Man and World Volume 7 Issue 4 1974 [Doi 10.1007_bf01246815] Laurence Lampert -- Heidegger's Nietzsche Interpretation

8/12/2019 Man and World Volume 7 Issue 4 1974 [Doi 10.1007_bf01246815] Laurence Lampert -- Heidegger's Nietzsche Inter

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L A U R E N C E L A M P E R TIndiana University~Purdue University Indianapolis

H E I D E G G E R ' S N I E T Z S C H E I N T E R P R E T A T I O N

H e i de gge r ha s de vo t e d ove r 1400 pa ge s o f pub l i s he d w or k t o a n i n t e r p r e t a -t ion o f N i e t z s c he a nd t he r e e m e r ge s f r om h i s pa ge s a N i e t z s c he qu i te un l i kea ny yet e nc oun t e r e d e i t he r i n N i e t z s c he 's ow n i n t e r p r e t a t ion o f h i m s e l f o r i nthe in te rpre ta t ions of o the rs . Here Nie tzsche appears a s a me taphys ic iane ve n t hough he s c o r ne d m e t a phys i c s , a s a P l a t on i s t e ve n t hough he t hough tof h imse l f a s the an t i -P la ton i s t , a s a n ih i l i s t even though he sa id he overcamen i h il is m . H e r e is a N i e tz s c he w ho ne ve r s a id i n p r i n t w ha t he r e a l ly t hough ta f t e r Zarathustra w hos e r e a l ph i l o s oph i c a l pos i t i on m us t be p i e c e d t oge t he rf r om t he m u l t i t ude o f no t e s he ne ve r pub l i s he d . H e r e i s a N i e t z s c he w ho i sa des t in y bu t no t in the sense tha t Nie tzsch e m ean t i t i n E c c e H o m o ;Nie tzsche i s a des t iny who has to be overcome because he exempl i f i e s theve r y cu l tu r a l t r a d it ion he t hough t he w a s s u r m oun t i ng . N i e t z s c he l ong f e a r e dt ha t he w ou l d be m i s unde r s t ood , t ha t he w ou l d be t a ke n f o r s om e one e l s e ,as he says in E c ce H o m o . A c c or d i ng t o H e i de gge r , N i e tz s c he ha d good r e a sont o f e a r , f o r N i e t z s c he h i m s e l f ha d m i s unde r s t ood w h o he w a s . 1W hi l e H e i de gge r c l e a r l y t h i nks N i e t z s c he i s a ph i l o s ophe r w ho m e r i t sc lo s e s tudy , he w ou l d no t ha ve u s be ha s ty i n ou r r e a d i ng o f N i e t z s c he :H e i de gge r a dv i s e s t ha t be f o r e s t udy i ng N i e t z s c he one s hou l d s pe nd 10 - 15years s tudying Ar i s to t l e . One would no t o rd ina r i ly th ink of Ar i s to t l e a s ap r o l e gom e non t o N i e t z s c he bu t ne i t he r w ou l d one o r d i na r i l y t h i nk o fNie tzsche as a P la ton i s t . Evident ly the Nie tzsche for which we need spec ia lp r e pa r a t i on i s H e i de gge r ' s N i e t z s c he , t he i nd i s pe ns a b l e i ng r e d i e n t be i ng ap r i o r know l e dge o f H e i de gge r , no t A r i s t o t l e . Cons e que n t l y i t i s e xpe d i e n tt o be g i n t h i s a c c oun t o f H e i de gge r ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i on o f N i e t z s c he w i t h s om ei nd i c a t i on o f H e i de gge r ' s ge ne r a l a pp r oa c h . F o r t h i s , t w o b r i e f quo t a t i onsf r o m N i e t z sc he h i m s e l f w i l l be he l p f u l . F i r s t :

Histor ia abscondi ta. E ve r y g r e a t hum a n be i ng ha s a r e t r oa c t i ve f o r c e : a l lhis tory is again placed in the scales for his sake, and a thousand secre ts oft he pa s t c r a w l ou t o f t he i r h i de ou t s - - i n to his sun. 2In i t s b roades t s cope , He idegger ' s work i s a reva lua t ion of Wes te rn h i s tory

a nd e xpe r ie nc e . I t ha s a r e tr oa c ti ve fo r c e i n t ha t t he pa s t, w h e n v i e w e d f r o mH e i de gge r ' s pe r s pe c t i ve , be c om e s w ha t i t w a s ne ve r s e e n t o be be f o r e . H e i -353


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L A U R E N C E L A M P E R Two r th m ent ioning . 5 Th is i s no t a rgued ; these fac tor s a re s imply igno red .Fur the rmore , on ly se lec ted pa r t s of Nie tzsche ' s thought a re d iscussed byHe idegge r . O m it ted a re such ins is ten t concerns of Nie tzsche as the genea logyof m orals an d the a t tack o a Chris t iani ty. Again, i t is not argu ed, i t is s im plyto be unders tood tha t such mat te r s a re pe r iphera l to Nie tzsche ' s r ea l ta sk ,the ta sk which remained a sec re t to Nie tzsche h imse l f . By thus omi t t ingma ny ma t t e r s a nd h igh l igh t ing o the r s , He ide gge r me a ns to po r t r a y theessentia l f igure o f Nie tzsche . T he pr inc ip le o f se lec tion i s c lea r ly wh a t H e i -de gge r h imse l f t h inks i s impor t a n t i n N ie t z sc he a nd no t wha t N ie t z sc heth inks : f o r H e ide gge r t he e s se n ti a l N ie t z sc he is no t f ou nd in D ionysusve rsus t he C r uc i f i ed - - t he s igna tu r e w i th wh ic h N ie t z sc he e nds EcceH om o

W ha t is t he p r inc ip l e o f s e l ec t ion tha t is a t wo r k he r e ? He ide g ge r ' sde t e r mina t ion o f wha t i s impor t a n t a nd wha t un impor t a n t i n N ie t z sc hef o l lows f r om h is judgm e n t tha t N ie t z sc he is a t h ink e r . W hi l e t he c r it e ri afor inc lus ion in the l i s t o f th inkers (or for exc lus ion the re f rom) a re fa rf ro m c lear , i t i s never the less ev ident tha t for H e ideg ger the th ink er occupiesa spec ia l sphere and fu l f i l l s a un ique ta sk . He idegger in te rpre ts Nie tzschethe way he in te rpre ts a l l th inkers . I f h i s spec i f ic counse l r ega rd ing the wayto in te rpre t th inkers i s somet imes myste r ious6 there is, n ever theless , no realmyste ry about i t s genera l f ea tures , which a re exempl i f ied t ime and aga inin H e ideg ger ' s ow n analyses . I t i s concerned wi th the two th ings tha t m arkthe thinker . Firs t , the thinker ref lec ts upon and expresses the most basicfea tures of man 's be ing and man 's r e la t ionship to the to ta l i ty of be ings .Second, the th ink er s ignals a s tage in the un fo ld ing h is tory of man 's w ayof tak ing h imse l f in h is encounte r wi th be ings as a whole , tha t i s , theth inke r i s l oc a t e d in a t r a d i t i on f r om wh ic h he d r a ws a nd to wh ic h hecont r ibu tes . The ins ights of the th inker a re no t a rb i t r a ry or acc identa l ; theydisc lose the way th ings a re ; they d isc lose the be ing of man and the be ingof be ings? The cons is ten t theme of a l l o f He idegger ' s ana lyses of th inkersi s : jus t how is man 's be ing unders tood in re la t ion to the to ta l i ty of be ingswhich he encounte r s ? and the complex answer to th is ques t ion re fe r s con-s tan t ly to a t r ad i t iona l contex t of an a l ready de te rmined s tandpoin t which i sc l a ri fi e d , mod i f i e d a nd a dva nc e d by the t h inke r u nde r c ons ide r at ion .

W i th the se ma r ks o f t he t h inke r i n m ind we c a n per c e ive imm e d ia te ly t hespec i f ic l imi ts of H e ideg ger ' s concern w i th Nie tzsche . Th a t concern i s l imi tedto three themes :356


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H E I D E G G E R ' S N I E T Z S C H E I N T E R P R E T A T I O N1. Nie tzsche ' s ins ight in to the be ing of man and the be ing of be ings .2 . Th e re la t ion of cont inu i ty and advan ce tha t ob ta ins be tween Nie tzsche ' s

ins ights and the phi losophica l t r ad i t ion he inher it s , howev er unkn ow ingly .3 . Th e re la t ion be tween Nie tzsche ' s ins ights and the con temp ora ry wor ld .These three themes a re bas ic . The res t o f th is paper wi l l r e fe r to them

regula r ly and a t tempt to c la r i fy each of them.R e ga r d ing 1 : He id e gge r m a in ta in s tha t N ie t z sche ' s ma tu r e tho ugh t i s

fundamenta l ly me taphys ica l ; tha t i s , i t i s concerned pr imar i ly wi th be ing ,wi th the be ing of m an and the be in g of be ings as a who le . He ide gg er iso la tesand d iscusses the main doc t r ines - - wi l l to power , e te rna l r ecur rence , n i -h i l ism, superm an, G od i s dead , t ru th , r eveng e - - and a t tempts to show tha tthey a re a l l express ions of Nie tzsche ' s v iew of the be ing of be ings . ForHeidegger , Nie tzsche ' s ma ture thought i s r igorous and cons is ten t in i t sa t t e mp t to r e th ink the f unda me n ta l que s t ions o f be ing , a nd He ide gge ra t tempts to present a fa i thfu l expl ica t ion of Nie tzsche ' s cen t ra l doc t r ines . I ti s impor tan t to recognize tha t th is a spec t of He idegger ' s in te rpre ta t ion re -quires o nly a careful exegesis of N ietzsch e 's texts . O f cou rse this task ist reacherous enough as the myr iad of conf l ic t ing exegeses of Nie tzsche te s -t i f ie s . He idegger ' s expl ica t ion ought to be kept separa te f rom the o the rthe me s o f h i s i n t e r p r e t a t ion . W hi l e t he o the r two the me s a r e de pe nde n t onthe leg i timacy of the exegesis, the reve rse i s no t t rue ; w ha tever the s tand ingof the o the r two themes they cannot conf i rm or impugn the exeges is a s such .There fore , in the subsequent d iscuss ion of pa r t icu la r doc t r ines , I wi l l keepHeidegger ' s expl ica t ion of the doc t r ines separa te f rom the o the r two themesof h is in te rpre ta t ion .

Regard ing 2 : I t i s he re tha t He idegger ' s in te rpre ta t ion sounds s t ranges t .Nie tzsche ' s own v iew of h is ta sk and h is success was tha t he had thoughtthrou gh the ru ins of the P la tonic -Chr is tian fab le and em erged a f f i rma-t ive ly beyond i t . But He idegger ma in ta ins tha t whi le Nie tzsche has indeedreversed P la tonism as he und ers tood i t ( th e sens ib le wo r ld becomes the t rueand the supersens ib le the ap parent w or ld '8 ) th is understandil~g of P la tonismis super f ic ia l. 9 He ideg ger agrees w i th Nie tzsch e on the bas ic m a t t e r : a l lp rev ious phi losophy i s governed by P la tonism and wha t i s needed i s theovercom ing of P la tonism. Bu t He id egg er ho lds tha t in tak ing the essenceof P la tonism to be the d is t inc t ion be tween the t rue and apparent wor ldsNie tzsche fa i led to reach the essence of P la tonism. He idegger h imse l fa t tempts to ca r ry out the program Nie tzsche in i t ia ted - - the reve rsa l o f

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& A U R E N C E L A M P E R TP l a t o n i s m - - a n d h e h o l d s t h a t h e i s i n a b e t t e r p o s i t i o n t o d o t h i s t h a nN i e t z s c h e w a s : h e u n d e r s t a n d s w h a t P l a t o n i s m is . A r m e d w i t h t h is u n d e r -s t a n d i n g H e i d e g g e r c a n s e e t h a t N i e t z s c h e h i m s e l f h a s f al l e n p r e y to P l a -t o n i s m , a n d n o t j u s t i n a n i n c i d e n t a l a n d o c c a s io n a l m a n n e r ; N i e t z s c h e ' st h i n k i n g r e p r e s e n ts a n a lm o s t u n h u m a n a ll e g ia n c e t o t h e m o s t h i d d e nh i s t o r y o f t h e W e s t ' '1 ~ - - t h a t i s , t o P l a t o n i s m .

