Constructing the Agon
Constructing the Agon
From his early essay ‘Homer’s Contest’ to his final writings, Nietzsche’s fundamental model of both individual and collective modes of government is provided by the model of Greek institution of the agon, classically represented in the political contests conducted in the agora, in dramatic competitions such as the Dionysia, and in the Olympic games. Nietzsche’s agonism, it is argued, is bound up with his doctrine of will to power, his understanding of freedom (autonomy) and his perfectionism as well as his commitment to (psychological and sociological) realism in ethics and political theory, to his development of genealogy as an historical approach to philosophy, and to his deployment of exemplars to articulate alternative ethical ideals. Using this framework, this chapter explores Nietzsche’s relationship to contemporary political philosophy in terms of the themes of realism, agonism and genealogy.
299-313
Owen, David
9fc71bca-07d1-44af-9248-1b9545265a58
1 January 2018
Owen, David
9fc71bca-07d1-44af-9248-1b9545265a58
Owen, David
(2018)
Constructing the Agon.
In,
Katsafanas, Paul
(ed.)
The Nietzschean Mind.
1st ed.
Taylor & Francis, .
(doi:10.4324/9781315146317).
Record type:
Book Section
Abstract
From his early essay ‘Homer’s Contest’ to his final writings, Nietzsche’s fundamental model of both individual and collective modes of government is provided by the model of Greek institution of the agon, classically represented in the political contests conducted in the agora, in dramatic competitions such as the Dionysia, and in the Olympic games. Nietzsche’s agonism, it is argued, is bound up with his doctrine of will to power, his understanding of freedom (autonomy) and his perfectionism as well as his commitment to (psychological and sociological) realism in ethics and political theory, to his development of genealogy as an historical approach to philosophy, and to his deployment of exemplars to articulate alternative ethical ideals. Using this framework, this chapter explores Nietzsche’s relationship to contemporary political philosophy in terms of the themes of realism, agonism and genealogy.
Text
Constructing the Agon1
- Accepted Manuscript
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 23 February 2016
Published date: 1 January 2018
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 412484
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/412484
PURE UUID: 35a58353-1034-45e4-8c63-bf54ee9db886
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 17 Jul 2017 13:59
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:50
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Editor:
Paul Katsafanas
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
