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Beyond compassion : on Nietzsche’s moral therapy in Dawn

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Ansell-Pearson, Keith, 1960-. (2011) Beyond compassion : on Nietzsche’s moral therapy in Dawn. Continental Philosophy Review, Vol.44 (No.2). pp. 179-204. ISSN 1387-2842

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11007-011-9181-x

Abstract

In this essay I seek to show that a philosophy of modesty informs core aspects of both Nietzsche's critique of morality and what he intends to replace morality with, namely, an ethics of self-cultivation. To demonstrate this I focus on Dawn: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality, a largely neglected text in his corpus where Nietzsche carries out a quite wide-ranging critique of morality, including Mitleid. It is one of Nietzsche's most experimental works and is best read, I claim, as an Epicurean-inspired critique of the present and an exercise in moral therapy. In the opening sections I draw attention to the wider social dimension of the text and its concern with a morality of compassion, which is rarely done in the literature. I then turn to highlighting Nietzsche's 'Epicurean moment', followed by two sections on Nietzsche on the self in which I aim to bring to light his ethics of self-cultivation and show in what ways his revaluation makes central to ethics a modest egoism and care of self. In the conclusion to the essay I provide a contrast between Nietzsche and Kant and deal with reservations readers might have about his ethics. Overall, the essay seeks to make a contribution to an appreciation of Dawn as a work of moral therapy.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Philosophy
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900. Morgenröthe -- Criticism and interpretation, Ethics, Modesty
Journal or Publication Title:	Continental Philosophy Review
Publisher:	Springer
ISSN:	1387-2842
Date:	May 2011
Volume:	Vol.44
Number:	No.2
Page Range:	pp. 179-204
Identification Number:	10.1007/s11007-011-9181-x
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/37682