Abstract

The question "What is noble?" was central to the philosophic and literary endeavors of Friedrich Nietzsche, and an integral part of his response to modern nihilism. This study examines the Nietzsche's answer to this question and its implications for modern politics and political philosophy. Nietzsche's conception of nobility is tied to an overall cultural project that sought to revive the tragic culture of the Greeks in the modern world, and thus, with a tragic notion of virtue. Nietzsche's critique of morality is in turn treated as a necessary, though not sufficient, condition of this positive project. ;Nietzsche's conception of noble culture and virtue requires a close textual analysis of such works as The Birth of Tragedy, On the Genealogy of Morals, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Such analysis reveals the intimate relationships between the noble and art, science, ethics and politics. It also demonstrates that the art of writing that Nietzsche presented in his books was tied to his concern with teaching particular virtues to particular audiences. ;This study shows that Nietzsche's thought can be thought of neither as essentially critical/deconstructive nor metaphysical, but as a positive cultural and ethical project informed by his understanding of tragic nobility. The study also contributes to the current debates on the ethics and politics of virtue among such theorists as Alasdair MacIntyre by arguing that Nietzsche's understanding of noble culture may provide a humane alternative to both modern liberalism and Aristotelian ethics and politics