Nietzsche, Ethics and Education (An Account of Difference)

Undermining the fundamental place of freedom, equality and universal reason, Nietzsche’s philosophy recognises that we occupy multiple and contradictory subject positions within social life. With no metaphysical realm of reason, no divine inspiration for morality, and no transcendental basis for human essence, we are left with the embodied, reflective and creative self as a source of ethics. From this perspective arises Nietzsche’s Übermensch, a continuous process of overcoming and becoming, interpreted as a metaphor for education that honours difference and incorporates otherness. The book explores the development of Nietzsche’s philosophy and its application to the problems of education, disturbing traditional liberal and democratic accounts of the relationship between individual and society. Threaded throughout is the author’s critique of the way educational institutions are driven by political and economic considerations, explored through notions of autonomy and subjectivity. The book is suitable for graduate students and academics wanting to engage either with postmodern interpretations of ethics in education, or with political philosophy in relation to development of self and community.