R e g a r d i n g 3 : I t is h e r e t h a t H e i d e g g e r ' s in t e r p r e t a ti o n s o u n d s b o l d e s t.H e i d e g g e r m a i n t a i n s t h a t N i e t z s c h e i s a d e s t i n y b e c a u s e h i s c e n t r a l d o c t r i n e sw h i c h f u l f i l l t h e m e t a p h y s i c a l tr a d i t i o n a l s o d i s cl o s e t h e t r u t h a b o u t t h eb e i n g o f m a n a n d t h i n g s i n t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y w o r l d . 11 T o u n d e r s t a n dN i e t z s c h e i s t o u n d e r s t a n d o u r s el v e s a n d t o r e c o g n iz e o u r u s u a l ly u n r e c o g -n i z e d s ta n c e t o w a r d o u r s el v e s a n d o u r w o r l d . A c c o r d i n g l y H e i d e g g e r n o to n l y a t t e m p t s t o s t a t e w h a t N i e t z s c h e t h o u g h t a n d t o r e l a t e t h a t t o t h ep h i l o s o p h i c a l t ra d i ti o n , h e a t t e m p t s t o s h o w t h a t w h a t N i e t z s c h e s a id i n h isc e n t r a l d o c t r i n e s i s t r u e . T h e s e d o c t r i n e s a r e t r u e i n t h e s e n s e t h a t t h e yh a v e become t r u e , n o t i n t h e s e n s e t h a t N i e t z s c h e h i m s e l f m e a n t w h e n h es a i d o f w i l l t o p o w e r t h a t w h i l e i t i s a n i n n o v a t i o n a s a t h e o r y - - a s ar e a l it y i t i s t h e p r i m o r d i a l f a c t o f a l l h i s t o ry . ' ' ~ F o r H e i d e g g e r t h e s e d o c t r in e sa r e st a te m e n t s a b o u t t h e w a y t h i n g s a r e in t h e p r e s en t . T h i s j u d g m e n t i sq u i t e in d e p e n d e n t o f a n y n o t i o n o f N i e t z s c h e ' s i n fl u e n c e , a n d H e i d e g g e rn e v e r b o t h e r s t o c h r o n ic l e s u c h i n fl u e n c e . H e i d e g g e r ' s r e l a ti v i s m i s f a r f r o mt h e v i e w th a t a p h i l o s o p h i c a l p o s i t i o n b e c o m e s t r u e b e c a u se i t i s r e g a r d e da s tr u e . xa H e i d e g g e r h o l d s t h a t N i e t z s c h e ' s d o c t r i n e s a r e t r u e b e c a u s e t h e yf a i t h f u l l y d e s c ri b e m a n ' s w a y o f b e i n g i n t h e p r e se n t . H i s h i s to r ic a l r e l a ti v i smi s e x p r e s s e d i n h i s j u d g m e n t t h a t i t h a s n o t a l w a y s b e e n s o .

T o u n d e r s t a n d m o r e s p e c if ic a ll y h o w t h e se c o n s id e r a ti o n s a r e a p p l i e d t oN i e t z s c h e I w i l l d i sc u ss tw o d o c t ri n e s a s i n t e r p r e te d b y H e i d e g g e r - - w i l lt o p o w e r a n d n i h i l i s m . T h e s e l e c t i o n o f t h e s e t w o d o c t r i n e s d o e s n o t i m p l yt h a t t h e y a re th e t w o m o s t i m p o r t a n t . E t e r n a l r e cu r re n c e , s u p e r m a n , a n dN i e t z s c h e ' s v i e w o f tr u t h a r e eq u a l l y im p o r t a n t . H o w e v e r , t h e t w o c h o s e nr e a d il y r e v e a l t h e c o r e o f H e i d e g g e r ' s a n a l y si s a n d e x e m p l i f y h is s i n g u l a rp r o c e d u r e .Will to ower

F o r H e i d e g g e r , a l l o f N i e t z s c h e ' s c e n t ra l d o c t r in e s - - w i l l to p o w e r , e te r n a lr e c u r re n c e , o v e r m a n , t r u t h , n i h i l i s m - - a r e m e t a p h y s i c a l i n t h e s en s e t h a t3 5 8


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H E I D E G G E R ' S N I E T Z S C H E I N T E R P R E T A T I O Nt h e y e x p r e s s th e f u n d a m e n t a l c h a r a c te r is t ic s o f b e i n g s a s a w h o l e . T h e y a r en o t , a s w o u l d a p p e a r t o b e th e c a se , d o c t r i n e s a b o u t m a n ' s p s y c h o l o g i c a lm a k e u p o r a b o u t p a r t i c u l a r c h a r a c te r is t ic s o f p a r t i c u l a r t h i n g s . 1~ A s a t t e m p t st o d e s c r i b e t h e n a t u r e o f r e a l i t y a s a w h o l e t h e y a l s o , b u t o n l y d e r i v a t i v e l y ,d e s c r i b e t h e n a t u r e o f m a n .

W i l l t o p o w e r f o r H e i d e g g e r i s a d o c t r in e t h a t s ta te s w h a t b e i n g s a re , al lb e i n g s . T o b e i s t o b e w i ll t o p o w e r . F o r H e i d e g g e r , t h is d o c t r i n e i s s i m i la ri n r a n g e t o o t h e r m e t a p h y s i c a l d o c t r in e s t h a t a t t e m p t t o. d e s c r ib e o r n a m et h e b a s i c w h a t n e s s o f b e i n g s a s a w h o l e , s u c h a s A r i s t o t l e ' s d o c t r i n e o fc a t e g o r ie s o r t h e M e d i e v a l a n d C a r t e s i a n d o c t r i n e s o f s u b s t a n c e . * s W i l l t op o w e r s i g n i fi e s w h a t b e i n g s a r e as b e i n g s ; T i t i s t h e s t a t e m e n t o f a m e t a -p h y s i c a l m o n i s m t h a t f o r N i e t z s c h e i n d i c a t e s t h e a b o l i t i o n o f t h e P l a t o n i cd i s ju n c t i o n b e t w e e n b e i n g a n d b e c o m i n g . F o r N i e t z s ch e , t h e r ea l i s c o n s t a n tl yb e c o m i n g ; i t i s c o n s t a n t l y s t r i v i n g t o s u r m o u n t i t s e l f , t o i n c r e a s e i t s d f . T h et o t a li ty , a s b e c o m i n g , a s p r o c e s s , i s w i l l t o p o w e r . W i l l t o p o w e r , b e c o m i n g ,l i f e , a n d b e i n g i n t h e w i d e s t s e n s e m e a n t h e s a m e t h i n g i n N i e t z s c h e ' sl a n g u a g e . ' '1 7

T h e t e r m w i l l t o p o w e r w o u l d s e e m t o i m p l y t h a t t h er e is o n e k i n d o fw i l l - - a w i l l t o p o w e r - - t h a t ca n b e d i st in g u i s h e d f r o m o t h e r k i n d s o fw i l l, a n d t h a t th e r e a r e k i n d s o f p o w e r t h a t c a n b e d i s ti n g u i s h e d f r o m awi l l t o p o w e r . B u t i n H e i d e g g e r ' s i n t e rp r e t a ti o n , w i l l t o p o w e r is n o t j u s to n e k i n d o f w i l l a m o n g o t h e r s . * s W i l l i n g i s i n i ts v e r y n a t u r e a s t r i v i n g t o b em o r e . A l s o , p o w e r is i n i ts v e r y n a t u r e a w i l l in g - t o - b e - m o r e - p o w e r . .9 M e t a -p h y s i c a l l y , w i l l i s al w a y s w i l l t o p o w e r a n d p o w e r i s s i m p l y t h e a c t u a l it y o fw i l l i n g . 2 ~

H e i d e g g e r is b y n o m e a n s t h e f i rs t t o t ak e w i l l t o p o w e r a s a m e t a -p h y s i c a l d o c t r i n e . Y e t , l i k e o t h e r s w h o r e a d N i e t z s c h e i n t h i s w a y , H e i -d e g g e r m u s t r e s t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o n a d e c i s i o n a b o u t N i e t z s c h e ' s t e x t s a n dn o t o n a n y a p p a r e n t a m b i g u i t i e s o r s u b t le t ie s i n t h e d o c t r in e i t s e lf : t h e r ea r e n u m e r o u s t e x ts t h a t i n d i c at e u n e q u i v o c a l l y t h a t N i e t z s c h e t o o k w i l l top o w e r t o b e a m e t a p h y s i c a l p r i n c i p l e . T h e g r e a t m a j o r i t y o f t h e s e , h o w e v e r ,a r e f o u n d i n t h e u n p u b l i s h e d n o t e s o f 1 8 8 4 - 1 8 8 8 . T h e q u e s ti o n i s : a re th e s et ex t s a u t h o r i t a ti v e ? H e i d e g g e r m a i n t a i n s t h a t Zarathus t ra a n d t h e s e u n -p u b l i s h e d n o t e s a re th e k e y t o N i e t z sc h e ' s p h i l o s o p h y . A s f o r t h e a c tu a lb o o k s t h a t N i e t z s c h e h a d p u b l i s h e d a f t e r Zarathustra H e i d e g g e r r e g a r d st h e m a s p o l e m i c s , o u t c r i e s t h a t d o n o t s t a te d i r e c tl y N i e t z s c h e ' s p h i l o -s o p h i c a l p o s i t i o n 2 * T h e a u t h o r i ty o f t h e n o t e s i s c ru c ia l f o r H e i d e g g e r ' s c as e

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, L A U R E N C E L A M P E R Tr e g a r d i n g N i e t z s c h e a s m e t a p h y s i c i a n , b u t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y m a k e s l i t t l ea t t e m p t t o a r g u e f o r t h e i r s t a n d i n g . I n c o n t r a s t t o H e i d e g g e r , W a l t e r K a u f -m a n n a r g u e s f o r t h e p r i m a c y o f t h e p u b l i s h e d w o r k s a n d a r r i v e s , o n t h a tb a s is , a t t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t w i l l t o p o w e r i s a s ta t e m e n t a b o u t m a n b a s e d o nw h a t N i e t z s c h e t o o k a s p s y c h o l o g i c a l e v i d e n c e , 22 a n d t h a t N i e t z s c h e ' s e x -t e n s io n o f t h is d o c t r in e i n t o a m e t a p h y s i c a l p r i n c i p l e is a n a f t e r t h o u g h t - -a n e x t r e m e c o n j e c t u r e . . . a t v a r i a n c e w i t h N i e t z s c h e ' s o w n c r i t i c a l p r i n -c i p l e s . T T h e s e c o m p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t c o n c l u s i o n s a b o u t w i i l t o p o w e r r e s u l tl a rg e l y f r o m t h e d e c i si o n s a b o u t w h a t t o r e g a r d a s a u th o r i ta t iv e , t h e p u b l i s h e dw o r k s o r t h e u n p u b l i s h e d n o t e s . 2~

