Nietzsche and Classical Greek Philosophy

Nietzsche and Classical Greek Philosophy: Beautiful and Diseased explains Friedrich Nietzsche s ambivalence toward Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Daw-Nay N. R. Evans Jr. argues that Nietzsche s relationship to his classical Greek predecessors is more subtle and systematic than previously believed. He contends that Nietzsche s seemingly personal attacks on his philosophical rivals hide philosophically sophisticated disputes that deserve greater attention. Evans demonstrates how Nietzsche s encounters with Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle reveal the philosophical influence they exercised on Nietzsche s thought and the philosophical problems that he sought to address through those encounters. Having illustrated Nietzsche s ambivalence Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Evans draws on Nietzsche s admiration for Heraclitus as a counterpoint to Plato to suggest that the classical Greek philosophers are just as important to Nietzsche s thought as their pre-Socratic precursors. This book will appeal to those interested in continental philosophy, ancient philosophy, and German studies."