The Rise of Politics and Morality in Nietzsche's Genealogy

Nietzsches On the Genealogy of Morals has become a central text for understanding the thinker and his impact on moral philosophy. Yet his account of the rise of political society and its relation to morality has generally been overlooked, in large part because of its strange and often confusing character. In The Rise of Politics and Morality in Nietzsches Genealogy: From Chaos to Conscience, Jeffrey Metzger devotes careful attention to Nietzsches analysis of the origin of political society in the Second Essay and its intertwining with the development of morality and religion. Focused on how that account places Nietzsches understanding of humanity in his larger conceptions of nature and the will to power, the book further considers how Nietzsche grounds his thought in the world as he presents it, and the strengths and weaknesses of Nietzsches approach to this crucial moment in human development. This book will interest philosophers, political theorists, and anyone else interested in Nietzsche and his contribution to our understanding of how we became human.