Kathleen Wininger

Nietzsche was a thinker of great breadth. He was interested in issues which arise from our lives as cultural beings as well as those which arise within disciplines. In order to get a sense of Nietzsche's philosophy it is important to acknowledge the unity of thought which is such an important part of his writings. In this work I try to capture this unity by suggesting that it is in the experience of living that the issues he raises come together. The demand that philosophy and all thought serve life is crucial to understanding this multifaceted thinker. ;This work is called the reclamation of philosophy because I see Nietzsche engaged in a task of reappropriating certain characteristics of past philosophies into his work. For example he reclaims philosophical reflection as practiced by French moralists, some Presocratic philosophers, and some German thinkers. As a mature writer he is no longer interested in philosophy simply as a place to display skill in analytic or logical reasoning. He is interested in a philosophy which can address the cultural and personal issues of people constructing themselves in their world. He is particularly interested in using philosophical talents to help to discover the values implicit in practices and assumptions which people hold. These 'values' are not just moral and aesthetic they are also epistemologically relevant. ;This work elucidates what Nietzsche has to say about value; particularly what he has to say about moral value, by looking at his views of aesthetic value. Nietzsche rejects a great many standard philosophical methods. He does this on the basis of critical assessments of these methods. I am less interested in the accuracy of his historical critiques than with what Nietzsche believed that they left him. As a consequence I pass over a great deal of controversial material in order to get to what Nietzsche believed were some of the possibilities left for philosophy if his criticisms were correct. My purpose in rehearsing Nietzsche's historical critiques is to find out why he begins his search for his own philosophy where he does

Nietzsche is famous for rejecting a great many standard philosophical methods. He does this on the basis of critical assessments of these methods. Nietzsche's historical critiques are justly famous but the question of what his new philosophy is often not explored. The important issue is what Nietzsche believed were some of the possibilities left for philosophy if his criticisms of previous philosophies were correct. This book is called the 'Reclamation of Philosophy' because Nietzsche is engaged in a task of reappropriating certain characteristics of past philosophies into his work. He reclaims philosophical reflection as practiced by French moralists, some Presocratic philosophers, and some German thinkers. As a mature writer he is no longer interested in philosophy simply as a place to display skill in analytic or logical reasoning. He is interested in a philosophy which can address the cultural and personal issues of people constructing themselves in their world. He is particularly interested in using philosophical talents to help to discover the values implicit in practices and assumptions which people hold. These 'values' are not just moral and aesthetic they are also epistemologically relevant. Nietzsche's Reclamation of Philosophy elucidates what Nietzsche has to say about value; particularly what he has to say about moral value, by looking at his views of aesthetic value.