Nietzsche on Evolution and Progress

Abstract: The thesis that humanity progresses in a lawlike manner from inferior states (of wellbeing, cognitive skills, culture, etc.) to superior ones dominated eighteenth- and nineteenth- century thought, including authors otherwise as diverse as Kant and Ernst Haeckel. Positioning himself against this philosophically and scientifically popular view, Nietzsche suggests that humanity is in a prolonged state of decline. I argue that Nietzsche’s rejection of the thesis that progress is inevitable is a product of his acceptance of Lamarck’s use-and-disuse theory of evolution and his belief that society selects for traits beneficial to society and negatively selects for traits that promote individual flourishing. This explains Nietzsche’s emphasis on self-development as cultivating traits that Nietzsche views as valuable and that would, by Lamarck’s theory of evolution, become heritable and so help steer our evolutionary trajectory, correcting our decline.

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• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Nietzsche on Evolution and Progress ; volume:53 ; number:1 ; year:2024 ; pages:203-225 ; extent:23 ; Nietzsche-Studien ; 53, Heft 1 (2024), 203-225 (gesamt 23)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Conrad, Jordan A.

Further information

• DOI: 10.1515/nietzstu-2023-0002
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2409261545130.834533211267
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.