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/lp/penn-state-university-press/letter-from-the-editor-x9UrpXJ61H
- Publisher
- Penn State University Press
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Pennsylvania State University.
- ISSN
- 1538-4594
Abstract
Dear Readers, Nietzsche’s familiarity with the anti-Semitic literature of his era and its various tropes—the nature, depth, and extent of that familiarity, his references and appeals to seminal works, and even his employment of those tropes—have long been an object of grim fascination for Nietzsche scholars and casual readers. The mission of this journal is to advance our understanding of Nietzsche’s philosophical thought and signifi- cance, and discharging that mission successfully requires our coming to terms with what seem to be even the least agreeable, most uncomfort- able aspects of his legacy. In this issue, we bring you a symposium on “The Biology of Evil,” by Ken Gemes (Birkbeck), a study that illuminates Nietzsche’s use specifically of the rhetoric of “degeneration” (Entartung ) and “Jewification” (Verjüdung ). Gemes connects Nietzsche’s use of this rhetoric to the ubiquitous concept of “health” in his work and argues for a nuanced reading on which Nietzsche aims to weaponize these ideas, turning them back on the reader and on those who harbor and promote the poisonous ideals of anti-Semitism. Because our consideration of these weighty questions should be a con- versation and not a monologue, we have invited critical commentary from Nietzsche scholars
Journal
The Journal of Nietzsche Studies – Penn State University Press
Published: Apr 20, 2021