{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/44909"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/44909","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Walking Nietzsche's tightrope: a thesis for no one","abstract":"The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche is thought-provoking and enigmatic. This work is an exploration of three of the bulwarks of Nietzsche's philosophy and an attempt to trace their political implications. Analyses of Nietzsche’s concepts of the will to power, eternal return, and the Übermensch are presented in an effort to build a coherent vision of Nietzsche’s work. The will to power has been interpreted in many ways, and in this text I make the case that it is a drive for self-cultivation and finding one’s own direction in life. Eternal return is presented as a mythic idea which Nietzsche thought would spur people to live each moment as if they wished it would recur eternally, rather than judging their actions by future promises or past glories. The Übermensch is the Nietzschean individual who believes in eternal return and engages in self-cultivation through the will to power. There are interesting political implications which follow from this philosophical framework, which I discuss in the final chapter. Based on the analysis of the three concepts mentioned above, I argue that Nietzsche thought societal problems were never cured or even lessened by politics or any political theory.","abstract_html":"The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche is thought-provoking and enigmatic. This work is an exploration of three of the bulwarks of Nietzsche's philosophy and an attempt to trace their political implications. Analyses of Nietzsche’s concepts of the will to power, eternal return, and the Übermensch are presented in an effort to build a coherent vision of Nietzsche’s work. The will to power has been interpreted in many ways, and in this text I make the case that it is a drive for self-cultivation and finding one’s own direction in life. Eternal return is presented as a mythic idea which Nietzsche thought would spur people to live each moment as if they wished it would recur eternally, rather than judging their actions by future promises or past glories. The Übermensch is the Nietzschean individual who believes in eternal return and engages in self-cultivation through the will to power. There are interesting political implications which follow from this philosophical framework, which I discuss in the final chapter. Based on the analysis of the three concepts mentioned above, I argue that Nietzsche thought societal problems were never cured or even lessened by politics or any political theory.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dotson, Paul Robert"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":"Political Science","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Luke, Timothy W."],"committee_members":["White, Stephen K.","Hammond, Guyton B."],"year":1992,"date_issued":"1992-05-05","date_published":"1992-05-05","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:39Z","subjects":["Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-09292009-020049"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-09292009-020049","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/44909","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Luke, Timothy W."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["White, Stephen K.","Hammond, Guyton B."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dotson, Paul Robert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T21:46:31Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T21:46:31Z","2009-09-29"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1992-05-05"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.dcmitype","label":"Dc Type Dcmitype","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-09292009-020049"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/44909"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche is thought-provoking and enigmatic. 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