Papers by William A B Parkhurst
Genealogy
Traditional interpretations of Nietzsche’s The Genealogy of Morals (GM) argue that the work is a ... more Traditional interpretations of Nietzsche’s The Genealogy of Morals (GM) argue that the work is a treatise on, or a straightforward account of, Nietzsche’s moral thinking. This is typically contrasted with what has become known as the postmodern reading, which holds that the core of GM is an attack on the very notion of the truth itself. These two interpretations are often taken to be non-coextensive and mutually exclusive. However, I argue, using a genetic form of argumentation that tracks the development of the text through archival evidence, that both are partially correct, since Nietzsche sees all fundamental problems hitherto as moral questions in service of the ascetic ideal and the will to truth. According to Nietzsche, all the hitherto fundamental questions of philosophy are not value-free but are deeply value-laden. To put this more precisely, Nietzsche rejects the fact-value distinction itself. Questions of morality are not separable from epistemology, questions of epistemo...
Nietzscheforschung, 2021
One of the most common-sense assumptions made by scholars today is that any
text which is printed... more One of the most common-sense assumptions made by scholars today is that any
text which is printed and given to the public by a publisher, with the authors permission, is meant to be read. One of the interesting and historically confounding
cases concerns a line in Nietzsche’s Human, All-Too-Human (MA) that was printed
and delivered into the hands of the public, but was never intended to be read. This
line, I argue, demonstrates that our contemporary assumptions about the publishing process in 19th century Germany can sometimes be wildly wrong. These assumptions often distort and cover over the actual history of texts as material objects. I
hold that it is only through dealing with the materiality of texts themselves in their
unedited form that we can begin correcting these distortions. That is, when we as
scholars work with edited complete editions and do not also deal with the manuscripts themselves, we are often persuaded to philologically unsupportable conclusions.
Freedom and Society: Essays on Autonomy, Identity, and Political Freedom (Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 2021), 2021
Nietzsche's ideas surrounding political choice and freedom have generated not only political uphe... more Nietzsche's ideas surrounding political choice and freedom have generated not only political upheaval though misinterpretation but also deep disagreements among scholars surrounding even the most basic of premises. I argue that Nietzsche is best understood as offering a form of political freedom though the careful use of language. I articulate a positive necessary consequent hidden within Nietzsche's philosophy that supports a democratic notion of political freedom. Nietzsche, however, actively tried to suppress it's realization.
Nietzsche-Studien, 2020
This publication demonstrates Nietzsche's uncited use of Ueberweg's Ueber Die Platonische Weltseele.
Nietzsche-Studien, 2020
Based on a review of the literature and historical evidence, I argue that the use of the methodol... more Based on a review of the literature and historical evidence, I argue that the use of the methodological principle known as the priority principle in AngloAmeri can Nietzsche scholarship is inconsistent and irreconcilable with historical evidence. It attempts to demarcate between the published works and the Nachlass. However, there are no agreed upon necessary and sufficient conditions of a particular textual object being considered "Nachlass." This absence leads to implicit and often tacit value demarcation criteria that can be broadly grouped into four types of consider ation: publication, authorization, publicness, and audience. Each of these criteria pick out a different set of texts as "Nachlass." Thus, despite the veneer of agreement, the most broadly accepted methodological approach in the AngloAmerican tradition of Nietzsche scholarship is applied inconsistently. I argue that we must either offer necessary and sufficient conditions for a piece of text being Nachlass, or we ought to abandon such abstract criteria altogether and embrace a contextual and historical approach. I then argue that the first option is impossible given historical evidence. I conclude this article by explicating several recent German approaches to the Nachlass which I think can offer a new possible approach.
Le foucaldien, 2020
Despite the veneer of agreement, Foucault scholars disagree deeply
about where to demarcate the p... more Despite the veneer of agreement, Foucault scholars disagree deeply
about where to demarcate the published from the unpublished texts of
Foucault. I differentiate four, often tacit, demarcation criteria commonly
used by scholars through a survey of the secondary literature (publication, publication*, authorization, and publicness). These demarcation criteria generate different and non-coextensive sets of texts categorized as published. Each of these demarcation criteria are problematized by Foucault's complex publication history. The presupposition that there exists a clear division between published and unpublished texts is a false dichotomy and should be abandoned. Instead, scholars must be explicit about why particular kinds of historical evidence are valuable to their projects and avoid abstractions. This should lead to historically informed methodological discussions with a focus on the material facts of individual texts rather than relying on an abstract and historically falsifiable dichotomy.
Schopenhauer-Jahrbuch, 2019
I offer three tables indexing Schopenhauer’s reading on mathematics. The first table is lists mat... more I offer three tables indexing Schopenhauer’s reading on mathematics. The first table is lists mathematics texts Schopenhauer borrowed from a library in Weimar (“Herzogliche Bibliothek”) between 1808 and 1814. The second table indexes the books on mathematics Schopenhauer borrowed from the Royal Public Library in Dresden during the time when Schopenhauer was writing The World as Will and Representation. The third table reflects the mathematics texts in his personal library stored at the Schopenhauer-Archive in Frankfurt. This data elucidates Schopenhauer’s changing historical relationship with mathematics as indicated by his shifting citations through the years. In this essay I demonstrate the usefulness of this data and analyze section 15 in volume I of The World as Will and Representation [WWR] which contains Schopenhauer’s criticism of Euclidean geometry.