H e i d e g g e r c o u l d h a v e m a d e a s t r o n g c a s e f o r h i s h i g h e s t i m a t i o n o f t h eu n p u b l i s h e d n o t e s a s t h e y p e r ta i n t o w i l l to p o w e r ; o n e n e e d n o t a t t r ib u t eh i s c o n c l u s i o n s i m p l y t o h i s d e s i r e t o s e e N i e t z s c h e a s a m e t a p h y s i c i a n . T h e r ei s n o p o s i t i v e e v i d e n c e w h a t e v e r i n N i e t z s c h e ' s w r i t i n g s , p u b l i s h e d o r u n -p u b l i s h e d , t h a t h e r e g a r d e d h i s d o c t ri n e o f w i l l to p o w e r a s m e r e l y t e n ta t iv eo r a s an e x p e r i m e n t a l h y p o t h e s i s. N o r is t h e r e a n y p o s i t i v e e v i d e n c e t h a tN i e t z s c h e h a d a b a n d o n e d t h e n o t i o n o f w i l l to p o w e r a s m e t a p h y s i c s. I f t h em e t a p h y s i c a l a sp e c ts o f w i l l t o p o w e r a r e t a k e n a s an a f t e r t h o u g h t , a s K a u f -m a n n s u g g e s t s , i t i s c e r t a i n l y a m o s t u n u s u a l a n d p e r s i s t e n t a f t e r t h o u g h t :o n e t h a t a p p e a r s a s e a r l y as 1 8 8 5 i n t h e n o t e s , 25 o n e t h a t l a s ts u n t i l t h e e n do f N i e t z s c h e ' s r e f l e c t io n s a s r e p r o d u c e d i n t h e n o t e s , :2~ o n e t h a t o c c u p i e da g r e a t d e a l o f h is t i m e a n d e f f o r t b e t w e e n t h e se d a te s , a n d o n e t h a t p r o v i d e sa b a s i s f o r h i s a c c o u n t s o f l i f e i t s e l f a n d o f t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f m a n . A l s o ,t h e p u b l i s h e d w o r k s do c o n t a i n r e f e r e n c e s t o t h e m e t a p h y s i c a l a s p e c t s o f w i l lt o p o w e r y T h a t t h e y c o n ta in s o f ew w h i le t h e u n p u b l i sh e d n o te s co n t a i ns o m a n y c a n b e a c c o u n t ed f o r o n t h e b a s is o f N i e t z s c h e ' s i n te n t i o n s f o r t h ep u b l i s h e d w o r k s . I n cce Homo N i e t z s c h e s a y s t h a t a f t e r Zarathustra c a m et h e N o - s a y i n g , N o - d o i n g p a r t o f h i s w o r k , t h e t a sk w a s o n e o f d e -s t r o y i n g . ''2 8 T h a t t h e n o t e s o n t h e m e t a p h y s i c a l a s p e c t s o f w i l l t o p o w e r a r en o t i n c l u d e d i n t h e s e w o r k s i s i n i t s e l f n o i n d i c a t i o n t h a t h e r e j e c t e d t h e i rc o n t e n t . T h e y s i m p l y d i d n o t s e r v e t h e p o l e m i c p u r p o s e o f t h e w o r k s h ep u b l i s h e d d u r i n g t h a t t im e . S i m i la r ly , a g r e a t d e a l o f m a t e r i a l o n n i h i l is ma n d e p i s t e m o l o g y d o e s n o t a p p e a r i n t h e p u b l i s h e d w o r k s b e c a u s e t h e s et o p ic s t o o f e ll o u t si d e t h e t a s k o f t h o s e w o r k s . W h e r e w i l l to p o w e r doesa p p e a r i n t h e p u b l i s h e d w o r k s f o l l o w i n g Zarathustra i t i s s e e n p r i m a r i l y a st h e b as ic p r i n c i p l e o f h u m a n b e h a v i o r th a t e x p l a in s s u c h h u m a n p r o d u c t sa s p h i l o s o p h y , m o r a l s , r e l ig i o n , a n d p o l i ti c s . T h a t N i e t z s c h e i n t h e s e w o r k s3 6 0


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H E I D E G G E R S N I E T Z SC H E I N T E R P R E T A T I O Nappl ies wi l l to power as a pr inc ip le of explana t ion to human ac t ions andproduc ts i s in i t se l f no ind ica t ion tha t wi l l to power i s l imi ted to humanactions and products .I t i s He ide g ge r s v i e w tha t t he p syc ho logy o f w i ll t o pow e r p r e sen t i n t hepub l i she d wor ks i s de r iva t ive f r om the mor e ge ne r a l p r inc ip l e o f w i l l t opo w er tha t s tands a t the cente r on Nie tzsche s th inking . Th e psychologica lr e duc t ion i sm o f t he pub l i she d w or ks is no t f o r He ide gge r a n ind ic a t ion o f t hepr imacy o f psychology. Ra the r , N ie tzsche can in te rpre t m an s na ture andhis tory on the bas is o f a reduc t ive psychology of w i l l to pow er prec ise lybecause tha t psycho logy is i tse lf based o n an a l l- inclusive m etaphy sicaldoc t r ine o f wi l l to pow er . Nie tzsche s psychologica l unm asking of ph i lo-soph y, fo r exam ple , ~9 is n ot a p sych olog y of metaphysics a~ bu t the applica-t ion of one metaphys ica l v iew to o the r m e taphys ical v iews, a l

W e c a n unde r s t a nd now why He ide gge r e xh ib i t s l i t t l e i n t e r e s t i n t hespecifics o f Nietzsc he s genetic accounts of philos oph y, morals , an d re l igion .As c ruc ia l a s these mat te r s a re for Nie tzsche , they a re unders tood by He i -degger to be s im ply appl ica tions o f the cons is ten t core of Nie tzsche s m e ta -physics to diverse issues. H eid eg ge r is interes ted in the m etaphysical pr incip leswhich se rve as the gr ou nd of N ie tzsche s gene t ic accounts , no t in the gen e t icaccounts themse lves . Wil l to power i s one of those cent ra l me taphys ica lpr indples inasmuch as i t s ta te s wha t be ings a re insofa r a s they a re be ingsa t a ll . H e ideg ger s app arent ly capric ious de te rm ina t ion o f wha t to reg a rd asim por tan t is no t w i thou t a basis in Nie tzsche s ow n wo rk .

Th is the n i s the g is t o f H e ideg ger s expl ica t ion of Nie tzsche s doc t r ine ofwi l l to power . His fur the r c la ims about the doc t r ine a t tempt to loca teNie t z sc he in the h i s to r y o f ph i lo sophy a s a who le a nd go f a r be yond a n e x -p l ica t ion o f Nie tzsche s tex ts. He ideg ger makes two fu r the r claims abou t thedoc t r ine o f w i l l t o powe r : f i r s t , t ha t i t r e p r e se n t s t he f u l f i l lme n t o f t hemetaph ysics o f th e po st-Car tesians; as and second, th at i t expresses the realessence of man and be ing in the contem pora ry wo r ld . These two c laims a rec lose ly conne c te d w i th one a no the r a nd w i th He ide g ge r s v i e w o f t heth inker s ta sk . H e ideg ger ma in ta ins tha t th e do c t r ine of wi l l to pow er i sno a rb i t ra ry c rea t ionaa but i s the na tura l ex tens ion of the cent ra l v iew ofm od ern metaphysics, the view that be ing is wil l . In a passage du plica te d intwo of h is e ssays on Nie tzsche , He idegger t r aces the unders tanding of be ingas wi l l f r om Le ibniz throu gh the Germ an Idea li s ts to Nie tzsche . a4Heidegger p laces Nie tzsche a t the end of a long-s tanding phi losophica l

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, L A U R E N C E L A M P E R Ttradi t ion t h e mode r n ph i lo soph ic a l t r a d i t i on f o r He ide gge r ) . N ie t z sc hebe longs to the t r ad i t ion as i ts cu lm ina t ion because h is doc t r ine o f wi l l topow er un fo ld s w ha t has a lways been im pl ic it in i t . Nie tzsche ' s doc t r ine s ta te swha t w i l l i s : a n e ve r e xpa nd ing a nd c onsuming w i l l i ng to be mor e . I t t husc la ri f ie s r e t rospec t ive ly wh a t has long been presen t in p h i losop hy and i sin n o w ay the ov er ly en thus ias tic abe r ra t ion o f an imagina t ive th inker . I t i sto th is l ine of me taphys ica l th inkers tha t Nie tzsche be longs , more so thanto the l ine of ant i-Pla tonist , ant i-Chris t ian cr i t ics a t the head of which heplaced h imse l f .

But in say ing tha t be ing i s wi l l to power , Nie tzsche does not demonst ra tetha t he has been conv inced by his phi loso phica l predecessors . I t is not amat te r of ph i losophica l in f luences tha t leads Nie tzsche to take be ing as wi l lto : pow er . No r i s h is th ink ing over t ly an a t tem pt to un fo ld the i r e ssen t ia lpos i t i on ; no r i s i t a n a t t e mp t t o go the m one s t ep be t te r . I n He ide g ge r ' s v i ew ,the mode r n t r a d i t i on o f ph i lo sophy i s not, for a l l i ts essentia l harmony, asequence of t r ansmi t ted inf luences . This i s the ca rd ina l po in t in He idegger ' sv i e w o f t he h i s to r y o f ph i lo sophy : t he f unda me n ta l r e l a t i onsh ips i n t heh i s to r y o f ph i lo sophy a r e no t be twe e n ph i lo sophe r s bu t be twe e n the i n -d iv idua l ph i losopher and h is subjec t ma t te r , a subjec t ma t te r He idegger ca l l s

tha t wh ich g ives i tse l f to be thou gh t or tha t which the th inker is g iven toth ink . Of course these express ions could be mis leading . But the languageis ca re fu l ly chosen in ord e r to , avoid the co m m on suppos i t ion tha t the th inke r

o r a nyone - - is o r c a n be c ome inde pe nd e n t o f h i s s e tt i ng in wha t heth inks about or in wha t he conc ludes . In avoid ing th is e r ror He idegger r i skssounding as i f the th inker i s whol ly fa ted or manipula ted or condi t ioned inh is th inking . But th e r i sk i s ev ident ly wo r th tak ing in ord e r to ins is t tha tthe th inker i s s i tua ted in the mids t o f an a l ready cons t i tu ted unders tandingof b e ing w hich i t is h i s ta sk to d isc lose. Th is h is tor ica l ly condi t ion ed under -s t a nd ing o f be ing i s wha t i s g ive n to be t hough t . Thus whe n He ide gge rwr i te s about the h is tory of ph i losophy h is cons tan t po in t i s tha t the h is toryof ph i losophy records the h is tory of be ing , o f tha t which i s g iven to bethoug ht . T he reason phi loso phy has a cont inuous h is tory a t a l l i s tha t tha twhich g ives i t se l f to be thought i s h i s tor ica l . Now, to apply a l l th i s toNie t z sc he : Th e t r a d i ti on o f m ode r n ph i lo sophy ta ke s b e ing a s w i l l, H e i -degger ma in ta ins , because in the modern wor ld tha t which g ives i t se l f tobe though t , be ing , disc loses i t se l f a s wi l l . T ha t the Be in g of be ing appearshe re invar iab ly and a lways as wi l l , i s no t because a f ew phi losophers have362


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H E I D E G G E R ' S N I E T Z S C H E I N T E R P R E T A T I O Nf o r m e d o p i n i o n s a b o u t B e i n g . T N i e t z s c h e r e s p o n d s n o t t o h i s p h i lo s o p h i c a lp r e d e c e s s o r s b u t t o. w h a t p r e s e n t s i t s e l f t o hi s t h o u g h t w h e n h e d e s i g n a t e sb e i n g a s w i l l t o p o w e r . N i e t z s c h e ' s d o c t r i n e e x p r e s s e s t h e e s s e n ti a l c h a r a c te ro f t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y w o r l d : b e i n g is w i l l t o p o w e r i n t h e p r e s e n t a g e . 3G

