Abstract
Although Nietzsche and William James disagreed profoundly on many central ethical questions, they were united in their opposition to scientism, which was prevalent in the cultural milieu of educated Europeans and Americans in the late nineteenth century. Scientism is an attitude of science-worship, involving uncritical acceptance of its assumptions and conclusions. Basic scientism is the belief that science (especially natural science) is the only practice that can attain truth; strong scientism links this to the belief that the aims of science (attaining truth and eliminating error) have intrinsic and overriding value-an attitude that Nietzsche calls “the unconditional will to truth.” This chapter explores how both Nietzsche and James describe scientism, in both its basic and strong forms, as displaying core characteristics of fanaticism, as they understand it: basic scientism involves a narrowness of interests and perspective that they both associate with fanaticism, and strong scientism involves a faith in the value of truth that places it beyond question, and expresses the need for certainty born of weakness that Nietzsche identifies as the cause of fanaticism.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Fanaticism and the History of Philosophy |
| Editors | Paul Katsafanas |
| Place of Publication | London |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Chapter | 13 |
| Pages | 197-214 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781000990737, 9781032128207 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781032128191 |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 7 Nov 2023 |