IN NIETZSCHE'S FOOTSTEPS

Jonathan R. Cohen • Philosophy / Non-fiction / Travel Memoir / Nietzsche Studies

Book Description

A philosophical travel memoir recounting a family trip to Nietzsche's three favorite residences — Nice, France; Turin, Italy; and Sils-Maria, Switzerland — IN NIETZSCHE'S FOOTSTEPS is at once a scholarly investigation and a deeply personal pilgrimage.

The book's title works in two senses: on the one hand, an effort to walk the same sidewalks and mountain paths Nietzsche did; on the other, an opportunity for the author to reflect on his own life as a student of Nietzsche, enacting a Hegelian dialectic while working through personal questions. In particular, the book wrestles with the contrast between Nietzsche's philosophy of individualism — which goes hand in hand with his own isolated life — and the author's life as a family man. Along the way we share parts of Nietzsche's biography and reflect on central ideas of his philosophy, considering the ways in which our own culture may or may not have followed in his ever-reverberating footsteps.

Combining rigorous philosophical analysis with vivid travel writing, Cohen offers both an accessible introduction to Nietzsche's key ideas and a fresh, personal perspective for seasoned readers. In a book that will appeal to academics and enthusiasts alike, Nietzsche's complex philosophical ideas are accessibly framed as they arise in the day-to-day, so that we may tackle the essential question of what it is to lead a meaningful life — both as individuals and alongside those we love.

Author Bio

JONATHAN R. COHEN is a professor of philosophy at the University of Maine Farmington. His first book was Science, Culture, and Free Spirits: A Study of Nietzsche's Human, All-Too-Human (Humanity Books, 2010), and his next project concerns Nietzsche's philosophy of music. With their four children currently scattered up and down the East Coast, he and his wife together maintain a stretch of the Appalachian Trail.

Book Details

Also by This Author

SCIENCE, CULTURE, AND FREE SPIRITS: A STUDY OF NIETZSCHE'S HUMAN, ALL-TOO-HUMAN (Humanity Books, 2010)

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