Nietzsche's Revaluation of All Values Joseph Anthony Kranak Marquette University
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Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects Nietzsche's Revaluation of All Values Joseph Anthony Kranak Marquette University Recommended Citation Kranak, Joseph Anthony, "Nietzsche's Revaluation of All Values" (2014). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 415. http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/415 NIETZSCHE’S REVALUATION OF ALL VALUES by Joseph Kranak A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin December 2014 ABSTRACT NIETZSCHE’S REVALUTION OF ALL VALUES Joseph Kranak Marquette University, 2014 This dissertation looks at the details of Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of the revaluation of all values. The dissertation will look at the idea in several ways to elucidate the depth and complexity of the idea. First, it will be looked at through its evolution, as it began as an idea early in Nietzsche’s career and reached its full complexity at the end of his career with the planned publication of his Revaluation of All Values, just before the onset of his madness. Several questions will be explored: What is the nature of the revaluator who is supposed to be instrumental in the process of revaluation? What will the values after the revaluation be like (a rebirth of ancient values or creation of entirely new values)? What will be the scope of the revaluation? And what is the relation of other major ideas of Nietzsche’s (will to power, eternal return, overman, and amor fati) to the revaluation? Different answers to these questions will be explored. Ultimately, the conclusion is that the revaluation is meant to be an imminent or near- contemporary event instituted by an extraordinary but realistic revaluator, who will transform the values of the whole of society after revaluation personal values by returning to ancient values as well as creating new values and that Nietzsche meant for many of his key ideas to have a revaluative role. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Joseph Kranak I would like to thank my wife and my family for all of their support through this process. I would like to my professors at Marquette who have helped and advised me. And I would like to thank my dissertation director, Dr. Javier Ibáñez-Noé, and the rest of my committee, Dr. Michael Monahan, Dr. Noel Adams, Dr. Andrew Tallon, and Rev. John D. Jones. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 Outline of the Revaluation .......................................................................................4 Some Further Questions About Revaluation ...........................................................6 History of Interpretation of Nietzsche’ Revaluation ..............................................11 Outline of the Present Work ..................................................................................15 On the Weight of Evidence ....................................................................................18 CHAPTER 1 BIOGRAPHY OF THE IDEA OF THE REVALUATION ........................21 Early Thoughts on Value and Revaluation ............................................................23 Critique of Truth ........................................................................................24 Nature of the Philosopher ..........................................................................30 Early Critique of Morality .........................................................................34 Conclusion .................................................................................................42 Revaluation in the Middle Works ..........................................................................43 Creating New Values .................................................................................44 “Revaluation” .............................................................................................49 Genealogical Critique ................................................................................52 Conclusion .................................................................................................57 Revaluation in the Late Works ..............................................................................58 Nihilism .....................................................................................................58 The Project of Revaluation ........................................................................63 Twilight of the Idols to Antichrist ..............................................................67 Conclusion .................................................................................................69 v CHAPTER 2 CHARACTER OF THE REVALUATOR AND VALUES AFTER THE REVALUATION ...............................................................................................................71 The Revaluator .......................................................................................................72 Genuine philosophers .................................................................................73 Critique of the Genuine Philosopher as Revaluator ...................................77 More Modest Models of the Revaluator ....................................................81 Nietzsche as Revaluator .............................................................................84 Values after the Revaluation ..................................................................................92 Ancient Values ...........................................................................................94 New Values ................................................................................................97 New and Ancient values ..........................................................................100 CHAPTER 3 TWO VERSIONS OF THE REVALUATION .........................................102 Revaluation as Society-wide ................................................................................105 Revaluation as Individual ....................................................................................108 Integration ............................................................................................................113 CHAPTER 4 IDEAS BEHIND THE REVALUATION .................................................119 Overman ...............................................................................................................121 Basic Summary ........................................................................................121 Its Role in Revaluation .............................................................................124 Eternal Return of the Same ..................................................................................127 Basic Summary ........................................................................................127 Its Role in Revaluation .............................................................................132 Amor Fati .............................................................................................................137 Basic Summary ........................................................................................137 Its Role in Revaluation .............................................................................138 vi Will to Power .......................................................................................................140 Basic Summary ........................................................................................140 Its Role in Revaluation .............................................................................142 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................146 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................147 1 INTRODUCTION There has been little emphasis on Friedrich Nietzsche’s idea of the revaluation of all values in the secondary literature on Nietzsche, yet the revaluation was probably the most important project of Nietzsche’s late writing. He spoke extensively of the revaluation throughout his published works and his notebooks and planned a work exclusively on the subject. He believed that the rise of nihilism in Europe was one of the main concerns of his day, and he saw the revaluation as the only antidote. He feared the rise of nihilism because he believed that the values of Europe had been for many centuries exclusively grounded in a belief in the Christian God. God defined for Europeans what was good and what was to be valued. But now that belief in God was in decline, Christianity was losing its influence, and, though the forms and rituals of Christianity might persist for a long time, that role of determining the thoughts and values of the Western world was in the past. God’s central influence over society admittedly had long been in decline, but now, in Nietzsche’s day, outright disbelief in God was dramatically on the rise and was starting to change the direction of society. The question was what would ground the values of Europeans absent God. A revaluation of all values was necessary so that new values independent of the old assumptions could be formed. If Nietzsche thinks we are to revaluate all values, this leads to a number of questions. For example, from what perspective do we question