R. Kevin Hill

This book gives a new interpretation of Nietzsche's philosophy and examines in detail his debt to Kant, in particular the Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason, and Critique of Judgement. Nietzsche, it argues, knew Kant far better than is commonly thought, and can only be thoroughly understood in relation to Kant. Nietzsche's Critiques maintains that beneath the surface of his texts there is a systematic commitment to a form of early Neo-Kantianism in metaphysics and epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics, grounded in his reading of the three Critiques, Kuno Fischer's commentary on the first Critique, and Friedrich Lange's discussion of Kant in The History of Materialism. The book also documents the decisive influence Nietzsche's close reading of the Critique of Judgement had on the writing of the Birth of Tragedy, and offers a remarkably accessible interpretation of Kant's system, while clarifying such difficult issues as the interpretation of Kant's ‘Transcendental Deduction’ and his notion of reflective judgement.

Elegance in software is widely recognized by professionals, but not well articulated. Program elegance rests on not only efficiency, as widely acknowledged, but other features that reflect the notion in other creative endeavors where artifacts are built under constraints, such as architecture. We suggest a compendium of minimality, accomplishment, modesty, and revelation, discussion of which reveals some subtleties. Programming experience enhances appreciation of these features, especially the last. Together, they can viewed as a program’s degree of “fit” to the task, raising other questions in common with any problem of the philosophy of aesthetics.

Nietzsche's critique of metaphysics has been interpreted as an enterprise with consequences, not just for metaphysics as it has been traditionally practiced, but also for the very possibility of cognitive language and thought. ;However, for Nietzsche's other philosophical claims to possess binding force for his readers, he must implicitly deny much of what recent interpreters accept about the nature of theory and the nature of truth. The critique of metaphysics has a narrower scope than they believe. The anti-metaphysical claims can be rendered plausible without throwing his other enterprises into jeopardy. ;In chapter two, the Schopenhauerian system and Nietzsche's modification of it is sketched, which shows that his hostility to metaphysics was driven by his refusal to accept non-naturalistic explanations of psychological and cultural phenomena, and not by a rejection of theory as such. Though the early writings about Lange contain a fair amount of deconstructive rhetoric, his enthusiasm about Lange can only be found in a brief portion of his early period. He did not regard his own assertions in his mature period as "conceptual poetry." ;In chapters three and four, Nietzsche's positive claim about the nature of metaphysics and truth are interpreted. First, metaphysicians are motivated by psychological interests which are not conducive to truth-seeking. Second, metaphysical claims gain much of their plausibility from their seemingly a priori status, but this can be explained away by regarding them, as Carnap does, as pseudo-statements which do not represent reality, but merely display the formal structure of the linguistic framework the representor is using. Finally, there is no thing-in-itself or metaphysical reality which the metaphysician's claims might represent, and if only such claims are true, then the "truth" the metaphysician seeks is a mirage. Each of these three aspects of the critique of metaphysics can be made plausible without endangering the cognitivity of his other philosophical claims

Kevin Hill's highly original new interpretation of Nietzsche's philosophy is the first to examine in detail his debt to Kant, in particular the Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason, and Critique of Judgement. Nietzsche, Hill argues, knew Kant far better than is commonly thought, and can only be thoroughly understood in relation to Kant.Nietzsche's Critiques maintains that beneath the surface of his texts there is a systematic commitment to a form of early Neo-Kantianism in metaphysics and epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics, grounded in his reading of the three Critiques, Kuno Fischer's commentary on the first Critique, and Friedrich Lange's discussion of Kant in The History of Materialism. The book also documents the decisive influence Nietzsche's close reading of the Critique of Judgement had on the writing of the Birth of Tragedy, and offers a remarkably accessible interpretation of Kant's system, while clarifying such difficult issues as the interpretation of Kant's 'Transcendental Deduction' and his notion of reflective judgement.Lucid and thorough, Hill's work will be of great value to scholars and students with interests in either of these philosophical giants, or in the history of ideas generally.