Nietzsche as a Critic of Genealogical Debunking

Making Room for Naturalism without Subversion

Bibliographic Data

ID8069321
AuthorsMatthieu Queloz (0000-0001-6644-9992, University of Basel, corresponding author), Damian Cueni (0000-0002-6117-0949, University of Zurich)
Year2019
Volume102
Issue3
Pages277-297
Publication date2019-03-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Monist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-9662 • E-ISSN: 2153-3601
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/monist/onz010
OpenAlexW2898786653
LanguageEN
Citations received23
References cited42

This paper argues that Nietzsche is a critic of just the kind of genealogical debunking he is popularly associated with. We begin by showing that interpretations of Nietzsche which see him as engaging in genealogical debunking turn him into an advocate of nihilism, for on his own premises, any truthful genealogical inquiry into our values is going to uncover what most of his contemporaries deem objectionable origins and thus license global genealogical debunking. To escape nihilism and make room for naturalism without indiscriminate subversion, we then argue, Nietzsche targets the way of thinking about values that permits genealogical debunking: far from trying to subvert values simply by uncovering their origins, Nietzsche is actively criticizing genealogical debunking thus understood. Finally, we draw out the consequences of our reading for Nietzsche’s positive vision

Consciousness · Epistemology · Linguistics · Naturalism · Nihilism · Reading (process · Subversion · Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and Hegel · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism · Law · Philosophy

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