Nietzsche, Religion, and Mood

Open Access Published by De Gruyter 2019

Volume 71 in the series Monographien und Texte zur Nietzsche-Forschung

How does Nietzsche, as psychologist, envision the future of religion and

atheism? While there has been no lack of “psychological” studies that

have sought to illuminate Nietzsche's philosophy of religion by

interpreting his biography, this monograph is the first comprehensive

study to approach the topic through the philosopher's own psychological

thinking. The author shows how Nietzsche's critical writings on religion,

and especially on religious decline and future possibilities, are informed

by his psychological thinking about moods. The author furthermore

argues that the clarification of this aspect of the philosopher’s work is

essential to interpreting some of the most ambiguous words found in his

writings; the words that God is dead. Instead of merely denying the

existence of God in a way that leaves a melancholic need for religion or a

futile search for replacements intact, Nietzsche arguably envisions the

possibility of a radical atheism, which is characterized by a mood of joyful

doubt. The examination of this vision should be of great interest to

scholars of Nietzsche and of the history of philosophy, but also of

relevance to all those who take an interest in the interdisciplinary

discourse on secularization.

Sampsa Andrei Saarinen, Helsinki.

Frontmatter Open Access Download PDF	I
Preface and acknowledgements Open Access Download PDF	V
Contents Open Access Download PDF	VII
1. Introduction Open Access Download PDF	1
2. Nietzsche and the inadequate secularization of the “heart” in the 19^thcentury Open Access Download PDF	20
3. Nietzsche’s psychology and the tension between body and spirit Open Access Download PDF	29
4. Nietzsche’s psychology of religion in Human, All Too Human and Daybreak Open Access Download PDF	55
5. On the communication of mood in Nietzsche’s Gay Science Open Access Download PDF	116
6. Thus Spoke Zarathustra: Communication of mood or nihilistic self-parody? Open Access Download PDF	185
7. Nietzsche’s final ideal Open Access Download PDF	210
8. Nietzsche’s radical atheism? Open Access Download PDF	228
9. Conclusions Open Access Download PDF	239
10. Literature Open Access Download PDF	257
Index of Names Open Access Download PDF	267
Index of Subjects Open Access Download PDF	268

(Deutsch)

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