F o r H e i d e g g e r t hi s i s t h e a g e o f w i l l t o p o w e r i n t h e m e t a p h y s i c a l se n sea n d a l s o i n a to o ,r e e v e r y d a y s e n s e : m o d e r n m a n ' s s t a n ce t o w a r d t h e w o r l da i m s a t c o n t r o l l i n g a n d s u b d u i n g it . N i e t z s c h e ' s th o u g h t h e ra l d s t h e m o -m e n t w h e n m a n i s a b o u t t o a s su m e d o m i n i o n o f th e e a r t h as a w h o l e . T F o rH e i d e g g e r , t h e te c h n o l o g i c a l u r g e - - t h e u r g e t o c a lc u l at e , e n g i n e e r , c o n t r o l ,r ec o rd , m a n i p u la t e , m o b i l i z e - - is i nd i ca ti v e o f o u r w a y o f b e i n g h u m a na n d o u r w a y o f t a k i n g t h e w o r l d .T h e a n a l y s i s o f w i l l t o p o w e r i s t y p i c a l o f H e i d e g g e r ' s a n a l y s e s o f t h ed o c t r i n e s o f t h i n k e r s . H e c o n s i s t e n t l y t a k e s s u c h d o c t r i n e s t o b e r o o t e d i n at ' : a d i t i o n i n s u c h a w a y t h a t t h e e s s e n t i a l c h a r a c t e r o f t h e t r a d i t i o n i s d i s c l o s e do r u n f o l d e d i n t h e d o c tr in e s . I n H e i d e g g e r ' s la n g u a g e , a t h i n k e r g a t h e r s

d r a w s t o g e t h e r a n d d r a w s o u t - - w h a t h a s b e e n i m p l i c i t i n t h e t ra d i ti o nh e n e c e s s a r i l y t a k e s o v e r . a8 S u c h a g a t h e r i n g i s a t t h e s a m e t im e t h et h i n k e r ' s i n s i g h t i n t o t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y w o r l d , a w o r l d t h a t is s h a p e d b y t h ed e v e l o p i n g t r a d i t i o n n o l es s t h a n i s th e t h i n k e r ' s t h i n k i n g , aa G i v e n t h isf r a m e w o r k , N i e t z s c h e ' s t h i n k i n g is u n i q u e l y i m p o r t a n t : i t d is cl os es th ee s s e n c e o f t h e t r a d i t i o n t o w h i c h w e a r e a l l h e i r s a n d a t t h e s a m e t i m ei l l u m i n a t e s t h e n a t u r e o f th e p r e s e n t w o r l d . I t is i n H e i d e g g e r ' s i n t e r p r e t a -t i o n o f N i e t z s c h e ' s v i e w o f n i h i l i s m t h a t N i e t z s c h e ' s s i n g u l a r r e l e v a n c eb e c o m e s m o s t g r a p h i c .

i h i l i smB o t h N i e tz s c h e a n d H e i d e g g e r u n d e r s t a n d t h e m s e l v e s t o b e e n g a g e d i n ah i s to r ic e f f o r t t o o v e r c o m e w h a t e a ch d e e m s t o b e a r a m p a n t a n d p e r v a s iv en i h i l i s m . W h i l e h i s v i e w o f n i h i l i s m i s c o n s i d e r a b l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m N i e t z -s c h e ' s , H e i d e g g e r n e v e r t h e l e s s r e g a r d s N i e t z s c h e ' s i n s i g h t i n t o n i h i l i s m a se s s e n ti a l f o r a n y p r o p e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f it .

M o s t o f N i e t z s c h e ' s r e f l e c ti o n s o n n i h i l i s m a r e c o n t a i n e d i n h i s u n p u b -l i s h e d n o t e s . A l t h o u g h t h e r e a r e f e w r e f e r e n c e s t o i t i n t h e p u b l i s h e d w o r k s ,t h e s e r e f e r e n c e s h a v e , o n t h e w h o l e , t h e v i r t u e o f c o n s i s te n c y : n i h i l i s m i s as e n s e o f m e a n i n g l e s s n e s s a n d r e s i g n a ti o n , a n d N i e t z s c h e i s a g a in s t i t. 4~ T h eu n p u b l i s h e d n o t e s g r e a t l y e x p a n d t h i s v i e w b u t t h e y a l s o a d d a n e s t o fa m b i g u i t ie s . T h e m o s t im p o r t a n t a m b i g u i t y N i e t z s c h e h i m s e l f i n tr o d u c e s :

3 6 3


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~ L A U R E N C E L A M P E R TN i h i l i s m . I t is a m b i g u o u s :A . N i h i l i s m a s a s i g n o f i n c r e a s e d p o w e r o f th e s p i r it : a s a c t iv e n i h i l is m .B . N i h i l i s m a s d e c li n e a n d r e c e ss i o n o f t h e p o w e r o f t h e s p i ri t : a s p s s i v en i h i l i s m . 41C h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y , N i e t z s c h e ' s r e f l e c t i o n s o n n i h i l i s m p r e s e n t a g e n e t i c

a n a l y si s o f it s c a u se s . I f n i h i l i s m m e a n s t h a t t h e h i g h e s t v a l u e s d e v a l u a t et h e m s e l v e s , ''~ 2 t h e n t h e s e h i g h e s t v a l u e s a r e t h e m s e l v e s t h e c a u s e o f n i h i l i s m .N i h i l is m , N i e t z s c h e m a i n t a i n s , is a p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t a te o f d e s p o n d e n c yr e a c h e d w h e n t h e h i g h e s t v a l u e s w h i c h p r o j e c t s o m e v a l u e o n t h e w o r l da r e p u l l e d o u t s o t h a t th e w o r l d l o o k s v a l u e l e ss . 4~ N i h i l i s m a s a s e n s e o fm e a n i n g l e s s n e s s i s a c o n s e q u e n c e o f h a v i n g b e l i e v e d i n a m e a n i n g t h a t i sn o t t h e r e . 44 B u t N i e t z s c h e h i m s e l f b l u r s t h i s d i s t i n c t io n b e t w e e n c a u s e a n dc o n s e q u e n c e b y r e f e r r i n g t o t r a d i t i o n a l b e l i e f s a n d v a l u e s a s t h e m s e l v e sn i h i li s ti c . 45 F u r t h e r m o r e , N i e t z s c h e c a ll s h i m s e l f a n i h i l i s t a n d r e f e r s t o h i so w n d o c t r i n e s a s n i h i li s m , 46 i n o p p o s i t i o n b o t h t o t h e u n i f o r m l y c r it ic a lc o m m e n t s o n n i h i l i sm i n t h e p u b l i s h e d w o r k s a n d t o o t h e r n o t e s o f th es a m e p e r i o d w h i c h s p e a k o f h i s o v e r c o m i n g o f n i h i l i sm . 47

O u t o f t h i s s e e m i n g l y c o n t r a d i c t o r y a s s o r t m e n t , H e i d e g g e r d e v e l o p s ac o n s is t en t a n d c o n v i n c i n g i n t e rp r e t a ti o n . W h a t H e i d e g g e r s h o w s i s t h a tN i e t z s c h e ' s a c c o u n t o f n i h i l i s m p r e s e n t s a v i s i o n o f t h e w h o l e h i s t o r y o fW e s t e r n t h o u g h t a n d H e i d e g g e r e x p l o i t s t h e a m b i g u i t y i n N i e t z s c h e ' s d i s -p a r a t e n o t e s t o m a k e h i s c a s e .

H e i d e g g e r h o l d s t h a t N i e t z s c h e s e es n i h i l i s m a s a h i s t o r ic a l m o v e m e n t , 4sb u t n o t m e r e l y as o n e a m o n g m a n y h i st o ri c al m o v e m e n t s . R a th e r , n i h i l is mr e p r e se n t s t h e i n n e r l o g i c o f W e s t e r n h i s to r y , t h e h i t h e r t o u n d e t e c te dl a w o f i t s d e v e l o p m e n t . 49 A c c o r d i n g t o H e i d e g g e r , N i e t z s c h e m a i n t a i n s t h a ta ll o f W e s t e r n t h o u g h t - - p a s t, p r e se n t a n d f u t u r e - - is n i h il is t ic i n r es p e c-t i v e ly d i f f e r e n t s e n s e s o f t h e te r m . C e r t a i n l y d i v e r s e r e f e re n c e s f r o m N i e t z -s c h e ' s w r i t i n g s c a n b e m a r s h a l l e d t o s h o w t h a t h e h e l d t h e r e i g n i n g v i e w si n th e p a s t , p r e s e n t a n d ( i n a n t i c i p a t i o n ) f u t u r e t o b e n i h i l is t ic i n s o m es en s e. W h a t H e i d e g g e r ' s a n a ly s is d o e s is t o w e l d t h e se a p p a r e n t l y c o n t r a -d i c to r y p r o n o u n c e m e n t s i n t o a c o n si st e n t a c co u n t t h a t b o t h h a r m o n i z e s t h en o t e s a n d e l u c i d a t e s N i e t z s c h e ' s o t h e r c e n t r a l d o c t r i n e s . T h e p a r a g r a p h s t h a tf o l l o w g i v e a n o u t l i n e o f H e i d e g g e r ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n b a s e d o n t h e d i f f e r e n tm e a n i n g s o f n i h i l i s m i n t h e p a s t , p r e s e n t , a n d f u t u r e .

W i t h r e g a r d t o th e p a st , N i e t z s c h e h o l d s t h a t t h e l e a d i n g p h i l o s o p h i c a n dr e l i g i o u s d o c t r i n e s t o o k t h e m s e l v e s t o b e t h e a n t i d o t e t o a n a l w a y s t h r e a t e n i n g5 6 4


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H E I D E G G E R 'S N I E T Z S C H E I N T E R P R E T A T I O Nmean ingles snes s. 5~ As such they pos i t ed a m ean ing fo r a l l t h ings , bu t fo rNie tzsch e th i s can o n ly be a me anin g th a t th ings do no t have . 51 Fur th e rm ore ,th i s pos i t ed , invented meaning i s i t s e l f n ih i l i sm. In He idegger ' s ana lys i s th i si s the f i r s t s t age of Nie tzche ' s h i s to r i ca l ana lys i s : n ih i l i sm as the pos i t ing ofvalues th at thing s them selves , as wi l l to pow er, lack a l tog ether . 52

W he n t he s e i nve n t e d va l ue s a r e s e e n f o r w ha t t he y a r e t he c ons e que nc ei s n ih i l i sm as a psychologica l s t a te - - a fee l ing of v a lue les snes s2 3 Th i s forNie tzsch e is one o f the a spec t s o f n ih i l i sm as a p resen t cond i t ion , the n ih i l i smof hopes dashed , the n ih i l i sm which despa i r s because , whi l e i t r ecognizes nom e a n i ng i n th i ngs, it c a nno t a ba ndon i ts be l i e f t ha t t he r e oug h t t o be am ean ing in th ings . 5 . Bu t th i s i s on ly one aspec t o f the presen t s t age ofn ih i l i sm because in the presen t n ih i l i sm i s ambiguous in a va r i e ty of ways ,ways tha t N ie tzsch e charac te r i zes by h i s d i s t inc t ions be tween incom ple te andcom ple te n ih i l isms , ~ pas s ive and ac t ive n ih i l ism, 56 and the n ih i l isms ofweakn ess and s t rength . 57 Fo r He idegg er , t he f i r s t h a l f o f each of thesed i s junc t ions ind ica tes a n ih i l i sm tha t recognizes the deva lua t ion of va luesbut is unab le to counte rac t i t. 58 Th e second ha l f o f each , on the o the r han d ,i s N ie tzsche ' s own form of n ih i l i sm which he an t i c ipa tes wi l l be the n ih i l i smof the fu ture29

As He idegger s ees i t , N ie tzsche ' s n ih i l i sm of the fu ture i s one tha t a t t emptst o ove r c om e bo t h t he va l ues o f t he pa s t a n d t he d r e a d oc c a s ione d by t he i rdeva lua t ion . I t i s t he n ih i l i sm of deva lua t ion n d reva lua t ion . Thi s comple teac t ive n ih i l i sm of s t rength Nie tzsch e ca ll s ecs t at i c n ih i l i sm '~~ and i t isc ha r a c t e r i z e d by t he r e m ova l o f o l d va l ue s a nd t he pos i t i ng o f ne w va l ue s .F o r H e i de gge r , t h i s n i h i l i s m s t e m s f r om N i e t z s c he ' s m e t a phys i c s o f w i l l t opow er , Gx Do ra m an, t aken no w as the source of a l l va lues , fu rn i sh ing h im se l fwi th va lues tha t a re t rue to the ea r th and no t g rounded in a beyond.

