Nietzsche's philosophical psychology

Abstract

The book offers a systematic account of Nietzsche's philosophical psychology. The main theme is the nature of and relation between unconscious and conscious mind. Whereas Nietzsche takes consciousness to be a mere 'surface'-as he writes in Ecce Homo-that evolved in the course of human socialization, he sees the bedrock of human psychology as constituted by unconscious drives and affects. But how does he conceive of such basic psychological items and what does he mean exactly when he talks about consciousness and says it is a 'surface'? And how does such a conception of human psychology inform his views about self, self-knowledge, and will? These are some of the questions that are addressed in this book. This is done by combining a historical approach with conceptual analysis. On the one hand, Nietzsche's claims are carefully reconstructed by taking into account the intellectual context in which they emerged. On the other hand, in order to work out their philosophical significance, the claims are discussed in the light of contemporary debates such as those about higher-order theories of consciousness and mind-reading.