Nietzsche's Ethical Theory: Mind, Self and Responsibility

(Hardback)

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This important new book explores the ethical theory of Friedrich Nietzsche in light of recent work done in the philosophy of mind.
Craig Dove examines issues of free will, communication, the way in which we construct the self, and the implications of all these for ethics. After dismissing what he calls the 'soul hypothesis', Nietzsche is left with a problem: how do we explain the sense of unity and continuity most of us experience as our identity Drawing on recent work in cognitive science and philosophy of mind, this study shows that Nietzsche's tentative suggestions in the late nineteenth century have been supported by late twentieth century research. Arguing that work done in the philosophy of mind by Paul Churchland and Daniel Dennett helps to illuminate Nietzsche's positive ethical doctrine, Dove goes on to show that recent work has not adequately thought through the implications for ethics, while Nietzsche has already accomplished precisely that. This is an important and original contribution to an ongoing debate.

Reviews

Mention -Chronicle of Higher Education, January 23, 2009
"The writing is clear, the arguments are imaginative, and Dove broaches a range of important, central topics. He draws interesting, suggestive connections between Nietzsche's claims and contemporary work in philosophy of mind. Anyone who is interested in exploring these potential similarities will find many helpful claims here." - Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews -- Paul Katsafanas * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *

Author Bio

Craig Dove has taught at Radford University, Roanoke College, Randolph Macon Woman's College, and currently teaches at Indiana University East, USA.