Nietzsche on Women and the Eternal-Feminine: A Critique of Truth and Values

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By re-examining Nietzsche's notion of the eternal-feminine and his views on women and feminism, this volume offers new perspectives on some of his key ideas. It brings together a diverse group of scholars tocritically engage with Nietzsches use of late-19th-century gender stereotypes and the ways in which they served his critique of values, including his use of woman as a trope for truth. Among other subjects, the contributors consider the role of psychology in Nietzsche's thought, his concern with style, self-creation, and advocacy of perfectionism, his views on romantic love and marriage, and his aim of revaluing all values to instigate a distant philosophy of the future. They investigate parallels between Nietzsches thought and Shaktism, his relation to Goethe and Stendahl, and his influence on Beauvoir, Butler, and Dohm. With the inclusion of two seminal essays on Nietzsche and women by Lawrence J. Hatab and Kelly Oliver, the volume also illustrates some of the ways in which scholarship on these subjects has evolved over the last four decades. Providing fresh insights into these inter-related subjects, Nietzsche on Women and the Eternal-Feminine highlights the enduring relevance of his thought and its still-underappreciated potential for re-thinking both the bases for and aims of feminism and other emancipatory movements.

Reviews

Like Goethes expression the Eternal-Feminine, Nietzsches status as a feminist thinker has been perceived as regressive and progressive alike. Michael J. McNeal brings together a thought-provoking set of essays that interrogate the role of the feminine in Nietzsches thought in a way that directly addresses our contemporary debate about gender and identity. * Paul Bishop, William Jacks Chair of Modern Languages, University of Glasgow, UK *
However controversial Nietzsches views on the feminine might be, few can deny his importance in identifying sexual difference as a philosophical issue. In this wide-ranging, highly stimulating collection of essays, the importance of Nietzsche as a thinker of the feminine is newly foregrounded and newly invigorated for our times. * Jill Marsden, Professor of Literature and Philosophy, The University of Bolton, UK *

Author Bio

Michael J. McNeal is Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and International Relations at the University of Denver, USA.