A defense of Deleuze's interpretation of Nietzsche

Abstract

Publication of Gilles Deleuze's interpretative text Nietzsche and Philosophy was accompanied by a resurgence of interest in the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, and its themes were taken up by "New Nietzscheans" such as Foucault and Lyotard. The intricate particulars of Deleuze's interpretation were largely ignored, however, until recent criticisms of his account by Keith Ansell-Pearson and Vincent Descombes. By clarifying the meaning and implications of Deleuze's understanding of Nietzsche's Will to Power and Eternal Return, and its ramifications for the relationships between forces and between Master and Slave types, though, I argue that his position is shielded from these attacks. Specifically, I show how Deleuze's notion of difference deflects traditional dialectical criticisms of both Nietzsche and Deleuze's interpretation of Nietzsche.