7 - Nietzscheanism, naturalism and science

Summary

The aim of this final chapter is to survey some of the main trends in recent Nietzsche scholarship and influence, that is, roughly over the past twenty years. While there have been many such Nietzschean trends in this period, we shall focus on two major themes: naturalism and science. Nietzsche's relation to science, and the interpretation of Nietzsche as primarily a naturalist philosopher, have been variously cited as the main trends in recent Nietzsche scholarship (see, respectively, Diethe 2006: xl; Ansell-Pearson 2011, respectively). These two themes are related. Naturalism, in the one of its several forms we shall focus on here, is the idea that thought needs to connect with and be grounded in the natural sciences. While the importance of the natural sciences for Nietzsche has long been recognized, it is only recently that this relatively underexplored topic has begun to receive the attention it deserves.

Naturalism

When will all these shadows of god no longer darken us? When will we have completely de-deified nature? When may we begin to naturalise humanity with a pure, newly discovered, newly redeemed nature?

(GS 109)

Reading Nietzsche as a naturalist is one of the dominant trends in recent Nietzsche scholarship. In a general sense, naturalism is perhaps most usefully approached by contrasting it with supernaturalism, that is, the belief in the kinds of supernatural ideas Nietzsche frequently attacks, such as God, a divine will, a true world and so on. Christianity and metaphysics are replete with such supernatural ideas.