Nietzsche on War

Sound Bite

In speaking about war, words matter. What would Nietzsche have said? Had Nietzsche directly focused his critical powers on the urgent questions concerning hostile, violent war, his interpretations of its destructive, corrosive nature would most likely have matched his critique of Christianity in substance and intensity.Prof. Peery offers new interpretations of NietzscheÃ??'s ideas regarding power, values, nature, contrariety, and language, truth and deception, religion, experience, sexuality and sexual politics. She quotes extensively from his major works and consults relevant works from the pre-Socratics to the current President of Harvard University, Drew G. Faust.

About the Book

The book offers new interpretations of Nietzsche's thinking -- considering especially his ideas regarding power, values, nature, contrariety, sexuality and sexual politics -- that could offer new and provocative approaches toward dealing with the rising menace of war. His breadth and depth of interests and his scholarly background make Nietzsche uniquely qualified to comment. The author quotes from many of Nietzsche's own writings and introduces selected earlier writers whom she believes would have influenced his own thinking on the subject of war, from Thomas Aquinas to Bachofen. Particularly as philosopher, psychologist, philologist and historian, Nietzsche's own words provide the immediate and best access to his thoughts. A thinker of Nietzsche's stature might contribute to the anguished debates rending society even today.