The Invention of Dionysus Paperback - 2000 - 1st Edition
by James I. Porter
From the rear cover
This book argues that The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche's first book, does not mark a rupture with his prior philosophical undertakings but is, in fact, continuous with them and with his later writings as well. These continuities are displayed above all in the entanglement of his surface narratives, in the self-consuming artifice of his writing, in the interplay of his voices, posturings, and ironies--in a word, in his staging of meaning rather than in his advocacy of one position or another.
The author shows that many of the substantive elements of The Birth of Tragedy are reminiscent of Nietzsche's earlier revisions of philology and that they anticipate the later writings: the inversion of the Dionysian and Appollinian domains; the interest in the atomistic challenge to Platonism (one of Nietzsche's lifelong concerns); and the theory of the all-too-human subject that emerges as a cultural anthropology, a hauntingly present reminder of human pretensions and their limits, which is likewise a thread that runs through the whole of Nietzsche's oeuvre, critically undoing what his philosophy appears to erect. The author argues that the coherence of Nietzsche's writings up to and including The Birth of Tragedy is incontestable. It points to a fact that needs to be turned to account in any reading of The Birth of Tragedy, namely that Nietzsche is a most unreliable witness to his own meaning.
The first parts of the study focus on broader issues: the relation of The Birth of Tragedy to the later writings; the problems of what the author calls "the metaphysics of appearances" (as opposed to the identification of the metaphysical as a realm lurking "behind" appearances); and the appearance--the apparition--of metaphysics in both the early and late works. In the latter parts of the study, the focus falls more narrowly on the formal and thematic complications in the narrative of The Birth of Tragedy. This book, the author argues, is a self-standing, complexly organized, and complete piece of imagining that needs to be examined on its own terms. And so while the surrounding philosophical reflections that Nietzsche made prior to and at the time of The Birth of Tragedy are brought in as needed, for instance the notes on Kant, Schopenhauer, and Lange, the primary interest lies in the self-presentation of the work itself.
From the jacket flap
This book argues that The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche's first book, does not mark a rupture with his prior philosophical undertakings but is, in fact, continuous with them and with his later writings as well. These continuities are displayed above all in the entanglement of his surface narratives, in the self-consuming artifice of his writing, in the interplay of his voices, posturings, and ironies--in a word, in his staging of meaning rather than in his advocacy of one position or another.
The author shows that many of the substantive elements of The Birth of Tragedy are reminiscent of Nietzsche's earlier revisions of philology and that they anticipate the later writings: the inversion of the Dionysian and Appollinian domains; the interest in the atomistic challenge to Platonism (one of Nietzsche's lifelong concerns); and the theory of the all-too-human subject that emerges as a cultural anthropology, a hauntingly present reminder of human pretensions and their limits, which is likewise a thread that runs through the whole of Nietzsche's oeuvre, critically undoing what his philosophy appears to erect. The author argues that the coherence of Nietzsche's writings up to and including The Birth of Tragedy is incontestable. It points to a fact that needs to be turned to account in any reading of The Birth of Tragedy, namely that Nietzsche is a most unreliable witness to his own meaning.
The first parts of the study focus on broader issues: the relation of The Birth of Tragedy to the later writings; the problems of what the author calls "the metaphysics of appearances" (as opposed to the identification of the metaphysical as a realm lurking "behind" appearances); and the appearance--the apparition--of metaphysics in both the early and late works. In the latter parts of the study, the focus falls more narrowly on the formal and thematic complications in the narrative of The Birth of Tragedy. This book, the author argues, is a self-standing, complexly organized, and complete piece of imagining that needs to be examined on its own terms. And so while the surrounding philosophical reflections that Nietzsche made prior to and at the time of The Birth of Tragedy are brought in as needed, for instance the notes on Kant, Schopenhauer, and Lange, the primary interest lies in the self-presentation of the work itself.
Details
- Title The Invention of Dionysus
- Author James I. Porter
- Binding Paperback
- Edition number 1st
- Edition 1
- Pages 240
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Stanford University Press, Stanford
- Date 2000-09-01
- ISBN 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Weight 0.64 lbs (0.29 kg)
- Dimensions 8.5 x 5.49 x 0.6 in (21.59 x 13.94 x 1.52 cm)
-
Themes
- Chronological Period: 19th Century
- Library of Congress subjects Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, Plato
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 00022875
- Dewey Decimal Code 111.85
Media reviews
Citations
- Choice, 04/01/2001, Page 1458
- Reference and Research Bk News, 02/01/2001, Page 4
More Copies for Sale
The Invention of Dionysus
by Porter, James I
- Used
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
- Item Price
-
SGD 12.03FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
The Invention of Dionysus
by James I. Porter
- Used
- good
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
- Item Price
-
SGD 17.80FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
The Invention of Dionysus
by Porter, James I
- Used
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used: Good
- Edition
- 1
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
- Item Price
-
SGD 26.63FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
The Invention of Dionysus
by James I. Porter
- New
- Paperback
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Quantity Available
- 10
- Seller
-
Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom
- Item Price
-
SGD 45.33SGD 17.11 shipping to USA
Show Details
The Invention of Dionysus: An Essay on the Birth of Tragedy
by James I. Porter
- New
- Paperback
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
- Item Price
-
SGD 48.11SGD 17.20 shipping to USA
Show Details
The Invention of Dionysus
by Porter, James I
- New
- Condition
- New
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Quantity Available
- 99
- Seller
-
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Item Price
-
SGD 43.17SGD 20.54 shipping to USA
Show Details
The Invention of Dionysus
by Porter, James I.
- Used
- Condition
- UsedVeryGood
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States
- Item Price
-
SGD 49.28FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
The Invention of Dionysus
by Porter, James I.
- Used
- Condition
- UsedLikeNew
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States
- Item Price
-
SGD 49.79FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
The Invention of Dionysus
by Porter, James I
- Used
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used:Good
- Edition
- 1
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
- Item Price
-
SGD 49.85FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
The Invention of Dionysus
by Porter, James I.
- New
- Condition
- New
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780804737005 / 0804737002
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States
- Item Price
-
SGD 50.30FREE shipping to USA