Christa Acampora

This is an important, curious book that is worth the effort it takes to get through it. It makes a distinctive case for the centrality of Nietzsche's grappling with nihilism, giving content to his notoriously thin notion of "affirming life," and it offers a nuanced account of "will to power," specifically in relation to Schopenhauer's "will to live." Among its curiosities are its method of extensive reliance on the collection of notes published as The Will to Power and its characterization of a paradox at the core of Nietzsche's project: affirming life turns on embracing the idea that "will to power requires pain as one of the conditions of its satisfaction". Only the second of these can be discussed here. And while the writing style tediously resembles a form of scholasticism that gets in the way of understanding what exactly Reginster is arguing, the book repays the reader's forbearance by offering some genuinely provocative ideas.Reginster's main project is to show how nihilism and its solution are central to Nietzsche's thinking about the "affirmation of life." This hinges on revaluing suffering as intrinsic to satisfying an ultimate desire to overcome resistance. In a nutshell, that is Nietzsche's "doctrine of the will to power," and it leads Reginster to claim that the.

There is much in Robert Pippin’s Nietzsche, Psychology, and First Philosophy that merits consideration. During the panel discussion that provided the basis for this article, I marked several paths for further exploration, including Pippin’s treatment of Nietzsche’s naturalism and his characterization of what he calls Nietzsche’s “picture arguments.” Ultimately, I chose to focus on a concern that has drawn intense interest in the recent literature, namely Nietzsche’s conception of agency and freedom, which forms the subject of Pippin’s fourth chapter, “The Deed is Everything [Das Thun ist Alles].” 1 This chapter draws on and extends other work he has published in English during the past decade, specifically, his..

Dear Readers,I am pleased to present this issue of the journal to you. It reflects our efforts to grow in both quality and quantity, attract knowledgeable researchers abroad, and provide a forum for discussion. In the new year, I look forward to our further expansion as we move from two issues per volume to three. You can expect to see more discussion of research developments throughout the world, an expanded book review section to include reviews of books written in languages other than English, and even more articles as the results of our partnerships. The additional issue will affect our publication schedule so that you can expect to see your next issue in March. In the meantime, I encourage you to visit the JNS Web site, where you'll find previews of upcoming issues and other features.

Dear Readers,This issue gathers the fruits of the efforts of our entire editorial team, and includes highlights of work in comparative philosophy, presentations from recent meetings of the North American Nietzsche Society, extensive dialogue between scholars working in related areas of Nietzsche studies, and reviews of current scholarship.The first section collects several papers revised from presentations given at the 19th Meeting of the Friedrich Nietzsche Society in 2013 at University College, Cork, Ireland. The theme of the event was “Thus Spoke Zarathustra: Gateway to the Oeuvre (and Opening to the East).” The society's president, Herman Siemens, reports, “This was an experimental conference in two respects. It is the first time we have held a conference with a work, rather than a specific theme, as its topic, and with Graham Parkes's guidance and expertise we were able to combine it with a rapidly growing field of interest in Nietzsche-scholarship and Western philosophy more broadly—the comparative study of Western and Eastern philosophical traditions.” The papers published here were selected for publication following an extensive review process by the conference organizers followed by blind peer review by the journal.Presented at the FNS conference but not published here, was a paper by Brett Davis to which Graham Parkes responded. The substance of that exchange included exploration of their differing views of Nietzsche's concepts of self, agency, and willing, particularly in relation to Buddhist philosophy. Parkes and Davis continue this exchange in a series of letters published here in the Discussion section.For more information about the papers from recent meetings of the North American Nietzsche Society, see NANS editor Jessica Berry's introduction preceding that section.Finally, I wish to inform readers of changes in the editorial staff for the organization and development of our book reviews section. Since 2012, Simon Robertson has ably led our review team, resulting in growth in quantity and quality of books reviewed. Simon is retiring from his position with JNS in order to focus on his own research. We wish him well and extend a hearty welcome to Matthew Meyer, who joins the effort with Tom Bailey.

Dear Readers,It is my pleasure to present you with the third issue of this calendar year, which rounds off the first year of our new publication schedule. The issue represents the fruits of the labors of many hands and reflects the developmental efforts we have initiated during the past several years.In this issue, you will find a substantial set of book reviews, including reviews of books published in languages other than English, another collection of proceedings from the North American Nietzsche Society, an original translation of Nietzsche's marginalia from his collection of Emerson's work, and a research article that provides timely reconsideration and review of the influence of Emerson on Nietzsche. We are also glad to present a research forum contribution from the Munich Nietzsche Society, one of the oldest of its kind.The editorial team welcomes your news items, discussion contributions, and—of course—submissions. Please visit our website for archived book reviews, announcements, and previews of forthcoming issues.

