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Nietzsche is a philosopher of overcoming; he is concerned with the need for, and possibility of, transformation. His critical philosophy presents us with the case for overcoming what he calls the ascetic ideal. Nietzsche considers this ideal, in which a spiritual goal is pursued through the self-restraint and renunciation of the sensual that is typical of asceticism, to lie at the heart of Christianity and European culture and morality. Nietzsche provides a history of this ideal that shows that it has posited value in terms of the transcendent or otherworldly and argues that this is damaging to life. To overcome an ideal, however, is not simply a question of deciding to select a new ideal or set of values. To overcome the ascetic ideal that has dominated European history, and the nihilism it engenders, requires that we change. Thus, one central philosophical problem in Nietzsche's work is how such radical transformation is possible. This book explores the grounds for Nietzsche's belief in the need for transformation, and how he conceives of the goal and possibility of transformation, in the context of his understanding of truth. In it, I will argue that Nietzsche's evaluative critique of truth demands transformation in order to overcome an understanding of truth that is bound up with the ascetic ideal. It is with truthfulness, however, that the key to overcoming the ascetic ideal lies.

DOI: 10.1057/9781137357069_1

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