Lexington Books Nietzsche and Sociology: Prophet of Affirmation

Product Description Nietzsche and Sociology: Prophet of Affirmation is about Friedrich Nietzsche's sociological reading of modern industrial society. Nietzsche is often identified as a philosopher but his uniquely sociological theories and ideas have been disregarded and unacknowledged in the social sciences. This work examines the reasons why Nietzsche has been ignored in sociological literature despite the evidence that most classical and modern sociological thinkers have been profoundly influenced by him. This book argues that the discipline of sociology would benefit by seriously considering the sociological elements in Nietzsche's prolific work as a way of reevaluating not only the tradition of sociology, but also the sociology of tradition. His major contributions on rethinking traditional sociological theories and concepts in terms of their moral origins make it impossible for the social sciences to continue overlooking Nietzsche as a critical sociological thinker. His conception of non-economic power has become progressively more salient. Given the current juncture of humanity on the brink, Nietzsche's affirmative philosophy of life is a breath of fresh air. He remains an intellectual force to be reckoned with and may just be the remedy to our present civilizational malaise. Review In this turbulent time in which the death of the social reveals itself in the form of increasingly violent spasms of racialized hatred and bitter cultural divisions, what could be more timely than Anas Karzai's important reflections on Nietzsche as a "prophet of affirmation" charting a pathway of thought and practice through the complicated history that is the twenty-first century? Here, the affirmative thought of Nietzsche is traced in its full dimensions, a critically engaged and eloquently written story that follows a brilliant trajectory from Comte and Durkheim to those other affirmative thinkers of modern times--Foucault, Adorno and Weber.--Arthur Kroker, is author of, among others, The Will to Technology: Nietzsche, Heidegger, Marx, Body Drift and Exits to the Posthuman Future About the Author Anas Karzai is lecturer in the Department of Sociology and coordinator of the criminology program at Laurentian University.