F o r H e i de gg e r i t i s t he m e t a phys i c al doc t r ine o f w i ll t o pow e r t ha t e na b l e sNie tzsche to account for the pos i t ing of va lues , t he deva lua t ion of va luesa nd t ha t f u r t he r pe r m i t s N i e t z s c he t o de ve l op a p r og r a m ( how e ve r i m -pres s ion i s ti c ) fo r the reva lua t ion of va lues . ~2 In the h i s tory of W es te rnthought , a s s een by Nie tzsche , the wi l l t o power of man expres ses i t s e l f a sva lue bes towing , a s va lue des t roy ing and f ina l ly a s va lue bes towing in a newsense based upon the r e cogn i t i on of w i l l to p ow er as the essence of th ings . r

T h i s t he n i s t he g i s t o f H e i de gge r ' s e xp l i c a t i on o f N i e t z s c he ' s doc t r i ne o fn i h i l i s m . Bu t w i t h t h i s doc t r i ne a s w i t h t he o t he r s H e i de gge r goe s be yondexpl i ca t ion to e l abora te h i s two fu nd am enta l c l a ims about the doc t r ines of

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L A U R E N C E L A M P E R Tt h i n k e r s : t h e y a r e r o o t e d i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a n d t h e y i l l u m i n a t e t h e i r c o n -t e m p o r a r y w o r l d .

R e g a r d i n g t h e f i r s t c l a i m , H e i d e g g e r h o l d s t h a t N i e t z s c h e ' s a c c o u n t o fn i h i l i s m i s b o u n d t o th e t r a d i t i o n t h a t i t i n t e n d s t o s u b v e r t b e c a u s e i t f i x e so n v a l u e s a s t h e c r u c i al i s su e . 6'4 S u c h a n e s t i m a t i o n o f v a l u e s - - i m p l y i n g a si t d o e s t h a t m a n i s t h e c r e a t o r a n d s u s t a i n e r o f v a l u e s a n d t h a t r e a l i ty isa m e n a b l e t o v i rt u a l ly a n y e v a l u a ti o n - - d is cl o se s N i e t z s c h e 's p e r p e t u a t i o n o ft h e t w o b a s ic t e n d e n c i e s o f W e s t e r n t h o u g h t , t e n d e n c i e s, b e it n o t e d , t h a td e f i n e n i h i l i s m i n H e i d e g g e r s s e n s e . H e r e w e s e e m o s t c l e a r l y H e i d e g g e r ' sn o t i o n t h a t t h e d o c t r i n e s o f th i n k e r s i l l u m i n a t e r e t ro a c t i v e l y b y d i s c lo s i n gw h a t i s h i d d e n b u t n e v e r t h e l e s s i m p l i c i t in t h e d o c t r i n e s o f t h e i r p r ed e c e s s o r s .H e i d e g g e r a f f i r m s t h a t o n e c a n u n d e r s t a n d t h e m o s t ba s ic te n d e n c i es o fP l a t o 's t h o u g h t b y s t u d y i n g N i e t z s c h e - - n o t i n d e e d b y ac c e p t in g N i e t z s c h e ' sv i e w o f P l a to b u t b y s e e in g N i e t z s c h e ' s d o c t ri n e s a s t h e u l t im a t e u n f o l d i n go f P l a t o ' s p o s i ti o n . W h i l e N i e t z s c h e is m i s t a k e n i n w h a t h e s ay s a b o u t P l a t o ,h i s o w n d o c t ri n e s e x h i b i t t h e e ss e n ce o f P l a t o n i sm . T h e r e l a ti o n b e t w e e nN i e t z s c h e a n d D e s c a r t e s i s s i m i l a r : N i e t z s c h e i n c r i ti c i zi n g D e s c a r te s b o t hm i s u n d e r s t o o d h i s a d v e r s a ry a n d f u l f i ll e d h i s w o r k . ~5 T h e s a m e is t r u e o fN i e t z sc h e a n d K a n t . N i e tz s c h e b e c o m e s th e k e y t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e m o v e -m e n t o f W e s t e r n p h i l o s o p h y b e c a u s e N i e t z s c h e i s t a k e n a s t h e f u l f i l l m e n to f i t t h e e n d , s e e m i n g l y , t o w a r d w h i c h i t h a s b e e n d i r e c te d .

W h a t t h e n a r e th e t w o t r a d i t io n a l t e n d e n c ie s t h a t N i e t z s c h e f u l f i l l s a n dt h e r e b y i l lu m i n a t e s ? T h e f i r s t is t h a t m a n i s t a k e n t o b e t h e u l t i m a t e s u b j e c t ,t h e g r o u n d o f t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e e ss e n ce a n d v a l u e o f b e in g s a s aw h o l e . T h u s N i e t z s c h e : L e t u s i m a g i n e t h e p h i l o s o p h e r ' s e y e r e s ti n g o nc r e a t io n : h e w i l l m a k e a n e w e s t i m a t e o f i t s v a l u e . F o r i t h a s b e e n t h e s p e c i a lt a s k o f a ll g r e a t t h i n k e r s t o b e t h e l e g i s l a to r s o f t h e m e a s u r e , s t a m p a n dw e i g h t o f t h in g s . ' ' ~ H e i d e g g e r i s f a r f r o m s a y i n g th a t W e s t e r n t h i n k e r s h a v eo v e r t ly a n d u n i f o r m l y h e l d t h a t t h a n m a n a n d o n l y m a n is t h e r o o t o f al l v a l -u e s . H e i s s a y i n g th a t s u c h a p o s i t i o n - - N i e t z s c h e ' s p o s i t i o n - - is t h e n a t u -r a l o r n e c es s ar y w o r k i n g o u t o f a t r a d it i o n t h a t b e g i n s b y g i v i n g m a n p r i m a c ya s v i e w e r ( b y s e e in g t h e t r u th o f b e in g s i n t e r m s o f t h e f o r m t h e y d i sp l a yt o m a n ' s i n t e ll e c t u a l v i s i o n ) a s o c c u rs , a c c o r d i n g t o H e i d e g g e r , i n P l a t o . T h er e v e rs e w a y o f p u t t i n g t h is i s t h a t W e s t e r n p h i l o s o p h y is P l a t o n i s m ~7 a n dt h a t N i e t z s c h e i s t h e m o s t u n r e s t r a i n e d P l a t o n i s t o f a l l. 68

T h e s e c o n d a n d r e l a te d t e n d e n c y o f W e s t e r n t h o u g h t t h a t i s f u l f i ll e d b yN i e t z s c h e ' s d o c t r i n e o f n i h i l i s m i s t h e n e g l e c t o f t h e q u e s t i o n o f b e i n g .3 6 6


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H E I D E G G E R S N I E T Z SC H E I N T E R P R E T A T I O NNie tzsche rega rds be ing expl ic i t ly a s a vapor and a f a l lacy 6 9 and fo r H ei-degger th is de f ian t r e jec t ion i s the cu lmina t ion of an a lways present neglec tf rom P la to onwards . This neglec t o f the ques t ion of be ing i s masked byph i lo sophy s p r e oc c upa t ion w i th t he b e ing o f t he h ighe s t be ing a nd w i th t hebe ing (essence , na ture ) of be ings as a whole . But in H e ideg ger s sense theque s t ion o f be ing i t s e l f goe s una ske d - - a nd he r e a s e l s e whe r e N ie t z sc hesta tes with c lar i ty what is la tent in the t radi t ion.

He idegg er s judg m ent he re i s c lea r ly opposed to Nie tzsche s sel f-assess -men t . H e ide gge r sees Nie tzsche s advocacy of act ive n ih i l ism as the fu l f i l l -ment of the Weste rn t r ad i t ion whi le Nie tzsche sees i t a s i t s overcoming. ForEIeidegger, Nie tzsche s ju dg m ent abo ut the essence of the t rad i t ion w assuper f ic ia l inasmuch as he be l ieved h imse l f to be opposed to i t mos t vehe-ment ly in h is advocacy of the pr ior i ty of man and the neglec t o f be ing .He idegger ma in ta ins tha t these a re the two most bas ic tendenc ies of tha tt r ad i t ion .

Nev er the less , wh i le N ie tzsche s d oc t r ine of n ih i l i sm can be und ers toodas the fu l f i l lment of the t r ad i t ion of ph i losophy, i t i s mis leading to th inkof i t as p r i m r i l y tha t . Here as e l sewhere in h is h is tory of ph i losophy He i -degg er ho lds tha t the th inker form ula tes h is pos i t ion in re sponse to thewor ld tha t p resents i t se l f to be thought about and not in r e sponse to h ispredecessors. Nie tzsche s thin kin g o n nihi l ism owes its character to the wo rldtha t i t r e sponds to and reveals : the con temp ora ry wor ld . T his is He ide gger ssecond genera l c la im about the doc t r ines o f N ie tzsche : they express thena ture o f the contem pora ry wo r ld . Th a t these doc t r ines a lso fu l f i l l anddisclose the t r ad i t ion o f ph i losop hy ind ica tes then tha t i t i s the contem pora rywor ld t ha t f u l f i l l s t he W e s te r n t r a d i t i on : t he c on t inu i ty i n t he h i s to r y o fphi losophy i s de r iva t ive f rom the essent ia l cont inu i ty of the h is tory of thedisclosures o f bein g.

Jus t a s Nie tzsche s doc t r ine o f w i l l to pow er d iscloses contem pora rym an s cha rac te ri s tic way of tak ing be ing , so too do es the n ih i l i sm tha tNie tzsch e espouses : the pr ior i ty of m an and the neglec t o f be ing reach the i rcu lm ina t ion in our t im e and a re cha rac te ri s tic of ou r time. Nie tzsche s ac t iveor ecs ta tic n ih i l i sm is for H e ide gge r prec ise ly wh a t preva i l s in the presen tage. 7~ For He idegge r , then , the overcom ing so fe rven t ly sough t a nd so ur -ge n t ly ne e de d i s no t t o be f ou nd in N ie t z sc he . He ide gg e r s ow n c ons t r uc tivetask must be seen as the overcoming of Nie tzsche .On e of N ie tzsche s la s t wr i t ten com mu nica t ions was a pos tca rd to G eorg

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L A U R E N C E L A M P E R Tc a n n o t b e j u s t if i e d s o l e ly o n t h e g r o u n d s o f N i e t z sc h e s t e x ts n o r c a n i t b er e f u t e d s o le l y o n t h o s e g r o u n d s .

