The first focused study of Nietzsche's Dawn, offering a close reading of the text by two of the leading scholars on the philosophy of Nietzsche Published in 1881, Dawn: Thoughts on the Presumptions of Morality represents a significant moment in the development of Nietzsche’s philosophy and his break with German philosophic thought. Though groundbreaking in many ways, Dawn remains the least studied of Nietzsche's work. In Nietzsche's Dawn: Philosophy, Ethics, and the Passion of Knowledge, authors Keith Ansell-Pearson and Rebecca Bamford present a thorough treatment of the second of Nietzsche’s so-called “free spirit” trilogy. This unique book explores Nietzsche’s philosophy at the time of Dawn's writing and discusses the modern relevance of themes such as fear, superstition, terror, and moral and religious fanaticism. The authors highlight Dawn's links with key areas of philosophical inquiry, such as "the art of living well," skepticism, and naturalism. The book begins by introducing Dawn and discussing how to read Nietzsche, his literary and philosophical influences, his relation to German philosophy, and his efforts to advance his "free spirit" philosophy. Subsequent discussions address a wide range of topics relevant to Dawn, including presumptions of customary morality, hatred of the self, free-minded thinking, and embracing science and the passion of knowledge. Providing a lively and imaginative engagement with Nietzsche's text, this book: Highlights the importance of an often-neglected text from Nietzsche's middle writings Examines Nietzsche's campaign against customary morality Discusses Nietzsche's responsiveness to key Enlightenment ideas Offers insights on Nietzsche's philosophical practice and influences Contextualizes a long-overlooked work by Nietzsche within the philosopher's life of writing Like no other book on the subject, Nietzsche's Dawn: Philosophy, Ethics, and the Passion of Knowledge is a must-read for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, instructors, and scholars in philosophy, as well as general readers with interest in Nietzsche, particularly his middle writings.

A new edition of this important work of Nietzsche's 'mature' philosophy.

The first focused study of Nietzsche's Dawn, offering a close reading of the text by two of the leading scholars on the philosophy of Nietzsche Published in 1881, Dawn: Thoughts on the Presumptions of Morality represents a significant moment in the development of Nietzsche’s philosophy and his break with German philosophic thought. Though groundbreaking in many ways, Dawn remains the least studied of Nietzsche's work. In Nietzsche's Dawn: Philosophy, Ethics, and the Passion of Knowledge, authors Keith Ansell-Pearson and Rebecca Bamford present a thorough treatment of the second of Nietzsche’s so-called “free spirit” trilogy. This unique book explores Nietzsche’s philosophy at the time of Dawn's writing and discusses the modern relevance of themes such as fear, superstition, terror, and moral and religious fanaticism. The authors highlight Dawn's links with key areas of philosophical inquiry, such as "the art of living well," skepticism, and naturalism. The book begins by introducing Dawn and discussing how to read Nietzsche, his literary and philosophical influences, his relation to German philosophy, and his efforts to advance his "free spirit" philosophy. Subsequent discussions address a wide range of topics relevant to Dawn, including presumptions of customary morality, hatred of the self, free-minded thinking, and embracing science and the passion of knowledge. Providing a lively and imaginative engagement with Nietzsche's text, this book: Highlights the importance of an often-neglected text from Nietzsche's middle writings Examines Nietzsche's campaign against customary morality Discusses Nietzsche's responsiveness to key Enlightenment ideas Offers insights on Nietzsche's philosophical practice and influences Contextualizes a long-overlooked work by Nietzsche within the philosopher's life of writing Like no other book on the subject, Nietzsche's Dawn: Philosophy, Ethics, and the Passion of Knowledge is a must-read for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, instructors, and scholars in philosophy, as well as general readers with interest in Nietzsche, particularly his middle writings.

This is an annotated English edition of all of Nietzsche's work. The book is a translation of the celebrated Kritische Studienausgabe in 15 Bänden (1980) edited by Giorgio Colli and Mazzino Montinari.

While much attention has been lavished on Friedrich Nietzsche’s earlier and later works, those of his so-called middle period have been generally neglected, perhaps because of their aphoristic style or perhaps because they are perceived to be inconsistent with the rest of his thought. With Nietzsche’s Enlightenment, Paul Franco gives this crucial section of Nietzsche’s oeuvre its due, offering a thoughtful analysis of the three works that make up the philosopher’s middle period: Human, All too Human; Daybreak; and The Gay Science. It is Nietzsche himself who suggests that these works are connected, saying that their “common goal is to erect a new image and ideal of the free spirit.” Franco argues that in their more favorable attitude toward reason, science, and the Enlightenment, these works mark a sharp departure from Nietzsche’s earlier, more romantic writings and differ in important ways from his later, more prophetic writings, beginning with Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The Nietzsche these works reveal is radically different from the popular image of him and even from the Nietzsche depicted in much of the secondary literature; they reveal a rational Nietzsche, one who preaches moderation instead of passionate excess and Dionysian frenzy. Franco concludes with a wide-ranging examination of Nietzsche’s later works, tracking not only how his outlook changes from the middle period to the later but also how his commitment to reason and intellectual honesty in his middle works continues to inform his final writings.

Throughout his writing career Nietzsche advocated the affirmation of earthly life as a way to counteract nihilism and asceticism. This volume takes stock of the complexities and wide-ranging perspectives that Nietzsche brings to bear on the problem of life’s becoming on Earth by engaging various interpretative paradigms reaching from existentialist to Darwinist readings of Nietzsche. In an age in which the biological sciences claim to have unlocked the deepest secrets and codes of life, the essays in this volume propose a more skeptical view. Life is both what is closest and what is furthest from us, because life experiments through us as much as we experiment with it, because life keeps our thinking and our habits always moving, in a state of recurring nomadism. Nietzsche’s philosophy is perhaps the clearest expression of the antinomy contained in the idea of “studying” life and in the Socratic ideal of an “examined” life and remains a deep source of wisdom about living.