Gemes, K.B. (2017) Nietzsche: this time it's personal. In: Hetherington, S. (ed.) What Makes a Philosopher Great? Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781138936164.
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Abstract
I argue that Nietzsche is totally unique amongst the great philosophers in that he is the only one to mount a sustained critique of the categorical value of truth. For all other major philosophers it is largely unquestioned that truth and the pursuit of truth are of ultimate value. Specifically Nietzsche provides a perspective which allows us to see how the value of truth might be brought in to question. Basically the idea is this: For life to be bearable we need certain illusions; for instance the illusions of morality. Life stripped of all illusions becomes meaningless. Interestingly, Nietzsche argues that one of the longest running illusions that has helped provide meaning to life is the illusion that truth is of ultimate value. This is an illusion that is only now, partially, through Nietzsche’s own work, is coming into question. Nietzsche deserves to be ranked among the foremost philosophers because he is the only philosopher to maintain a sustained critique of all other philosophers’ ultimate value: truth.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies |
| Depositing User: | Ken Gemes |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Jan 2020 09:29 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:54 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/29164 |
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