Abstract

In my dissertation Creativity, Culture, and Genius: Nietzsche's Ethics of the Creative Life I aim to articulate what creativity means to Nietzsche. I present an account of Nietzsche in which creativity exemplifies the "highest potential power and splendour" of human beings. Specifically, I hope to demonstrate that what is best about us is creativity, and that to live a creative life is to have creativity as a governing principle. Although Nietzsche does not explicitly state that people should have creativity as a governing principle for organizing lives, I will show that this thought lies within his work implicitly. To do this, I use Aristotle as a foil for Nietzsche and contrast their thinking on the question, "What characteristic exemplifies what is best about humans?" Aristotle believed that there were three potential answers to this question: pleasure, noble action and politics, and contemplation. I put Nietzsche to work philosophically, contrasting these three possible answers with Nietzsche's philosophy, and showing that none of them are viable options. The positive portion of my project focuses on demonstrating the interconnectedness of creativity, culture, and genius for Nietzsche. The importance of these three concepts cannot be underestimated in Nietzsche's philosophy, and I show how they are vital to his thought – with creativity serving as the central focus and a governing principle for human beings.