The Shortest Shadow: Nietzsche's Philosophy of the Two (Short Circuits)

What is it that makes Nietzsche Nietzsche? In The Shortest Shadow, Alenka Zupancic counters the currently fashionable appropriation of Nietzsche as a philosopher who was "ahead of his time" but whose time has finally come -- the rather patronizing reduction of his often extraordinary statements to mere opinions that we can "share." Zupancic argues that the definitive Nietzschean quality is his very unfashionableness, his being out of the mainstream of his or any time.To restore Nietzsche to a context in which the thought "lives on its own credit," Zupancic examines two aspects of his philosophy. First, in "Nietzsche as Metapsychologist," she revisits the principal Nietzschean themes -- his declaration of the death of God (which had a twofold meaning, "God is dead" and "Christianity survived the death of God"), the ascetic ideal, and nihilism -- as ideas that are very much present in our hedonist postmodern condition. Then, in the second part of the book, she considers Nietzsche's figure of the Noon and its consequences for his notion of the truth. Nietzsche describes the Noon not as the moment when all shadows disappear but as the moment of "the shortest shadow" -- not the unity of all things embraced by the sun, but the moment of splitting, when "one turns into two." Zupancic argues that this notion of the Two as the minimal and irreducible difference within the same animates all of Nietzsche's work, generating its permanent and inherent tension. Restoring Nietzsche to a Nietzschean contextexamining the definitive element that animates his work. What is it that makes Nietzsche Nietzsche? In The Shortest Shadow , Alenka Zupani counters the currently fashionable appropriation of Nietzsche as a philosopher who was "ahead of his time" but whose time has finally comethe rather patronizing reduction of his often extraordinary statements to mere opinions that we can "share." Zupani argues that the definitive Nietzschean quality is his very unfashionableness, his being out of the mainstream of his or any time. To restore Nietzsche to a context in which the thought "lives on its own credit," Zupani examines two aspects of his philosophy. First, in "Nietzsche as Metapsychologist," she revisits the principal Nietzschean themeshis declaration of the death of God (which had a twofold meaning, "God is dead" and "Christianity survived the death of God"), the ascetic ideal, and nihilismas ideas that are very much present in our hedonist postmodern condition. Then, in the second part of the book, she considers Nietzsche's figure of the Noon and its consequences for his notion of the truth. Nietzsche describes the Noon not as the moment when all shadows disappear but as the moment of "the shortest shadow"not the unity of all things embraced by the sun, but the moment of splitting, when "one turns into two." Zupani argues that this notion of the Two as the minimal and irreducible difference within the same animates all of Nietzsche's work, generating its permanent and inherent tension. Restoring Nietzsche to a Nietzschean context—examining the definitive element that animates his work.What is it that makes Nietzsche Nietzsche? In The Shortest Shadow, Alenka Zupancic counters the currently fashionable appropriation of Nietzsche as a philosopher who was'ahead of his time'but whose time has finally come—the rather patronizing reduction of his often extraordinary statements to mere opinions that we can'share.'Zupancic argues that the definitive Nietzschean quality is his very unfashionableness, his being out of the mainstream of his or any time.To restore Nietzsche to a context in which the thought'lives on its own credit,'Zupancic examines two aspects of his philosophy. First, in'Nietzsche as Metapsychologist,'she revisits the principal Nietzschean themes—his declaration of the death of God (which had a twofold meaning,'God is dead'and'Christianity survived the death of God'), the ascetic ideal, and nihilism—as ideas that are very much present in our hedonist postmodern condition. Then, in the second part of the book, she considers Nietzsche's figure of the Noon and its consequences for his notion of the truth. Nietzsche describes the Noon not as the moment when all shadows disappear but as the moment of'the shortest shadow'—not the unity of all things embraced by the sun, but the moment of splitting, when'one turns into two.'Zupancic argues that this notion of the Two as the minimal and irreducible difference within the same animates all of Nietzsche's work, generating its permanent and inherent tension. Annotation. What is it that makes Nietzsche Nietzsche? In The Shortest Shadow, Alenka Zupancic counters the currently fashionable appropriation of Nietzsche as a philosopher who was "ahead of his time" but whose time has finally come -- the rather patronizing reduction of his often extraordinary statements to mere opinions that we can "share." Zupancic argues that the definitive Nietzschean quality is his very unfashionableness, his being out of the mainstream of his or any time. To restore Nietzsche to a context in which the thought "lives on its own credit," Zupancic examines two aspects of his philosophy. First, in "Nietzsche as Metapsychologist," she revisits the principal Nietzschean themes -- his declaration of the death of God (which had a twofold meaning, "God is dead" and "Christianity survived the death of God"), the ascetic ideal, and nihilism -- as ideas that are very much present in our hedonist postmodern condition. Then, in the second part of the book, she considers Nietzsche's figure of the Noon and its consequences for his notion of the truth. Nietzsche describes the Noon not as the moment when all shadows disappear but as the moment of "the shortest shadow"--Not the unity of all things embraced by the sun, but the moment of splitting, when "one turns into two." Zupancic argues that this notion of the Two as the minimal and irreducible difference within the same animates all of Nietzsche's work, generating its permanent and inherent tension

What is it that makes Nietzsche Nietzsche? In The Shortest Shadow, Alenka Zupancic counters the currently fashionable appropriation of Nietzsche as a philosopher who was "ahead of his time" but whose time has finally come — the rather patronizing reduction of his often extraordinary statements to mere opinions that we can "share." Zupancic argues that the definitive Nietzschean quality is his very unfashionableness, his being out of the mainstream of his or any time.To restore Nietzsche to a context in which the thought "lives on its own credit," Zupancic examines two aspects of his philosophy. First, in "Nietzsche as Metapsychologist," she revisits the principal Nietzschean themes — his declaration of the death of God (which had a twofold meaning, "God is dead" and"Christianity survived the death of God"), the ascetic ideal, and nihilism — as ideas that are very much present in our hedonist postmodern condition. Then, in the second part of the book, she considers Nietzsche's figure of the Noon and its consequences for his notion of the truth. Nietzsche describes the Noon not as the moment when all shadows disappear but as the moment of "the shortest shadow" — not the unity of all things embraced by the sun, but the moment of splitting, when "one turns into two." Zupancic argues that this notion of the Two as the minimal and irreducible difference within the same animates all of Nietzsche's work, generating its permanent and inherent tension.

Introduction The Event “Nietzsche”......Page 5 part I Nietzsche the Metapsychologist......Page 32 “God Is Dead”......Page 35 The Ascetic Ideal......Page 47 Nihilism . . .......Page 63 . . . as a “Crisis of Sublimation”?......Page 72 part II Noon......Page 86 Troubles with Truth......Page 90 From Nothingness Incorporated . . .......Page 123 . . . via Double Affirmation . . .......Page 130 . . . to Nothingness asMinimal Difference......Page 147 Addendum: On Love as Comedy......Page 161 Notes......Page 179 What is it that makes Nietzsche Nietzsche? In this volume Alenka Zupancic counters the contemporary appropriation of Nietzsche as a philosopher who was "ahead of his time" but whose time has finally come - the rather patronizing reduction of his often extraordinary statements to mere opinions that we can "share". Zupancic argues that the definative Nietzschean quality is his very unfashionableness, his being out of the mainstream of his or any time In 'The Shortest Shadow' Zupancic counters the contemporary appropriation of Nietzsche as a philosopher who was 'ahead of his time' but whose time has finally come by arguing that the definative Nietzschean quality is his very unfashionableness, his being out of the mainstream of his or any time At many points, the reading of Nietzsche's texts is-or should be-accompanied by an affect of astonishment.