Nietzsche and evolutionary theory

Abstract

Poststructuralist thinkers tend to emphasise Nietzsche's critical relationship to science, as a result of their scepticism towards scientific discourse in general. Their interpretation of Nietzsche in this regard is justified, in that much of Nietzsche's work is aimed at exposing scientific objectivity as an illusion. In addition to this, Nietzsche takes a consistently derogatory view of Darwin throughout his work. Yet, some thinkers maintain that Nietzsche 's relation to science in general, and to Darwin in particular is far more complex than this. In this paper, I examine Nietzsche's relationship to evolutionary theory in detail. I also analyse the plausibility of Dennett's views regarding this relationship, and whether Dennett's claim that evolutionarily oriented philosophers and psychologists have much to learn from Nietzsche is warranted.