Nietzsche contra Altruism

In the last 15 years, the philosophic community has seen a burgeoning interest in Nietzschean philosophy and scholarship. This is not without reason: Nietzsche has finally been exonerated from theallegations that he was pro-Nazi; the collapse of Communism has sent many individuals in search of criticism of collectivist morality; and the resurgence of virtue ethics, with its focus on individual well-being, has made discussion of egoism palatable once again. This book adds to the growing literature on Nietzsche by discussing a central focus of Nietzsche's writing that has received little direct attention: Nietzsche's advocacy of egoism and his condemnation of altruism. The author argues that it is Nietzsche's naturalistic approach to ethics that leads him to extol an egoistic moral code, as against an altruistic one. He shows that far from being irrational or unprincipled, Nietzsche's brand of egoism is one that demands the highest degree of discipline, foresight, integrity, and good-will. Scholars, students, and the interested layperson will find this account of Nietzsche's ethicsengaging, challenging, and accessible.