The untimely educator: An interpretation of Nietzsche's political education (Friedrich Nietzsche)

At the core of Nietzsche's philosophy of education is a political teaching for the future of human life on earth. Phrased in life-affirming terms of health, Nietzsche's aim is to "redeem" the earth and "enhance" humankind through a new teaching on nature, thereby raising culture to a level of "naturalness" hitherto unknown. Such a counternihilistic interpretation of Nietzsche's philosophy of education has not been acknowledged by the Anglo-American philosophy of education. The oversight is due in part to the fact that Nietzsche never intended for his political and educational ideas to have universal, much less broad egalitarian, appeal. His appeal, as both a self-conscious educator and political philosopher, is to certain imaginative individuals, who are themselves partially detached from the present but sufficiently attached to it to be able to set to work to create a radically different society from that which exists in the modern era---one of transformed (not reformed) human values for the future of life on earth. His proposition hinges on whether or not a future global culture can be founded upon a new ontology and nature-affirming, pantheistic, moreover, ecological philosophy of life. Nietzsche's hermeneutic of education and politics can generate discussion in ways both positive and edifying insofar as he challenges us to not only consider radical alternatives, but also reexamine the foundations of our own principles and beliefs. Entertaining Nietzsche on his own philosophical terms challenges us to rethink and test our assumptions, expectations, and commitments in ways that could very well produce new, action-guiding, and life-enhancing understanding. The educational possibility of becoming healthy and whole is essential to understanding the positive implications and relevance of Nietzsche's pursuit of a new definition of justice and, furthermore, his appeal to the highest types to join him in that quest.