What Is Consciousness and Does Nietzsche Really Think It Is Unimportant?

What does Nietzsche mean by consciousness, and does he really consider it unimportant? And if he doesn’t, why does he make so many disparaging remarks about it? In this article the author considers and rejects Mattia Riccardi’s recent claim that Gay Science (GS) 354, Nietzsche’s most important passa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Nietzsche studies 2023-03, Vol.54 (1), p.1-21
Main Author: Clark, Maudemarie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
consciousness
General Interest
Leibniz
Philosophy
reflective consciousness
Riccardi
Sartre
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:What does Nietzsche mean by consciousness, and does he really consider it unimportant? And if he doesn’t, why does he make so many disparaging remarks about it? In this article the author considers and rejects Mattia Riccardi’s recent claim that Gay Science (GS) 354, Nietzsche’s most important passage on consciousness, is concerned only with reflective or Rconsciousness. The article shows that GS 354 attempts to explain why mental states ever became conscious, not Rconscious. Nietzsche accepts “Sartre’s thesis” that a conscious mental state is always prereflectively self-conscious, hence brings with it the potential to activate the “mirror effect” emphasized in GS 354 but missing from the consciousness of one absorbed in an activity. A conscious mental state is one its possessor “knows” from “the inside,” hence can report to self or others without further observation or inference. The resulting communication is essential to culture, hence to what is of value in human life.
ISSN:0968-8005
1538-4594
DOI:10.5325/jnietstud.54.1.0001