and comprehensive analysis of NielSÎ