Philosophy Program Presents
"Nietzsche on Fanaticism, Nihilism, and the Possibility of Overriding Commitments"
Monday, April 4, 2016
Olin Humanities, Room 201
7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Paul Katsafanas
Boston University
Boston University
The essential features of religion, for Nietzsche, are that religion provides an interpretation of existence that renders existence meaningful; that it does so by providing overriding commitments (or “higher values”); and that it preserves these commitments by immunizing them from questioning, by cultivating either ignorance or fanaticism. Nietzsche worries that a collapse of religion would bring about a collapse of overriding commitments and thereby usher in nihilism. Thus, he raises a question: can we preserve overriding commitments without lapsing into dogmatism or fanaticism? In an attempt to do so, Nietzsche distinguishes two types of overriding commitments: perspective-independent commitments and perspective-dependent commitments. I'll explore the prospects for this distinction and ask how it might enable us to avoid nihilism.
For more information, call 845-758-7393, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Olin Humanities, Room 201