Description
Book SynopsisElaborates the relationship between the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and the cultural critic Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) through close readings of their respective texts as an example of the precariousness of cultural transmission in the present.
Trade Review"Not only does McFarland evince himself as an original and compelling interpreter of Nietzsche and Benjamin. He strings key passages together in such a way that his exegetical performance fans out toward both authors, configuring them in an inexorable interface of shared interpretation and critique." -- -Henry Sussman Yale University
Table of ContentsPreface vii Abbreviations xiii A Note on Citations xvii Introduction: Walter Benjamin, Friedrich Nietzsche 1 The Forster House 1-Affinity 4-Excelsior! 9 1. Mortal Youth 16 A Youthful Facies 16-The Friend 33-Conversation 43- Heinle 49-Abstand 59 2. Presentation 67 Philology 67-Tragedy 74-Hamlet 83-Socrates 89- Silence 93 3. Inscription 103 Pseudomenon 103-Untimeliness 113-Muri 130- "We Philologists" 143-Asyndeton 155 4. Collaboration 167 Shadow 167-Wanderer 174-Correspondence 180- Demon 190-Caesura 198 5. Mad Maturity 208 "Born posthumously" 208-Conspiracy 219- Eternal Return 227-Gluck 237-Now-Time 241 Conclusion: Friedrich Nietzsche, Walter Benjamin 249 Transcendental Medicine 249-The Pawnshop 255- The End of All Things 258 Notes 263 Bibliography 301 Index 311
