Thinking without the subject: Nietzsche's critique of Cartesian and Kantian subjectivity

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Felsefe Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2015

Öğrenci: KIVILCIM İLBAŞI

Danışman: ELİF ÇIRAKMAN

Özet:

In this M.A. thesis, I investigate Nietzsche‘s critique of subjectivity with regard to the subject-thought relationship as has been conceptualised in modern philosophy. Firstly, I attempt to elucidate the constitution of the subject and the modern image of thinking by focusing on the ideas of two major figures of modernity, namely, Descartes and Kant. Then, I problematize the concept of the subject with respect to Nietzsche‘s genealogical critique, and try to show that the subjectivist interpretation of the human being is valorised throughout the history of Western thought and civilization from a nihilistic perspective. Finally, focusing especially on the themes of knowledge, truth, language, consciousness and the body, I discuss Nietzsche‘s deconstruction of modern subjectivity, and attempt to demonstrate how his physiological thinking enables us to reconceptualise the human being and thought in an immanent and more affirmative manner.