Deconstructing Postmodernist Nietzscheanism: Deleuze and Foucault

Deconstructing Postmodernist Nietzscheanism explores how Deleuze and Foucault read Nietzsche and apply a hermeneutics of innocence to his philosophy, erasing his elitist, anti-democratic, and anti-socialist dimensions. This misreading affects their own theory and impairs the ability to develop a radical critique. Rehmann's critique is directed against the tendency to use Nietzsche as a symbolic capital without admitting his hierarchical obsession and political flaws.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 337 pages
Publication date: 13 July 2023
Publisher: Haymarket Books

Postmodernism, a philosophical movement that emerged in the late 20th century, has been linked to leftist interpretations of Nietzsche's philosophy. However, the claim and its implications have received limited exploration. In his book, Deconstructing Postmodernist Nietzscheanism, author Jürgen Rehmann delves into the ways in which Deleuze and Foucault read Nietzsche and apply a hermeneutics of innocence to his philosophy. This interpretation, according to Rehmann, erases the elitist, anti-democratic, and anti-socialist dimensions of Nietzsche's thought.

Rehmann's analysis is clear and incisive, demonstrating how this misreading affects both Deleuze and Foucault's theories and impairs their ability to develop a radical critique from them. For instance, Foucault's turn to self-care techniques blends a neo-Nietzschean approach with the ideologies of neoliberalism. Rehmann's critique is not aimed at discouraging the endeavor to take suggestions from Nietzsche's astute intuitions, but rather at the near-universal tendency to use him as a symbolic capital without acknowledging his hierarchical obsession and other political flaws.

This book is an updated and extended version of Postmoderner Links-Nietzscheanismus: Deleuze and Foucault, originally published in German by Argument Verlag GmbH. It provides a comprehensive exploration of the relationship between postmodernism and Nietzsche's philosophy, shedding light on the complexities and contradictions that arise from this interplay.

Weight: 504g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781642599176