The Polemics of Ressentiment: Variations on Nietzsche

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The rise of populism, cynicism, fanaticism and fundamentalism challenges us to reconsider the problem of ressentiment. Characterized by Nietzsche as the self-poisoning of the will through internalising trauma in the form of a postponed and imaginary revenge, the concept of ressentiment is making a comeback in political discourse. Unlike resentment, the feeling of injustice, ressentiment is an intrinsically polemical notion. It implies a political drama in which there is no inherent good sense in its application and no universal criterion. Drawing on psychoanalysis, political theory, media theory and philosophy, this book examines a wide variety of ideological contexts, offering an examination of the divergent senses in which the concept of ressentiment is used today.

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A remarkably timely volume, exploring ressentiment as a problem of voluntary servitude and clearly articulating its critical and polemical value, in a good mix of contributions from prominent thinkers and early-career researchers. One of the richest and most coherently framed discussions of ressentiment in Continental philosophy in recent decades. -- Oliver Davis, Co-Director, Centre for Research in Philosophy, Literature and the Arts, Warwick University, UK

Author Bio

Sjoerd van Tuinen is Assistant Professor in Philosophy and Co-Founder of the Erasmus Institute for Public Knowledge, at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.