2. Niet zsche and the tradition : H e i d e g g e r s N i e t zs c h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i sa n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f h i s c o m p r e h e n s i v e in t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e W e s t e r n t r a d it io n .G i v e n t h e s t r e n g t h o f h i s e x p l i c a t io n o f N i e t z s c h e s d o c t ri n e s, i t is w o r t h w h i l et o p o i n t o u t t h a t t h e c o m p r e h e n s i v e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s n o t j u s t a v i s i o n . I t i sc o m p o s e d o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f m a n y o t h e r p h i l o s o p h e r s t h a t a r e a s m e -t i c u l o u s a n d e x t e n s i v e a s h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f N i e t z s c h e . A n y a d e q u a t ea s se s sm e n t o f t h e c o m p r e h e n s i v e i n t e r p r e t a t io n w o u l d o f c o u r s e d e m a n d ar e v i e w o f i t s c o n s t i t u e n t p a r t s . W h i l e t h a t i s i m p o s s i b l e h e r e , i t i s n e v e r -t h e l e s s i m p o r t a n t t o c o n s i d e r t h e w a y s i n w h i c h t h e c o m p r e h e n s i v e v i e w i n -v o l v e s t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f N i e t z s c h e . T h i s i n v o l v e m e n t c a n b e s e e n a st w o f o l d .

I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , N i e t z s c h e i s s e e n a s t h e f u l f i l l m e n t o f t h e W e s t e r nt r a d i ti o n . H e r e H e i d e g g e r s u n i q u e i n t e r p r e t a ti o n o f P l a t o n i s m is th e c r it ic a li s s u e f o r i t i s h i s p e c u l i a r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f P l a t o n i s m t h a t e n a b l e s h i m t os e e N i e t z s c h e a s t h e c u l m i n a t i o n o f t h e P l a t o n i c r e v o l u t i o n . S e c o n d l y , H e i -d e g g e r m a i n t a i n s t h a t N i e t z s c h e p r o v i d e s t h e f i n a l r e t r o s p e c t i v e c l a r i f i c a t i o no f t h e t r a d i t i o n , t h e c l a r i f i c a t i o n t h a t d i s p l a y s t h e h i d d e n t e n d e n c i e s m o s ti n d i c a ti v e o f i ts c h a r a c t e r y 5 T h i s c l a ri f ic a t io n is p r o v i d e d n o t b y N i e t z s c h e so w n i n c i p ie n t h is t o ry o f W e s t e r n t h o u g h f f~ b u t b y h i s c e n t r a l d o c t r in e s , t h a ti s , p r e c i s e l y b y t h o s e f e a t u r e s w h i c h N i e t z s c h e c o n c e i v e d t o b e a countermovement t o a l l p r e v i o u s p h i l o s o p h y .

H e i d e g g e r p r o v i d e s e x t e n s i v e e v i d e n c e f o r t h e s e c l o s e l y r e l a t e d c l a i m sa b o u t N i e t z sc h e s p l a c e i n t h e t r a d i ti o n - - t h e t w o v o l u m e s o f Nietzsche a r ec o n c e r n e d w i t h l i t tl e el se . T h e e x a m p l e s o f w i l l t o p o w e r a n d n i h i li s m h a v ea l r e a d y b e e n c o n s i d e r e d ; t h e s e d o c t r i n e s a r e f u l f i l l m e n t s o f w h a t i s a l r e a d yp r e s e n t i n N i e t z s c h e s p r e d e c e s s o r s a n d , a s t h e f i n a l f r u i t s , t h e y i n d i c a t e t or e t r o s p e c t i o n t h e r e a l n a t u r e o f t h a t f r o m w h i c h t h e y a r o s e . T h e r e a r e m a n yo t h e r s p e c i fi c e x a m p l e s t h a t H e i d e g g e r c o n s i d e rs - - N i e t z s c h e s v i e w o ft r u t h , ~ t i m e , ~8 h u m a n i z a t i o n , 79 s u b j e c t iv i s m , * ~ s u p e r m a n , 8~ - - f o r H e i -d e g g e r t h e l i s t is a s l o n g a s th e l i s t o f N i e t z s c h e s d o c t r i n e s . T h e p a r t i c u l a re x a m p l e s a n d t h e g e n e r a l c la im s f o r w h i c h t h e y a r e th e e v i d e n c e c a n n o t b ee v a l u a t e d a p a r t f r o m a c o n s i d e ra t io n o f N i e t z s c h e s p r e d e c e s s o r s a n d t h e i rd o c t r i n e s .N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e c l a i m o f f u l f i l l m e n t a n d t h e c l a i m o f r e t r o s p e c t i v e3 7 0


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H E I D E G G E R 'S N I E T Z SC H E I N T E R P R E T A T I O Ni l lumina t ion see m to p r e suppose a b r oa de r c onc e p t o f de ve lopm e n t - - aconcept tha t unfor tuna te ly remains qui te unc lea r . The impl ica t ion of He i -degger 's wri t ings is that there is some kind of necessi ty that obta ins in theun f o ld ing o f t he ba s i c doc t r ine s t h r oughou t t he h i s to r y o f W e s te r n though t- - tha t i s , a necess i ty tha t ob ta ins in the unfo ld ing of the r e a l i t y tha t thesephilosophical doctr ines record, for the necessi ty resident in the his tory ofphi losophy i s pure ly de r iva t ive . But wha t i s tha t necess i ty ? He idegger i sfond of giving l is ts of the s tages of the unfolding. For instance , he givesthis lis t in discussing the var ious ways of taking th e grou nd of the pre-senc ing of be ings :

. . . as the o ntic causat ion of th e real , as the t ransce nden ta l mak ing possibleof the objec t iv i ty of objec ts , a s the d ia lec t ica l m edia t ion o f the m ovem ent ofthe absolute Spir i t , of the his tor ica l process of production, as the wil l topo w er pos i t ing values. 82Here and e lsewhere , the purpor ted s tages a re c lea r . Wha t i s no t a t a l l

c lear is that they a r e stages, s tages in any identif iab le process. H eid eg ge r hasnot been successfu l in c la r i fy ing the not ion of necessa ry deve lopment tha twould render h is l i s t s in to meaningfu l s e q u e n c e s 8 3

Yet i t is not surpr is ing that no precise sense of necessary development hasbeen for thcoming. To ask about the na ture of th i s necess i ty i s to a sk aboutthe na ture of be ing tha t cont ro ls h is tory ' s d i rec t ion (ab out the h is tor ic i ty oftha t w hich gran ts a poss ib le h is tory to ph i los op hy ) . ~4 Fo r H e idegger , thena ture of be ing i s known only in the va r ious h is tor ica l s tampings recordedin the h is to r y o f ph i lo sophy . W h i l e he sugges ts t ha t t he r e ma y be som e th inga l l -pe rvading which pe rvades be ing ' s des t iny f rom i t s beginning to i t scom plet ion, '~5 he is unab le to say wha t i t is .

In the absence of any c lear sense of the necessi ty resident in the t radi t ion,how can He idegger jus t i fy h is te leo logica l judgments tha t Nie tzsche fu l f i l l sthe t r ad i t ion or r e t rospec tive ly c la ri f ie s i t ? He idegg er ' s wr i t ings o n N ie tzschea bound w i th j udgme n t s t ha t N ie tz sc he ga the r s toge the r a l l t he the me s o fW e s te r n thoug h t ; t ha t N ie t z sc he is t he c om ple t ion o f t he t r a d it i on , t helast phi losopher , the last possible philosopher .*% Surely the warrant for suchjudgme n t s c a n on ly de r ive f r om a knowle dge o f t he who le p r oc e s s a s aprocess , f rom a knowledge of i t s p r inc ip les of unfo ld ing; tha t i s , f rom akno wled ge of the necess ity tha t go verns i t.

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d L A U R E N C E L A M P E R T3 Nietzsche as thinker: I t i s in He idegger ' s la te r work tha t Nie tzsche

assumes an a l l - impor tan t p lace in the h is tory of ph i losophy. He had notspec i f ica l ly been aw arded tha t s tanding in Sein und Zeit ( 1 9 2 7 ) . I n t h a twork He idegger was a l ready convinced tha t the present ta sk of ph i losophyrequi red a r e th inking of the h is tory of ph i losophy, bu t the key f igures weretaken to be P la to , Ar is to t le , Desca r te s and Kant . Th e d ism ant l ing T of t hephi losophica l t r ad i t ion prom ised the re d id not spec i fica lly inc lude Nie tzsche .I t is on ly a f t e r t he t u r n in He ide gg e r ' s t hou gh t t hat N ie tz sc he is t a ke nto be a c ruc ia l f igure in the h is tory of ph i losophy. However : Sein und Zeiti t se l f can be read as Nie tzschean in cha rac te r wi th i t s emphas is on Dase ina s t he be ing , g r oun de d in no th ing , t ha t g r ounds a nd de t e rmine s t he me a n ingof be ings . Sein und Zeit i t s e lf c on t inue s t he t r a d it i on o f t he p r ima c y o f m a nand, whi le i t r a i ses the ques t ion of be ing , i t does so only as a de te rmina t ionof D asein . 88 N ietzs ch e becomes a crucial subject i n t he h i s to r y o f ph i lo sophyon ly a f t e r t he N ie t z sche a n s t a ndpo in t o f Segn und Zeit has been abandoned,only a f te r Nie tzsche ' s pos i t ion has been los t o r overcome as a v iab le s tand-poin t . Af te r the turn , the ta sk of r e th inking the t r ad i t ion remains but i t nowinc ludes amo ng i ts subjects the ve ry s tandpo in t f ro m w hich the or ig ina lre th inking was to take p lace - - and th is s tandpoin t above a l l i s to be ca l ledinto quest ion.

Coinc ident wi th th is change in Nie tzsche ' s p lace in He idegger ' s th inkingis a change in He idegger ' s v iew of the h is tor ic i ty of ph i losophy : i t i s no tonly phi losophy tha t i s h i s tor ica l bu t the na ture of r ea l i ty i t se l f . This changedoes not r ender the h is tory of ph i losophy any le ss s ign i f ican t . Qui te thec on t r a r y : t he h i s to r y o f ph i lo sophy i s now r e ga r de d a s t he r e c o r d o f t heh i s to r y o f be ing . W hi l e a h i s to r y o f ph i lo sophy c ou ld be wr i t t e n t r e a t ing i ta s a separa te and independent sequence of ideas or pe rennia l p roblems 8~such a h is tory would miss the dec is ive mat te r . Weste rn th inkers a re r e la tedto one a no the r i na smuc h a s t he y r e spond ind iv idua l ly t o t he un f o ld inghis tory of be ing , a h is tory which has a cont inu i ty and ra t iona le , and whichimpar ts such to i t s r ecord , howe ver unb ekno wn st to i ts r ecorders . In r e spon-d ing to t he d i sdosu r e o f be ing the t h inke r ' s t h ink ing doe s no t c ha nge thewor ld and i t does not change men. His th inking d isc loses wha t wor ld andma n ha ve be c ome . The a ge nc y o f t he c ha nge i s qu i t e i nde pe nde n t o f h i se f f o r t s . He ide gge r ha s move d f a r i nde e d f r om Nie t z sc he ' s v i e w tha t t hephi losopher leg is la te s meaning for a r ea l i ty tha t lacks meaning a l toge the r .Ye t He idegger ma in ta ins tha t even th is Nie tzschean v iew is a r e sponse to a372


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H E I D E G G E R 'S N I E T Z S C H E I N T E R P R E T A T I O Nc a l l , ' '9 ~ a r e s p o n s e t h a t d i sc l o se s t h e n a t u r e o f t h e r e l a t io n s h i p b e t w e e n

m a n a n d t h i n g s i n t h e m o d e r n w o r l d .H e i d e g g e r ' s l a te r v i e w o f N i e t z sc h e a s th e p h i l o s o p h e r o f o ~ l r a g e s u r e lya r i s e s i n p a r t a t l e a s t f r o m h i s o w n p r i o r c o m m i t m e n t t o a f u n d a m e n t a l l y

N i e t z s c h e a u p o s i t i o n . H e i d e g g e r ' s l a t e r v i e w i n t e r p r e t s t h a t c o m m i t m e n t a sa n a s so c i at io n - - s in c e t e r m i n a t e d - - w i t h t h e w h o l e t r a d i ti o n a n d w i t h th ep r e s e n t e p o c h . 91 T h a t is, H e i d e g g e r ' s o w n e x p e r ie n c e w i t h f i n d i n g a n dl o s i n g N i e t z s c h e i s u n d e r s t o o d t o h a v e f a r g r e a t e r s i g n i f i c a n c e t h a n i n -t e ll e c t u a l b i o g r a p h y . A s H e i d e g g e r l a t e r se es it, t h e w a y h e h a d p r e v i o u s l yt a k e n is th e w a y t h e a g e h a s g o n e , a n d t h e w a y h e n o w t a k e s m a y , p o s s i b ly ,b e t h e w a y t h e a g e w i l l g o . F r o m t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e S e i n u n d Z e i t i s n o m e r eb o o k ; i t i s a n e v e n t i n t h e h i s t o r y o f b e i n g a n d H e i d e g g e r s e e m s q u i t e p u to u t w i t h c r it ic s w h o c a n ' t g e t t h a t s t r a i g h t ? 2 T h a t is , n o w is n o t i m e t oc r i t i c i z e H e i d e g g e r ' s t a s k ; n o w i s t h e t i m e t o b e c o m e f e l l o w - w o r k e r s a n df o r this t h e w a y t h r o u g h S e i n u n d Z e i t r em ains a ne cess i t y2 a Th a t i s, t h ew a y t h r o u g h N i e t z s c h e r e m a i n s a n e c e s s i t y .

