Stephen Houlgate

Alan White’s review in The Owl, 22, 1 : 91–96, of my book, Hegel, Nietzsche, and the Criticism of Metaphysics, offers a generous appraisal of what he considers to be the book’s merits and faults. White is clearly not satisfied that the book has successfully accomplished what it set out to achieve. However, after having been told by one reviewer that what “plainly” lay closest to my heart was a full-blooded defense of Hegel, and after having been scolded by another reviewer for not having “engaged” with Nietzsche in the manner of Heidegger and for daring to suggest that Nietzsche might have been misguided in his thinking, it it pleasing to read a review - there have fortunately been one or two others as well - which considers worthwhile not only the project of the book itself, but also to explain in some detail what the book is actually about. For that I am very grateful.

This study of Hegel and Nietzsche evaluates and compares their work through their common criticism of the metaphysics for operating with conceptual oppositions such as being/becoming and egoism/altruism. Dr Houlgate exposes Nietzsche's critique as employing the distinction of Life and Thought, which itself constitutes a metaphysical dualism of the kind Nietzsche attacks. By comparison Hegel is shown to provide a more profound critique of metaphysical dualism by applying his philosophy of the dialectic, which sees such alleged opposites as defining components of a dynamic. In choosing to study a theme so fundamental to both philosophers' work, Houlgate has established a framework within which to evaluate the Hegel-Nietzsche debate; to make the first full study of Nietzsche's view of Hegel's work; and to compare Nietzsche's Dionysic philosophy with Hegel's dialectical philosophy by focusing on tragedy, a subject central to the philosophy of both.