T he doctrine of the eternal recurrence played a central role in the philosophy of Friedrich Niet... more T he doctrine of the eternal recurrence played a central role in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. While the doctrine’s centrality is indisputable, its function has been debated. It has been interpreted variously as a traditional piece of metaphysics on the one hand, and as a psychological test of the will’s commitment to a given action on the other. In this paper, I undertake an exposition of the role of the eternal recurrence in relation to certain key features of Nietzsche’s philosophy, such as the Overman and the will to power. I will argue that the psychological test interpretation is to be preferred above the metaphysical interpretation. While the metaphysical interpretation fails to harmonize with key features of Nietzsche’s philosophy, the psychological test interpretation harmonizes far better with them. The metaphysical interpretation is to be rejected because i) it fails to act as the “heaviest burden” that Nietzsche so heavily emphasizes, ii) its ultimately determin...
Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in relativism. Proponents have defended various... more Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in relativism. Proponents have defended various accounts that seek to model the truth-conditions of certain propositions along the lines of standard possible world semantics. The central challenge for such views has been to explain what advantage they have over contextualist theories with regard to the possibility of disagreement. I will press this worry against Max Kölbel's account of faultless disagreement. My case will proceed along two distinct but connected lines. First, I will argue that the sense of faultlessness made possible by his relativism conflicts with our intuitive understanding of disagreement. And second, that his metaepistemological commitments are at odds with the socio-epistemic function of disagreement. This latter problem for relativistic accounts of truth has thus far been largely ignored in the literature.
How ought we to make sense of the doctrine of eternal recurrence? First of all, it follows Nietzs... more How ought we to make sense of the doctrine of eternal recurrence? First of all, it follows Nietzsche’s attack on traditional morality, and is an answer to the question: What takes the place of immortality in a world in which God is Dead? But the doctrine is not meant to be a metaphysical hypothesis—such a thing would be at odds with Nietzsche’s thoughts on memory, choice, and the “laws” of nature. Nor is it dogmatic or like Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Rather, “eternal recurrence” is meant to help serve the powerful human who is not like the rest of society—the overman. We must defend the psychological test interpretation of the eternal recurrence, because it better harmonizes with Nietzsche’s body of work
Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in relativism. Proponents have defended various... more Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in relativism. Proponents have defended various accounts that seek to model the truth-conditions of certain propositions along the lines of standard possible world semantics. The central challenge for such views has been to explain what advantage they have over contextualist theories with regard to the possibility of disagreement. I will press this worry against Max Kölbel's account of faultless disagreement. My case will proceed along two distinct but connected lines. First, I will argue that the sense of faultlessness made possible by his relativism conflicts with our intuitive understanding of disagreement. And second, that his meta-epistemological commitments are at odds with the socio-epistemic function of disagreement. This latter problem for relativistic accounts of truth has thus far been largely ignored in the literature.
of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Dissertation supervised by Professor Harvey Siegel.... more of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Dissertation supervised by Professor Harvey Siegel. No. of pages in text. (240)
T he doctrine of the eternal recurrence played a central role in the philosophy of Friedrich Niet... more T he doctrine of the eternal recurrence played a central role in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. While the doctrine’s centrality is indisputable, its function has been debated. It has been interpreted variously as a traditional piece of metaphysics on the one hand, and as a psychological test of the will’s commitment to a given action on the other. In this paper, I undertake an exposition of the role of the eternal recurrence in relation to certain key features of Nietzsche’s philosophy, such as the Overman and the will to power. I will argue that the psychological test interpretation is to be preferred above the metaphysical interpretation. While the metaphysical interpretation fails to harmonize with key features of Nietzsche’s philosophy, the psychological test interpretation harmonizes far better with them. The metaphysical interpretation is to be rejected because i) it fails to act as the “heaviest burden” that Nietzsche so heavily emphasizes, ii) its ultimately determin...
Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in relativism. Proponents have defended various... more Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in relativism. Proponents have defended various accounts that seek to model the truth-conditions of certain propositions along the lines of standard possible world semantics. The central challenge for such views has been to explain what advantage they have over contextualist theories with regard to the possibility of disagreement. I will press this worry against Max Kölbel's account of faultless disagreement. My case will proceed along two distinct but connected lines. First, I will argue that the sense of faultlessness made possible by his relativism conflicts with our intuitive understanding of disagreement. And second, that his metaepistemological commitments are at odds with the socio-epistemic function of disagreement. This latter problem for relativistic accounts of truth has thus far been largely ignored in the literature.
How ought we to make sense of the doctrine of eternal recurrence? First of all, it follows Nietzs... more How ought we to make sense of the doctrine of eternal recurrence? First of all, it follows Nietzsche’s attack on traditional morality, and is an answer to the question: What takes the place of immortality in a world in which God is Dead? But the doctrine is not meant to be a metaphysical hypothesis—such a thing would be at odds with Nietzsche’s thoughts on memory, choice, and the “laws” of nature. Nor is it dogmatic or like Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Rather, “eternal recurrence” is meant to help serve the powerful human who is not like the rest of society—the overman. We must defend the psychological test interpretation of the eternal recurrence, because it better harmonizes with Nietzsche’s body of work
Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in relativism. Proponents have defended various... more Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in relativism. Proponents have defended various accounts that seek to model the truth-conditions of certain propositions along the lines of standard possible world semantics. The central challenge for such views has been to explain what advantage they have over contextualist theories with regard to the possibility of disagreement. I will press this worry against Max Kölbel's account of faultless disagreement. My case will proceed along two distinct but connected lines. First, I will argue that the sense of faultlessness made possible by his relativism conflicts with our intuitive understanding of disagreement. And second, that his meta-epistemological commitments are at odds with the socio-epistemic function of disagreement. This latter problem for relativistic accounts of truth has thus far been largely ignored in the literature.
of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Dissertation supervised by Professor Harvey Siegel.... more of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Dissertation supervised by Professor Harvey Siegel. No. of pages in text. (240)
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