Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm (1844–1900)

Ruth Abbey

Friedrich Nietzsche is a provocative thinker who, although largely neglected during his lifetime, now exercises a wide influence in many areas of the humanities. His legacy for the study of politics is, however, hotly contested. This entry reviews central concepts in Nietzsche's thought, as well as controversies concerning them, and then examines the significance of Nietzsche's work for political theory. Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844, to a Lutheran pastor and his wife in Röcken, Prussia; his father died when Nietzsche was 4 years old. Nietzsche's academic training was in the discipline of philology (classics) rather than philosophy, and he achieved considerable academic success at a young age. However, at the age of 34 he took early retirement from the University of Basel due to ill health. He spent the next decade moving around Europe in search of affordable accommodation in a climate conducive to his well-being. Despite proposing ...

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