I t r e m a i n s q u e s t i o n a b l e j u s t h o w m u c h H e i d e g g e r ' s e a r l y a s s o c i a t i o n w i t hN i e t z s c h e c o n d i t i o n e d h i s l a t e r e s t i m a t i o n o f N i e t z s c h e a s t h e t h i n k e r o fo u r a g e . I t i s a l s o q u e s t i o n a b l e j u s t h o w m u c h t h i s l a t e r e s t i m a t i o n c o n -d i t i o n e d t h e b r o a d e r c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h e t h i n k e r a s s u c h d i s c l o s e s t h e n a t u r eo f h i s c o n t e m p o r a r y w o r l d . B u t , w h a t e v e r t h e e t i o l o g y o f t h i s b r o a d e r c o n -c l u s i o n , i t s w a r r a n t i s q u i t e u n c e r t a i n b e c a u s e i t i s i n p r i n c i p l e i n d e m o n s t r a -b l e . G i v e n H e i d e g g e r ' s h i s to r i c a l r e la t i v is m t h e r e is n o w a y t o te s t t h e d a i mt h a t P l a t o ' s a c c o u n t o f b e i n g i s a h i s t o r ic a l l y f i t t i n g f o r h i s t im e a s N i e t z s c h e ' si s f o r o u r s - - w e c a n h a v e n o d i r e c t e x p e r i e n c e o f P l a t o ' s t i m e t h a t w o u l de n a b l e u s t o e v a l u a te t h e c l a i m o f f i tn e s s . W e d o , h o w e v e r , h a v e d i r e c t e x -p e r i e n c e o f N i e t z s c h e ' s t i m e ( l e t u s g r a n t f o r n o w t h a t w e a r e N i e t z s c h e ' sm e t a p h y s i c a l c o n t e m p o r a r i e s ) a n d i f t h e re is a n y w a r r a n t f o r H e i d e g g e r ' sb r o a d e r c o n c l u s io n h is i n t e r p r e ta t i o n o f N i e t z s c h e s h o u l d s h o w w h a t t h a tw a r r a n t is. T h u s , w h i l e i t m a y b e u n f r u i t f u l to . w o n d e r a b o u t t h e d e g r e et o w h i c h H e i d e g g e r ' s a s s o c ia t io n w i t h N i e t z s c h e l e d h i m to . h i s v i e w o f t h et h i n k e r ' s r o l e , i t i s e v i d e n t t h a t N i e t z s c h e a l o n e c a n p r o v i d e a t e s t f o r t h a tv i e w . T o b e s u r e t h e t e s t i s i n c o n c l u s i v e ; e v e n i f H e i d e g g e r i s r i g h t a b o u tN i e t z s c h e t h a t i s n o p r o o f t h a t h e i s r i g h t a b o u t t h i n k e r s a s a w h o l e a n de v e n i f H e i d e g g e r i s w r o n g a b o u t N i e t z s c h e t h a t i s n o p r o o f t h a t h e i sw r o n g a b o u t t h e t h i n k e r ' s t a s k a s a w h o l e . N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e w a r r a n t f o r t h eg e n e r a l c l a i m a b o u t t h e t h i n k e r ' s a c t iv i ty o f d i s c lo s u r e , i n s o f a r a s it is te s t a b le

3 7 3


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L A U R E N C E L A M P E R Ta t a l l, is te s t a b l e o n l y w i t h r e s p e c t to t h e s p e c i f i c c l a i m s a b o u t N i e t z s c h ea s t h e t h i n k e r w h o s e d o c t r in e s d i s c l o s e o u r p r es e n t w a y o f b e i n g ? 4

H e i d e g g e r d o e s n o t g i v e m u c h g u i d a n c e o n h o v e to= t e st t h e se s p e c i f icc l ai m s . H e d o e s n o t d i s cu s s th e h is t o r ic a l ly u n i q u e c o m m i t m e n t s a n d c o n -d i t i o n s o f c o n t e m p o r a r y m a n w i t h a v i e w t o d e m o n s t r a t in g t h a t t h e y e x e m -p l i f y N i e t z s c h e s m e t a p h y s i c s . W h i l e m a i n t a i n i n g t h a t t e c h n o l o g y i s c h a ra c -t e ri st ic o f o u r h i s to r i c a l ly u n i q u e c o n c e p t i o n o f b e i n g , H e i d e g g e r d o e s n o tt ry t o s h o w i n d e t a il h o w t e c h n o l o g y e x e m p l i f ie s N i e t z s c h e s m e t a p h y s ic s ,a l t h o u g h h e d o e s r e g u l a r l y r e it er a te t h e c l a i m t h a t t e c h n o l o g y i s t h e f i n a lf r u it o f a w i l l t o p o w e r t h a t ai m s t o s u b d u e t h e w o r l d ? ~ A l l i m p o r t a n t t o t h es p e c i f ic c l a i m a b o u t N i e t z s c h e a n d t h e p r e s e n t - - a n d t o t h e g e n e r a l c l a im sa b o u t t h e r o le o f t h i n k e r - - i s a c l a r i f ic a t i o n o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p t h a t o b t a in sb e t w e e n , o n t h e o n e h a n d , a w a y o f b e i n g a n d a w a y o f t a k i n g b e i n g a n d ,o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e e v e r y d a y c a re s a n d p r a c ti ce s o f h u m a n b e i n g s .

NOTES

1 T h e f o l l o w i n g a b b r e v i a t i o n s w i l l b e u s e d i n t h f o o t n o t s t o r e f e r to N i e t z s c h e ' s w o r k s .A l l re f e r e n c e s t o N i e t z s c h e ' s w o r k s a r e b y s e c t io n n u m b e r s .B G E Beyond Good and Evil, t r a n s . W a i t e r K a u f m a n n ( N e w Y o r k : V i n t a g e B o o k s , I 96 6 ).E H Ecce Homo, i n On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo, t r an s . W a i t e r K a u f m a n n

( N e w Y o r k : V i n t a g e B o o k s , I967 .G M On the Genealogy of Morals, op. c i rW P The Will to Power, t r a n s . W a l t e r K a u f m a n n ( N e w Y o r k : R a n d o m H o u s e , 1 9 67 ).T h e f o l l o w i n g a b b r e v i a t i o n s w i l l b e u s e d i n t h e f o o t n o te s t o r e fe r to H e i d e g g e r ' s w o r k s . N u m -b e r s r e f e r t o p e , g e s i n t h e e d i t i o n c i t e d .H o l z HoIzwege ( F r a n k f u rt a m M a i n : K l o s t e r m a n n , i965 .I D Identity and Difference, t r a n s. J o a n S t a m b a u g h ( N e w Y o r k : H a r p e r a n d R o w , 1 96 9) .I M An Introduction to Metaphysics, t r a n s . R a l p h M a n n h e i m ( N e w Y o r k : D o u b l e da y ,A n c h o r , I 9 6 1 _ ) .L e tt e r L e t t e r o n H u m a n i s m , Philosophy in the Twentieth Century, e d . W i l l i a m B a r r e t t a n d

H e n r y D . A i k e n , v o l u m e 3 ( N e w Y o r k : R a n d o m H o u s e , I 96 2 ).N Nietzsche, 2 v o l u m e s ( P f u l l i n g e n : N e s k e , 1 9 6 a ).P l a t o P l a t o ' s D o c t r i n e o f T r u t h , B a r r e t t a n d A i k e n , op. c i rT B On Time and Being, t r a n s . J o a n S t a m b a u g h ( N e w Y o r k : H a r p e r a n d R o w , ~ 97 2).U S Unterwegs zur Sprache ( P f u l l i n g e n : N e s k e , x 9 5 9) .V A Vortriige und Aufs~tze, 3 v o l u m e s ( P f u l l i n g e n : N e s k e , ~ 9 6 7) .W C T What is Called Thinking ? t r a n s . F r e d D . W e i c k a n d J . G l e n n G r a y ( N e w Y o r k : H a r p e r

a n d R o w , : [ 9 6 8 ) .W T What is a Thing ? t r a n s . W . B . B a r t o n a n d V e r a D e u t s c h ( C h i c a g o : R e g n e r y , I 96 7 ) .2 The Gay Sc ience, w ~43 H o l z I97. S e e a ls o M a r t i n H e i d e g g e r , On the Way to Language, t r a n s . P e t e r D . H e r t z ( N e wY o r k : H a r p e r a n d R o w , ~97~ , P. 39.74