Dear Readers, For nearly a decade, I have had the distinct privilege and pleasure of serving as the editor for the journal. During this time, with the support of a terrific team, the journal has matured to become the leading venue of English-language philosophical research in the area. Our authors benefit from expert critical feedback, and readers have enjoyed more content and an expanded perspective on international research. The journal’s readership continues to grow as we have enhanced electronic access and indexing. Serving as editor has given me terrific opportunities to meet new people, learn about important scholarship, and contribute to shaping the field—these are opportunities that should...

Dear Readers, For nearly a decade, I have had the distinct privilege and pleasure of serving as the editor for the journal. During this time, with the support of a terrific team, the journal has matured to become the leading venue of English-language philosophical research in the area. Our authors benefit from expert critical feedback, and readers have enjoyed more content and an expanded perspective on international research. The journal’s readership continues to grow as we have enhanced electronic access and indexing. Serving as editor has given me terrific opportunities to meet new people, learn about important scholarship, and contribute to shaping the field—these are opportunities that should...

Dear Readers, For nearly a decade, I have had the distinct privilege and pleasure of serving as the editor for the journal. During this time, with the support of a terrific team, the journal has matured to become the leading venue of English-language philosophical research in the area. Our authors benefit from expert critical feedback, and readers have enjoyed more content and an expanded perspective on international research. The journal’s readership continues to grow as we have enhanced electronic access and indexing. Serving as editor has given me terrific opportunities to meet new people, learn about important scholarship, and contribute to shaping the field—these are opportunities that should...

Dear Readers, For nearly a decade, I have had the distinct privilege and pleasure of serving as the editor for the journal. During this time, with the support of a terrific team, the journal has matured to become the leading venue of English-language philosophical research in the area. Our authors benefit from expert critical feedback, and readers have enjoyed more content and an expanded perspective on international research. The journal’s readership continues to grow as we have enhanced electronic access and indexing. Serving as editor has given me terrific opportunities to meet new people, learn about important scholarship, and contribute to shaping the field—these are opportunities that should...

Dear Readers,With this issue, the Journal of Nietzsche Studies buries its twentieth year and continues to strive to be a resource and standard-bearer for Nietzsche scholarship. Its contents reflect this mission and commitment, as readers will find articles that engage a host of important topics, contemporary research, and on-going controversies; an abundance of reviews of recent scholarship; and important philological work.I am pleased to announce several changes. The first two stem from enhancements in our use of technology to present and distribute research. We will soon launch a revamped Web site that will allow greater ease for updating. This should result in our ability to share more information and with..

Dear Readers, For nearly a decade, I have had the distinct privilege and pleasure of serving as the editor for the journal. During this time, with the support of a terrific team, the journal has matured to become the leading venue of English-language philosophical research in the area. Our authors benefit from expert critical feedback, and readers have enjoyed more content and an expanded perspective on international research. The journal’s readership continues to grow as we have enhanced electronic access and indexing. Serving as editor has given me terrific opportunities to meet new people, learn about important scholarship, and contribute to shaping the field—these are opportunities that should...

In this groundbreaking work, Christa Davis Acampora offers a profound rethinking of Friedrich Nietzsche’s crucial notion of the agon. Analyzing an impressive array of primary and secondary sources and synthesizing decades of Nietzsche scholarship, she shows how the agon, or contest, organized core areas of Nietzsche’s philosophy, providing a new appreciation of the subtleties of his notorious views about power. By focusing so intensely on this particular guiding interest, she offers an exciting, original vantage from which to view this iconic thinker: Contesting Nietzsche. Though existence—viewed through the lens of Nietzsche’s agon—is fraught with struggle, Acampora illuminates what Nietzsche recognized as the agon’s generative benefits. It imbues the human experience with significance, meaning, and value. Analyzing Nietzsche’s elaborations of agonism—his remarks on types of contests, qualities of contestants, and the conditions in which either may thrive or deteriorate—she demonstrates how much the agon shaped his philosophical projects and critical assessments of others. The agon led him from one set of concerns to the next, from aesthetics to metaphysics to ethics to psychology, via Homer, Socrates, Saint Paul, and Wagner. In showing how one obsession catalyzed so many diverse interests, Contesting Nietzsche sheds fundamentally new light on some of this philosopher’s most difficult and paradoxical ideas.

Beyond Good and Evil contains Nietzsche's mature philosophy of the free spirit. Although it is one of his most widely read texts, it is a notoriously difficult piece of philosophical writing. The authors demonstrate in clear and precise terms why it is to be regarded as Nietzsche's philosophical masterpiece and the work of a revolutionary genius. This Reader's Guide is the ideal companion to study, offering guidance on: - Philosophical and historical context - Key themes - Reading the text - Further reading.