Joy and Laughter in Nietzsche's Philosophy: Alternative Liberatory Politics (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781350225237)

Analyzing the importance of joy, laughter, and cheerfulness in Nietzsche's thought, this volume addresses an under-examined topic in the secondary literature. By exploring disparate aspects of these interrelated emotions it provides new insights into his key ideas.

The contributors-among them philosophers and political scientists-illustrate the significance of these feelings to reveal political ramifications of their affirmative potential and their broader role in Nietzsche's philosophical aims. These include how the joyful disposition Nietzsche commends informs his free spirit's self-overcoming, attempts to revalue all values, and prospects of ultimately transfiguring humanity.

Among other topics, scholars assess the ﾜbermensch and shared joy, learning to laugh at oneself, Schopenhauer's jokes, Pascal's cheerfulness, and the Dada movement's subversively playful aesthetic. By contemplating Nietzsche's emphasis on joy and laughter, the volume reveals a thinker who, far from being a caricature of hopeless nihilism, is in fact the hitherto unrecognised champion of an alternative liberatory politics.


Author: Paul E. Kirkland
ISBN-10: 1350225231
ISBN-13: 9781350225237
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Language: English
Published: 07/14/2022
Pages: 240
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.13lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.56d