Nietzsche's critical reading of "Body"

Document Type : .

Author

Ph.D. in Philosophy, Islamic Azad University (North-Tehran Branch)-Iran,

Abstract

The problem of soul and body in the history of Western thought with Christian Platonism support had led to the creation of a special kind of understanding of the concept of knowledge and truth. Nietzsche reintroduced what had led to the removal of the body from the philosophical fields under Christian Platonism authority for centuries. Nietzsche refers to the body as the "Great Reason" and consciousness as the "Small Reason" and in this way he introduces pathos as a prerequisite for any ethos and with the idea of returning to nature and the body, he supports the components of life in order to preserve and maintain the consistency of life by reviving metaphor as a medium and body language. In Nietzsche's physiological aesthetics, the body is presented as a perspective for understanding the world, and the basis of the new interpretation of the world is based on new values to overcome metaphysical nihilism and renaming it based on the body and with metaphor language.
 
Keywords: Body, Great Reason, Metaphor, Aesthetics, Perspectivism
 
Introduction
As the first Western philosopher, Nietzsche challenged the Christian Platonism authority of 2500 years, according to which the body was removed from the field of human cognition and perception, and returned the body to the scene of life and thinking. Nietzsche stood against what he called the rational tyranny of metaphysical thought, and by announcing a return to nature, he actually returned to the body. What enables the basis of Nietzsche's return to nature and the body in a more general picture was his announcement of the death of God, which is also considered to mean the death of Western metaphysical thought. After the announcement of God's death, the body is considered as a great reason, and the reason itself in its classical sense is understood as a small reason, as a tool for the body.
     The main problem and question in this article is, from Nietzsche's point of view, does the body have a decisive position in the tradition of Western metaphysical thought? In the western metaphysical tradition, in the question of the soul and the body, what is the position of the body in cognitive relations? What is the importance of the body in the modern era of philosophical thinking? In the paradigm of Nietzsche's thought, how will the position of the body change in the problem of knowledge? And finally, how will Nietzsche's physiological aesthetics be an alternative to the nihilism of the metaphysical tradition?
 
Materials & Methods
Nietzsche believes that our actions and values are formed based on our physiological structure, and behind the ethics and logic of metaphysical thinking, there are certain values that are only necessary for certain forms of life. Therefore, Nietzsche views physiology in its general sense. Therefore, Nietzsche views physiology in its general sense. A part of Nietzsche's genealogical method, along with his psychological or etymological studies, is his attempt to decipher the physiological meaning of various phenomena. Nietzsche's attack on the problem of morality in Christianity in the form of slave morality, which is also a reactionary morality, reveals the disease of nihilism of the new era, in which among humans who do not enjoy physical health, such as those who suffer from the lack of bodily structure, or from the lack of understanding of rational knowledge. They suffer, he looks. Nietzsche embarks on a wide exposure of Western metaphysical thought from the point of view to practice in order to clarify the various and dark aspects of this nihilism in the individual and social sphere. In terms of research methodology, this article is based on the methodology of Nietzsche's thinking, that is, genealogy.
 
Results and Discussion
In Nietzsche's thinking, by returning to nature, the body returns to the field of human knowledge. From Nietzsche's point of view, the body, as a Great Reason centered on the will directed to power, is the main field of passions, instincts and desires, which enables a person to understand the world with a metaphorical language based on perspective. Nietzsche, after declaring the authority of the body over the reason, changes its communication medium from the classical form of "concept" to "metaphor". Metaphors depicting the body almost always imply evaluation, interpretation, and perspective. From Nietzsche's point of view, the way to overcome the metaphysical nihilism that has led to the construction of human beings is to re-evaluate all values through the physiology of art, and thus the values of the post-metaphysical era are based on the interpretation of the world through the body.
 
Conclusion
This article tries to explain Nietzsche's critical position towards the metaphysical thinking so far by presenting the interpretation of the world through the body, which in the new view, the body as a great reason centered on the will oriented to power, is the axis of passions, instincts and desires that are defined by the language of metaphor and perspective. It leads to the transformation of previous values through the physiology of art to overcome western metaphysical nihilism.
 

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