Why We Are not Nietzscheans

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by Aran

A collection of essays argues against adopting a Nietzsche shaped and promoted by French deconstructionists as a patron saint. Edited by Luc Ferry and Alain Renaut and translated by Robert de Loaiza, the volume frames its guiding strategy as thinking with Nietzsche against Nietzsche. Contributors revisit the context of Nietzsche’s work and re-evaluate how his ideas travel through modern French philosophy, including critiques of hierarchy-focused history, alleged distortions of religion and art, and an account of science portrayed as reactionary.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages246

Reading Time6 h 19 min

AccessFree to download

Preface to the 1991 French Edition

Hierarchy and Truth

The Brute, the Sophist, and the Aesthete: "Art in Service of Illusion"

Nietzsche's French Moment

"What Must First Be Proved Is Worth Little"

# WHY WE ARE NoTNIETZSCHEANS EDITED BY Lu c Ferry and A1ain Ren au t TRANSLATED BY Robert de Lo aiz a P H I LP H Y "To think with Nietzsche against Nietzsche."Thus the editors describe the strate-gy adopted in this volume to soften the destructive effects of Nietzsche's "philos-ophy with a hammer”on French philosophy since the 1960s.Frustrated by theinfinite inclusiveness of deconstructionism,the contributors to this volume seekto renew the Enlightenment quest for rationality. Though linked by no common dogma,these essays all argue that the "FrenchNietzsche"transmitted through the deconstructionists must be reexamined inlight of the original context in which Nietzsche worked.Each essay questions theviability of Nietzsche's thought in the modern world,variously critiquing his phi-losophy of history as obsessed with hierarchy,his views on religion and art asmyopic and irrational,and his stance on science as hopelessly reactionary. Contending that we must abandon the Nietzsche propped up as patron saintby French deconstructionists in order to return to reason,these essays will stim-ulate debate not just among Nietzscheans but among all with a stake in modernFrench philosophy. The contributors are Alain Boyer,André Comte-Sponville,VincentDescombes,Luc Ferry.Robert Legros,Philippe Raynaud,Alain Renaut,andPierre-André Taguieff. "In recent years,a new generation of French philosophers have movedbeyond the Nietzsche fascination which has gripped so many of their cele-brated elders.This fine anthology surveys the different paths they havecleared to a renewed,if chastened,commitment to the beleaguered ideals oftruth,reason,and morality."—Charles Larmore,Columbia University Luc FERRY is professor of philosophy at the Sorbonne and at the University ofCaen.He is author or coauthor of six volumes published by the University ofChicago Press,most recently The New Ecological Order.ALAIN RENAUT is pro-fessor of political science at the Sorbonne.He is coauthor of several books withLuc Ferry,and author of Sartre,le Dernier Philosophe.RoBERT DE LoAIZAlives in Paris and teaches philosophy and English at Nanterre University. Cover design by Andrea Federle-Bucsi Cover illustration:Portrait of Nietzsche,GSA 101/17.courtesy of Stiftung Weimarer Klassik. Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2023 with funding fromKahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/whywearenotnietz0000unse W HY WE A R E N OT NI ET Z S CHE AN S WHY WE ARE notNIETZSCHEANS Edited by LUC FER RY andA LAIN RENAUT Translated by R OBERT DE LOAIZA THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGo PRESSChicago cLondon LucFERRY is professor of philosophy at the Sorbonne and at the University ofCaen.Among his previous books published in translation by the University ofChicago Press is The New Ecological Order.ALAIN RENAUT is professor ofpolitical science at the Sorbonne and the author of Sartre,le dernier philosophe.FERRY and RENAUT are co-authors of Heidegger and Modernity,also publishedby the University of Chicago Press. The University ofChicago Press,Chicago 60637The University of Chicago Press Ltd.,LondonC1997by The University of ChicagoAll rights reserved.Published 1997Printed in the United States of Americao5040302 oI 00999897 I2345 ISBN o-226-2448o-6(cloth) 0-226-2448I-4(paper) Originally published as Pourquoi nous ne sommes pas nietzscheens,◎ Editions Grasset &Fasquelle,I991. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pourquoi nous ne sommes pas Nietzscheens.English. Why we are not Nietzscheans /edited by Luc Ferry and AlainRenaut;translated by Robert de Loaiza p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBNo-226-2448o-6 (cloth:alk.paper).—ISBNo-226-2448I-4 (paper :alk.paper) I.Nietzsche,Friedrich Wilhelm,I844-I90o.I.Ferry,Luc. II.Renaut,Alain.Ⅲ.Title. B3317.P58 I997 96-4I718 I93—dc20 CIP OThe paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the AmericanNational Standard for Informat

FAQs

What is the volume’s central stance toward French deconstructionists’ use of Nietzsche?

The essays argue that Nietzsche transmitted through the deconstructionists must be reexamined in light of Nietzsche’s original context, and that the Nietzsche promoted by these thinkers should be abandoned in favor of reason.

What does the editors’ guiding idea mean: "to think with Nietzsche against Nietzsche"?

It frames a strategy of engaging Nietzsche while challenging the destructive effects attributed to his "philosophy with a hammer" on French philosophy since the 1960s.

How do the essays relate to the Enlightenment and rationality?

They seek to renew the Enlightenment quest for rationality and argue that philosophy is not condemned to infinite deconstruction.

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by Aran