Nietzsche’s Domestication: Between Elisabeth’s Myth and Kaufmann’s Interpretation Cover Image

Nietzschės domestikacija: tarp Elisabethʼės mito ir Kaufmanno interpretacijos
Nietzsche’s Domestication: Between Elisabeth’s Myth and Kaufmann’s Interpretation

Author(s): Jokūbas Andrijauskas
Subject(s): Political Philosophy, Social Philosophy, 19th Century Philosophy, Fascism, Nazism and WW II
Published by: Vilniaus Universiteto Leidykla
Keywords: F. Nietzsche; domestication; politics; Elisabeth; Kaufmann;

Summary/Abstract: Friedrich Nietzsche’s political philosophy, permeated by aristocratic radicalism, challenges contemporary values, but is often smoothed out or depoliticised. In this text, I analyse two tactics by which this is accomplished in Nietzsche’s research. I analyse the myth of Elisabeth Förster – Nietzsche’s alleged falsification of texts as a factually unsubstantiated projection, and Walter Kaufmann’s apolitical interpretation of Nietzsche’s philosophy as meaningfully limited. I show that, despite Nietzsche’s anti-antisemitism and critique of German culture, his aristocratic radicalism justifies a hierarchical, brutal politics. I argue that both Elisabeth’s myth and Kaufmann’s interpretation can be understood as a specific form of interpretation, as domestication. I argue that these forms of domestication contradict the pursuit of ‘harsh truths’ which is essential to Nietzsche’s philosophy. Lastly, I claim that domestication is a serious obstacle to a reconstruction of Nietzsche’s political thought.

  • Issue Year: 2025
  • Issue No: 108
  • Page Range: 22-34
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Lithuanian
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