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H E I D E G G E R S N I E T Z S C H E I N T E R P R E T A T I O N4 As an exam ple see TB 59 f., where He ideg ger says tha t so far fr om bein g grea.ter thanphilosophy just because it apprehends, as philosophy cannot, the nature of philosophy, histhinking is less than philosophy beca~use it is merely preparatory.5 N I, 475.6 WCT 76 f.; NII, 484; ID 48.7 WC T 44-47, 75-8x, 164-x66; NI I , 43 f.; N I, 5o3; VA I, x~ .8 NII, 22.9 N I 585; see also VA I, xx4.lo N I, 492; see also WCT 5z, 75.11 Martin Heidegger, Wegmarken (Fran kfur t am M ain : Klos ter mann , 1967), pp. 252 f.; Holza94-1:2 BGE w 259.1~ See N I, 479.14 Holz x94.15 N I, xz-xS, 70-79; WT 47-49.16 N.I, 463 f.; NII, 14 ff., 287; Holz 218 f.17 Holz z~3.18 Holz z~6 f.19 N I, 7z.20 N I, 76.21 W CT 72;; N I, x7; NI I , 79.22 Walter Kaufmann, Nietzsche: Philosopher Psychologist Anti-Christ~ 2;rd ed., rev. (NewYork : Vi nt ag e Book, 1968), pp . 200-207.28 Ibid. p. 4zo.24 The signifi cance of the unpubli shed notes is reduced to alm ost zero by R.J. Hollin gdale ,Nietzsehe : The Man and His Philosophy (Baton Rou ge : Louisiana StaIe Univer sity Press ,3t965) who regards everythin g not included in the publ ishe d works as rej ect ed by Nietzscheor ab an do ne d, (pp. 260-272) as if Nietzsche' s breakdown came at that opportun e mome ntwhen he had published everything he wanted to say. For Hollingdale the unpublished notesconsist of material abandoned for one of two reasons: because treated more fully in thepublished works and hence superfluous; because not paralleled in the published worksand hence rejected. The notes on will to power as a metaphysi cal principl e are taken asexamples of the second kind of material and that Nietzsche aba ndo ned these specula,tionsis for HoUingdale a testame nt to his good sense and even to his saality. As an exampleHol li ngd al e quote s w xo67 (dated 1885) from the c ollect ion The Will to Power whose pe-nultimate sentence runs : the world is will to power and nothing besides. For Hollingdalethis is a reject ed extension to the furt hest heave ns of a view that in the published worksis confined to induc tion from observation. ' Unfortunatel y for Hollingda le's case, the gis tof w Io67 appear s in Beyond Good and Evil w 2;6, pub lis hed the fol lowi ng year (x886).25 WP w 6~9 655, Io67.26 WP w 634, 62;6, 688, 692, 693, a ll d at ed Marc h- June , 1888.27 BGE w 36, z59.28 EH Part 3, On Beyond Good and Evil w ~.29 BGE Part ~.30 NII, Ix, 6~.31 Explications of the doctrine o f will to power that are simil ar to Heidegger' s are foundin Arthur C. Danto, Nietzsche As Philosopher (New York : Macmillan Co., ~968), pp. z~4-z28,see especially p. zl5; and George A. Morgan, What Nietzsehe Means (New York: Harperand Row, I965 [194x]), pp. 266-290.32 In a broader sense Nietzsche is taken by Heidegger to be the fulf illm ent of the whole meta-physical tradition beg inning with Plato -- as will be discussed in the section on nihilism.8~ NII, 2;6.a4 WC T 9 ~ f.; VA I, ~o5 f.; see a lso N I, 73.35 WCT 90.36 WCT 59.

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~ L A U R E N C E L A M P E R T37 W C T 57.a s T B 57; N I , x3.a 9 U S x 3 x .4 o S e e e . g . G M , P r e f a c e w 5 ; P a r t x , w ~ 2 ; P a r t 2 , w z 4 ; P a r t 3 , w ' 4 .4 1 W P w z 2 ; s e e a l s o w 585 B.42 W P w4 a W P w x z A .,t 4 W P w 6 9 n o t e ; 5 85 A .4 5 E . g . , E H P a r t 3 , w s ,; O n T h e B r t h o f T r a g e d y , w 1 , z ; T h e A n t i c h r i s t , w 6 , 5 8 ; W P w 1 5 z - x5 4 ,2 2 0

~ 6 W P w ~ 5 , 2 F , 55 ..47 E . g . , W ~ ' P r e f a c e .4 8 H o l z 2 o l ; N I I , 3 a f . , 9 ~.4 '.9 H o l z 2 0 6 ; N I I , 6 o , 9 2 , 277 f .5 O W P w5 1 W P w x z A .5 2 N I I , 8 2 ; s e e a l s o p p . 6 4 , 6 7 , 7 0 , 8 0 .s a W P w A .s 4 W P ws s W P w 2 s .5 6 W P w 2 2s 7 W P w 5 85 B5 8 N I I , 6 9 , 8 0 f . ; H o l z 2 o 8.s 0 N I I , 9 4 ; H o l z 2 0 7 .6 0 W P w N I f , 9 5.6 1 N I I , 8 7 .6 2 N I I , 3 5 f -6 ~ H o l z 2 0 6, ao g . A l b e r t M a g n u s i n H e i d e g g e r s M e t a h i s t o r y o f P h i l o s o p h y ( T h e H a g u e : N i j -h o f f , 19 7o ) u s e s H e i d e g g e r ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f N i e t z s c h e ' s v i e w o f n i h i l i s m a s a n e x a m p l e o fH e i d e g g e r ' s t e c h n i q u e o f r e a d i n g h i s o w n v i e w s i n t o o t h e r p h i l o s o p h e r s ( p . 9 8) . I t i s n o t ag o o d e x a m p l e . W h i l e H e i d e g g e r m a y b e g u i l t y o f t h e c h a r g e i n o th e r c a s e s h e i s n o t i n t h i sc a se . W h a t M a g n u s r e a l ly o b j e ct s t o i s H e i d e g g e r ' s c l a im t h a t f o r N i e t z s c h e n i h i l is m r e p r e s e n t st h e b a s i c p r o c e s s o f W e s t e r n h i s t o r y ( p . ~ oo ). M a g n u s d o u b t s t h a t N i e t z s c h e c o n c e i v e d o fn i h i l i s m a s t h e i n n e r l o g i c o f W e s t e r n h i s t o r y a s H e i d e g g e r c l a i m s , b u t t h e P r e f a c e o fT h e W i l l t o P o w e r s h o u l d b e e n o u g h t o a b o l is h t h a t d o u b t . T h e ' m a i n w e a k n e s s o f M a g n u s ' sc r i t ic i s m h o w e v e r i s t h a t w h i l e h e q u o t e s N i e t z s c h e ' s s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t t h e a m b i g u i t y o f n i h i-l i s m h e p r o c e e d s t o b a s e h i s c r i t iq u e o f H e i d e g g e r ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o n a s i n g l e p a s s a g e t h a tr e f e r s to a s i n g l e a s p e c t o f n i h i l i s m : W h a t d o e s n i h i l i s m m e a n ? .. . T h a t t h e h i g h e s t v a l u e sb e c o m e d e v a l u e d ( W P w 2 ). F o r M a g n u s t h e d e a t h o f G o d i s t h e e s s e n c e o f n i h i l i s m i nN i e t z s c h e . T h i s n e g l e c t s e s p e c ia l l y N i e t z s c h e ' s p r o s p e c t f o r a n a f f i r m a t i v e n i h i l i s m t h a tr e s p o n d s t o t h e d e s p a i r o f th e d e a t h o f G o d . A l s o , it n e g l e c t s N i e t z s c h e ' s o w n h i s t o r i c a la n a l y s i s o f t h e r o o t s o f n i h i l i s m a n d h i s c o m m e n t s a s t o t h e n i h i l i s m o f b e l i e f s t h e m s e l v e s .A l b e r t C a m u s a c c o u n t a l s o n e g l e c t s t h e a m b i g u i t y t h a t N i e t z s c h e f in c I s i n t r i n s i c t o n i h i l i s m ,b u t h i s a c c o u n t e r r s o n t h e o t h e r e x t r e m e : C a m u s t a k e s N i e t z s c h e ' s v i e w o f n i h i l i s m t ob e r e s t r i c t e d t o tr a d i t i o n a l b e l i e f s t h e m s e l v e s . C h r i s t i a n i t y f o r i n s t a n c e i s s a i d t o b en i h i li s t i c b e c a u s e i t i m p o s e s a n i m a g i n a r y m e a n i n g o n l i f e . A l s o , S o c i a l i s m is n i h i l is t i c ,i n t h e h e n c e f o r t h p r e c i s e s e n s e t h a t N i e t z s c h e c o n f e r s o n t h e w o r d . A n i h i l i s t is n o t o n e w h ob e l i e v es i n n o t h i n g , b u t o n e w h o d o e s n o t b e li e v e i n w h a t e x i s t s ( T h e R e b e l , t r a n s . A n -t h o n y B o w e r ( N e w Y o r k : V i n t a g e B o o k s , 1 9 56 ), p . 6 9) . B o t h o f t h e s e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o fN i e t z s c h e ' s v i e w o f n i h i l i s m f a i l t o do j u s t i c e to i t b e c a u s e t h e y s e e it a s h a v i n g o n l y o n ep r e c i se s e n s e w h e r e a s i t h a s a n u m b e r o f p re c i se s e n s e s. A n e x p l ic a t io n o f N i e t z s e h e ' s v i e wo f n i h i l i s m t h a t i s q u i t e s i m i l a r t o H e i d e g g e r ' s a p p e a r s i n R o b e rt C . S o l o m o n , N i e t z s c h e ,N i h i l i s m a n d M o r a l i t y , N i e t z s c h e : A C o l l ec t io n o f C r i ti c a l E s s a y s , e d . R o b e r t C . S o l o m o n( N e w Y o r k : A n c h o r B o o k s , x973), P P . 2 o 2- 2 25 , e s p e c i a l l y 2 0 4 -2 0 9. F o r a t h o n g h t f u l a n d

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L A U R E N C E L A M P E R TH e i d e g g e r ' s l e c tu r e s a n d r e a d S e i n u n d ~ e i t u n d e r s t o o d h i m d i f f e r e n t l y f r o m t h e w a y h el a te r c a m e t o u n d e r s t a n d h i m s e l f . K a r l L 6 w i t h , H e i d e g g e r : D e n k e r i n d i d r f t i g e r Z e i t ( G 6 t t i n g e n :V a n d e n h o e c k & R u p r e c h t , ~ 96 5) , p . z I .8'9 H e i d e g g e r ' s e a r l y n o t i o n o f r e p e t i t i o n c o u l d b e s e e n a s s u c h a h i s t o r i c a l e f f o r t . I nK a n t a n d t h e P r o b le m o f M e t a p h y s i c s t r a n s . J a m e s S . C h u r c h i l l ( B l o o m i n g t o n , I n d . : I n d i a n aU n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , I9 6 5 [ 1 s t G e r m a n e d . I 9 2 8 ]) f o r i n s t a n c e , h e s p e c i f i c a l l y c o n c e i v e s h i s o w nt a s k a s a r e p e t i t io n o f K a n t ' s ( p p. 2 08 , z z l ) , a n d S e i n u n d Z e i t i t s e l f i s u n d e r s t o o d a s ar e p e t i t i o n o f t h e b a t t l e o f t h e g i a n t s i n a n c i e n t p h i l o s p h y ( p. 2 08 ). T h e r e i s n o i n -d i c a t i o n h e r e t h a t t h e u n d e r l y i n g i s s u e is a n e v e n t i n t h e h i s t o r y o f b e i n g .9 0 W C T 4 6 , 7 9 f .9 1 A q u e s t i o n t h a t a r i s e s i n p r e c i s e l y t h is c o n t e x t i s : h o w d o e s H e i d e g g e r ' s a s s o c i a t i o nw i t h N a t i o n a l S o c i a l is m i m p i n g e o n h i s a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h N i e t z s c h e a n d v i c e v e r s a ? W h i l eN a t i o n a I S o c i a l is m w a s n o t N i e t z s c h e a n i n w a y s i t m i g h t h a v e i m a g i n e d , i t w a s N i e t z -s c h e a n i n w a y s i t d i d n o t i m a g i n e , w a y s i t s h a r e d w i t h a ll c o n t e m p o r a r y i d e o lo g i e s ( I M 5 of f ., 16 6 f . ). A t l e a s t H e i d e g g e r c a n g e n e r a l i z e t h e N i e t z s c h e a n i n t h i s w a y a f t e r h i s d i s s o c i a t i o nf r o m N a t i o n a l S o c i a l is m , a f t e r t h e t u r n i n h i s t h i n k i n g , a f t e r N i e t z s c h e i s se e n a s th ep h i l o s o p h e r o n e n e e d s t o l o se . I t i s i m p o s s i b l e t o s a y h o w H e i d e g g e r c o n c e i v e d t h e r e l a t i o n sb e t w e e n h i m s e l f , N i e t z s c h e a n d N a t i o n a l S o c i a l i s m p r i o r t o t h e s e e v e n t s a s t h e r e i s n op u b l i s h e d r e c o r d .0 2 M a r t i n H e i d e g g e r

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Man and World Volume 7 Issue 4 1974 [Doi 10.1007_bf01246815] Laurence Lampert -- Heidegger's Nietzsche Interpretation