 | Nietzsche's Psychology of Ressentiment: Revenge and Justice in "On the Genealogy of Morals" Subjects: Humanities; Language & Literature; Philosophy; Literature; Ethics Philosophy; 19th Century Philosophy; Interdisciplinary Literary Studies; Ressentiment--the hateful desire for revenge--plays a pivotal role in Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morals . Ressentiment explains the formation of bad conscience, guilt, asceticism, and, most importantly, it motivates the "slave revolt" that gives rise to Western morality's values. Ressentiment , however, has not enjoyed a thorough treatment in the secondary literature. This book brings it sharply into focus and provides the first detailed examination of Nietzsche's psychology of ressentiment . Unlike other books on the Genealogy , it uses ressentiment as a key to the Genealogy and focuses on the intriguing relationship between ressentiment and justice. It shows how ressentiment , despite its blindness to justice, gives rise to moral justice--the central target of Nietzsche's critique. This critique notwithstanding, the Genealogy shows Nietzsche's enduring commitment to the virtue of non-moral justice: a commitment that grounds his provocative view that moral justice spells the 'end of justice'. The result provides a novel view of Nietzsche's moral psychology in the Genealogy , his critique of morality, and his views on justice. Guy Elgat is a Lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has appeared in the British Journal for the History of Philosophy , History of Philosophy Quarterly , and The Journal of Nietzsche Studies . |
