Nietzsche's The Anti-Christ

by Paul Bishop

Overview

The Anti-Christ is one of the most notorious, if not the most notorious, books by Nietzsche – and one of his most frequently misrepresented. Presupposing no prior knowledge of Nietzsche or the text, nor with Christian beliefs or doctrines, Paul Bishop carefully guides students through The Anti-Christ section by section. Bishop unpacks the difficulties that many readers face when dealing with Nietzsche’s rhetoric. And he contextualises the text within the wider contexts of Nietzsche's thought as a whole and the broader currents of contemporary 19th and 20th century thought. Student resources include a chronology of Nietzsche's life and work, a glossary of key terms, an index of names and subjects and a guide to further reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474430746
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	12/22/2021
Series:	Edinburgh Critical Guides to Nietzsche
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Paul Bishop is William Jacks Chair of Modern Languages in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Glasgow. His research examines the history of ideas with a particular interest in the reception of Nietzsche in the fields of psychoanalysis, analytical psychology, and Lebensphilosophie. His previous publications include German Political Thought and the Discourse of Platonism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), Ludwig Klages and the Philosophy of Life (Routledge, 2017), On the Blissful Islands with Nietzsche & Jung (Routledge, 2017) and, as editor A Companion to Friedrich Nietzsche, Life and Works (Camden House, 2012).

Table of Contents

Chronology

Introduction

1. Nietzsche’s Biography and Religious Background
2. Christ and anti-Christ in The Anti-ChristComposition of The Anti-ChristSignificance of the Figure of anti-ChristWho are the Hyperboreans? (AC §1-§2)Methods (AC §13 and §59) Nietzsche’s Portrait of Christ (AC §29 and §32)Beweise der Kräfte or ‘Proofs of Strength’ (AC §32 and §50)
3. Nietzsche on Buddhism, the History of Israel, and the Loss of the SymbolNietzsche on Buddhism (AC §20-§23)Nietzsche on the History of Israel (§25)Nietzsche on the Loss of the Symbolic Dimension (AC §31-§32)
4. Nietzsche on Christianity and the MysteriesSon of Man (AC §34)Kingdom of God (AC §34)Son of God (AC §34 and §37)Nietzsche, Christianity and the Mysteries (AC §37)Nothing to do with Dionysos? (AC §58)
5. Nietzsche on Hinduism, the Roman Empire, and Nobility The ‘Lawbook’ of Manu (AC §56-§57)Nietzsche and the Roman Empire (AC §58)Theme of Nobility (AC §24, §37, §45, and §60-§62)
6. Nietzsche and St PaulThe Logic of Sacrifice (AC §39-§40)Paul in Dawn (D §68)The Role of Paul of Tarsus (AC §41-§43)
7. Nietzsche on PhilologyNietzsche’s Critique of Philology Nietzsche’s Philological Strategies (AC §52)
8. Conclusion

Glossary of Key TermsGuide to Further Reading on The Anti-ChristBibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

In this insightful critical guide, Paul Bishop develops an admirably clear and incisive analysis of Nietzsche’s The Anti-Christ, arguing that we should treat philology as its central theme. Bishop considers how Nietzsche raises and responds to problems of secularism and post-secularism in the text, and contends that The Anti-Christ, while still controversial today, has never been more timely and relevant. Bishop superbly demonstrates the continuing relevance of Nietzsche and philology by connecting Nietzsche’s own philological concerns in The Anti-Christ to diverse religious traditions and histories, as well as to pressing current issues such as climate change, global financial and health crises, and transhumanism. Bishop’s argument is supported by careful and discerning scholarly attention to Nietzsche’s texts, and to scholarship on Nietzsche and religion.

Queen's UniversityBelfast Rebecca Bamford