The Agonist: A Nietzsche Circle Journal (Vol. XII, Issue II: Spring 2020), 2020
One area of research that has been lacking is philosophical use of disgust to pedagogically diagn... more One area of research that has been lacking is philosophical use of disgust to pedagogically diagnose and communicate something foundational to the western tradition; misanthropy. I explore this possibility through an analysis of the pedagogical use of disgust within the texts of Friedrich Nietzsche.
The foundational disgust with mankind that sparks the need for metaphysical backworlds and theological afterworlds must be thought through to its end. Some scholars holds that the thought of eternal recurrence functions as a mirror that shows us our true selves. It allows us to see our predispositions towards life. However, I claim it is not simply a diagnostic tool or litmus test because thinking the thought of eternal recurrence through does more than just reflect our image back to us. Rather, it magnifies and over exaggerates our own predispositions and the predispositions of western metaphysics. By exaggerating our predispositions, it shows us just how strange this disgust with human finitude really is and gives us the opportunity to overcome it and affirm life.
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Papers by William A B Parkhurst
text which is printed and given to the public by a publisher, with the authors permission, is meant to be read. One of the interesting and historically confounding
cases concerns a line in Nietzsche’s Human, All-Too-Human (MA) that was printed
and delivered into the hands of the public, but was never intended to be read. This
line, I argue, demonstrates that our contemporary assumptions about the publishing process in 19th century Germany can sometimes be wildly wrong. These assumptions often distort and cover over the actual history of texts as material objects. I
hold that it is only through dealing with the materiality of texts themselves in their
unedited form that we can begin correcting these distortions. That is, when we as
scholars work with edited complete editions and do not also deal with the manuscripts themselves, we are often persuaded to philologically unsupportable conclusions.
about where to demarcate the published from the unpublished texts of
Foucault. I differentiate four, often tacit, demarcation criteria commonly
used by scholars through a survey of the secondary literature (publication, publication*, authorization, and publicness). These demarcation criteria generate different and non-coextensive sets of texts categorized as published. Each of these demarcation criteria are problematized by Foucault's complex publication history. The presupposition that there exists a clear division between published and unpublished texts is a false dichotomy and should be abandoned. Instead, scholars must be explicit about why particular kinds of historical evidence are valuable to their projects and avoid abstractions. This should lead to historically informed methodological discussions with a focus on the material facts of individual texts rather than relying on an abstract and historically falsifiable dichotomy.
The foundational disgust with mankind that sparks the need for metaphysical backworlds and theological afterworlds must be thought through to its end. Some scholars holds that the thought of eternal recurrence functions as a mirror that shows us our true selves. It allows us to see our predispositions towards life. However, I claim it is not simply a diagnostic tool or litmus test because thinking the thought of eternal recurrence through does more than just reflect our image back to us. Rather, it magnifies and over exaggerates our own predispositions and the predispositions of western metaphysics. By exaggerating our predispositions, it shows us just how strange this disgust with human finitude really is and gives us the opportunity to overcome it and affirm life.
text which is printed and given to the public by a publisher, with the authors permission, is meant to be read. One of the interesting and historically confounding
cases concerns a line in Nietzsche’s Human, All-Too-Human (MA) that was printed
and delivered into the hands of the public, but was never intended to be read. This
line, I argue, demonstrates that our contemporary assumptions about the publishing process in 19th century Germany can sometimes be wildly wrong. These assumptions often distort and cover over the actual history of texts as material objects. I
hold that it is only through dealing with the materiality of texts themselves in their
unedited form that we can begin correcting these distortions. That is, when we as
scholars work with edited complete editions and do not also deal with the manuscripts themselves, we are often persuaded to philologically unsupportable conclusions.
about where to demarcate the published from the unpublished texts of
Foucault. I differentiate four, often tacit, demarcation criteria commonly
used by scholars through a survey of the secondary literature (publication, publication*, authorization, and publicness). These demarcation criteria generate different and non-coextensive sets of texts categorized as published. Each of these demarcation criteria are problematized by Foucault's complex publication history. The presupposition that there exists a clear division between published and unpublished texts is a false dichotomy and should be abandoned. Instead, scholars must be explicit about why particular kinds of historical evidence are valuable to their projects and avoid abstractions. This should lead to historically informed methodological discussions with a focus on the material facts of individual texts rather than relying on an abstract and historically falsifiable dichotomy.
The foundational disgust with mankind that sparks the need for metaphysical backworlds and theological afterworlds must be thought through to its end. Some scholars holds that the thought of eternal recurrence functions as a mirror that shows us our true selves. It allows us to see our predispositions towards life. However, I claim it is not simply a diagnostic tool or litmus test because thinking the thought of eternal recurrence through does more than just reflect our image back to us. Rather, it magnifies and over exaggerates our own predispositions and the predispositions of western metaphysics. By exaggerating our predispositions, it shows us just how strange this disgust with human finitude really is and gives us the opportunity to overcome it and affirm life.