Rhetorics of degeneration: Nietzsche, Lombroso, and Napoleon
Rhetorics of degeneration: Nietzsche, Lombroso, and Napoleon
In this commentary on Ken Gemes's "The Biology of Evil,"I endorse the general reading of Nietzsche's philosophical project proposed by Gemes while contesting his account of Nietzsche's rhetorical engagement with degeneration theory. In particular, I show that Nietzsche is mobilizing a rhetoric of degeneration that invokes, and partially subverts, the picture of degeneration proposed by Caesare Lombroso in which (contra Gemes's adoption of Nordau's view of degeneration) genius and degeneration are linked in a way that enables a positive view of degeneration as a source of social transformation. Focusing on Nietzsche's rhetorical use of the figure of Napoleon in the Genealogy, I argue that Nietzsche's engagement with the tropes of Lombroso's theory provides support for Gemes's claim concerning the ethical aim of Nietzsche's project in a way that his own account of Nietzsche and degeneration cannot.
Creativity, Degeneration, Ethics, Genius, Rhetoric
51-64
Owen, David
9fc71bca-07d1-44af-9248-1b9545265a58
June 2021
Owen, David
9fc71bca-07d1-44af-9248-1b9545265a58
Owen, David
(2021)
Rhetorics of degeneration: Nietzsche, Lombroso, and Napoleon.
Journal of Nietzsche Studies, 52 (1), .
(doi:10.5325/jnietstud.52.1.0051).
Abstract
In this commentary on Ken Gemes's "The Biology of Evil,"I endorse the general reading of Nietzsche's philosophical project proposed by Gemes while contesting his account of Nietzsche's rhetorical engagement with degeneration theory. In particular, I show that Nietzsche is mobilizing a rhetoric of degeneration that invokes, and partially subverts, the picture of degeneration proposed by Caesare Lombroso in which (contra Gemes's adoption of Nordau's view of degeneration) genius and degeneration are linked in a way that enables a positive view of degeneration as a source of social transformation. Focusing on Nietzsche's rhetorical use of the figure of Napoleon in the Genealogy, I argue that Nietzsche's engagement with the tropes of Lombroso's theory provides support for Gemes's claim concerning the ethical aim of Nietzsche's project in a way that his own account of Nietzsche and degeneration cannot.
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Rhetorics of Degeneration
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Accepted/In Press date: 1 January 2021
Published date: June 2021
Keywords:
Creativity, Degeneration, Ethics, Genius, Rhetoric
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Local EPrints ID: 449919
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/449919
ISSN: 0968-8005
PURE UUID: 7aef410a-c4ed-4165-b3a8-d4f9371eb49e
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Date deposited: 25 Jun 2021 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:42
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