- I teach at the Philosophy Department of FCSH/ UNL (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, "New University of Lisbon") since 199... moreI teach at the Philosophy Department of FCSH/ UNL (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, "New University of Lisbon") since 1996. I earned my Doctorate and became “Professor Auxiliar” in 2005 with a Dissertation on Plato. I am now an Associate Professor with "Agregação". My recent publications include: “On Consciousness: Nietzsche’s Departure from Schopenhauer”, Nietzsche-Studien 40 (2011); Nietzsche on Instinct and Language (2011), which I co-edited with Maria João Branco; and As the Spider Spins: Essays on Nietzsche’s Critique and Use of Language (2012), which I also co-edited with Maria João Branco; and (as an author) Arte e niilismo: Nietzsche e o enigma do mundo (2013). I'm a member of GIRN (Europhilosophie), of Seminario Permanente Nietzscheano (Centro Colli-Montinari), and Director of the Nietzsche International Lab (http://nietzscheandtheself.squarespace.com http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/jns/research/nietzsche-international-lab-nil-in-lisbon).edit
NIETZSCHE AND THE PROBLEM OF SUBJECTIVITY Edited by João Constâncio, Maria João Mayer Branco and Bartholomew Ryan Published by de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston: 2015 Nietzsche's critique of the modern subject is often presented as a radical... more
NIETZSCHE AND THE PROBLEM OF SUBJECTIVITY
Edited by João Constâncio, Maria João Mayer Branco and Bartholomew Ryan
Published by de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston: 2015
Nietzsche's critique of the modern subject is often presented as a radical break with modern philosophy and associated with the so-called ‘death of the subject’ in 20th century philosophy. But Nietzsche claimed to be a ‘psychologist’ who was trying to open up the path for ‘new versions and sophistications of the soul hypothesis.’ Although there is no doubt that Nietzsche gave expression to a fundamental crisis of the modern conception of subjectivity (both from a theoretical and from a practical-existential perspective), it is open to debate whether he wanted to abandon the very idea of subjectivity or only to pose the problem of subjectivity in new terms.
The volume includes 26 articles by top Nietzsche scholars. The chapters in Part I, “Tradition and Context”, deal with the relationship between Nietzsche's views on subjectivity and modern philosophy, as well as with the late 19th century context in which his thought emerged; Part II, “The Crisis of the Subject”, examines the impact of Nietzsche's critique of the subject on 20th century philosophy, from Freud to Heidegger to Dennett, but also in such authors as Deleuze, Foucault, Derrida, or Luhmann; Part III, “Current Debates - From Embodiment and Consciousness to Agency”, shows that the way in which Nietzsche engaged with such themes as the self, agency, consciousness, embodiment and self-knowledge makes his thought highly relevant for philosophy today, especially for philosophy of mind and ethics.
Edited by João Constâncio, Maria João Mayer Branco and Bartholomew Ryan
Published by de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston: 2015
Nietzsche's critique of the modern subject is often presented as a radical break with modern philosophy and associated with the so-called ‘death of the subject’ in 20th century philosophy. But Nietzsche claimed to be a ‘psychologist’ who was trying to open up the path for ‘new versions and sophistications of the soul hypothesis.’ Although there is no doubt that Nietzsche gave expression to a fundamental crisis of the modern conception of subjectivity (both from a theoretical and from a practical-existential perspective), it is open to debate whether he wanted to abandon the very idea of subjectivity or only to pose the problem of subjectivity in new terms.
The volume includes 26 articles by top Nietzsche scholars. The chapters in Part I, “Tradition and Context”, deal with the relationship between Nietzsche's views on subjectivity and modern philosophy, as well as with the late 19th century context in which his thought emerged; Part II, “The Crisis of the Subject”, examines the impact of Nietzsche's critique of the subject on 20th century philosophy, from Freud to Heidegger to Dennett, but also in such authors as Deleuze, Foucault, Derrida, or Luhmann; Part III, “Current Debates - From Embodiment and Consciousness to Agency”, shows that the way in which Nietzsche engaged with such themes as the self, agency, consciousness, embodiment and self-knowledge makes his thought highly relevant for philosophy today, especially for philosophy of mind and ethics.
Research Interests: Critical Theory, Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, Ethics, and 13 moreEpistemology, Self and Identity, Creativity and Consciousness, Continental Philosophy, Friedrich Nietzsche, Modernist Literature (Literary Modernism), Consciousness, Psychoanalysis And Literature, Modernism, 19th-century German philosophy, 19th and 20th-century European philosophy, Subjectivity, and Perspective
This volume is the first to adress in a comprehensive way one of the main issues raised by Nietzsche’s thought. “The Problem of Subjectivity” has become crucial in recent debates in Nietzschean scholarship and is key to understanding... more
This volume is the first to adress in a comprehensive way one of the main issues raised by Nietzsche’s thought. “The Problem of Subjectivity” has become crucial in recent debates in Nietzschean scholarship and is key to understanding Nietzsche’s relation to the whole of modern philosophy, as well as his tremendous impact on philosophy from the time of his death till today. The collection assembles 25 essays by some of the finest Nietzsche scholars.
Nietzsche’s critique of subjectivity is often presented as a radical break with Modern Philosophy and associated with the so-called “death of the Subject” in 20th Century philosophy. But Nietzsche claimed to be a “psychologist” who merely tried to open up the path for “new versions and sophistications of the soul hypothesis”. The volume discusses these issues in four sections: I. “Tradition and Context” deals with the relation between Nietzsche’s views on subjectivity and the whole of modern philosophy (from Descartes to Hegel and Kierkegaard) and then with the late 19th Century context in which Nietzsche’s thought emerged; II. “The Crisis of the Subject” examines the impact of Nietzsche’s critique of the subject on 20th Century philosophy, from Freud to Heidegger to Luhmann, and is particularly focused on the “death of the Subject”, as discussed by such authors as Deleuze, Derrida, or Foucault; III. “Current Debates — From Embodiment to Agency” shows that the way in which Nietzsche engaged with such themes as the Self, Agency, Consciousness, Embodiment and Self-Knowledge makes his thought highly relevant for philosophy today, especially for Philosophy of Mind and Ethics.
Edited by João Constâncio, Maria João Branco, Bartholomew Ryan
Nietzsche’s critique of subjectivity is often presented as a radical break with Modern Philosophy and associated with the so-called “death of the Subject” in 20th Century philosophy. But Nietzsche claimed to be a “psychologist” who merely tried to open up the path for “new versions and sophistications of the soul hypothesis”. The volume discusses these issues in four sections: I. “Tradition and Context” deals with the relation between Nietzsche’s views on subjectivity and the whole of modern philosophy (from Descartes to Hegel and Kierkegaard) and then with the late 19th Century context in which Nietzsche’s thought emerged; II. “The Crisis of the Subject” examines the impact of Nietzsche’s critique of the subject on 20th Century philosophy, from Freud to Heidegger to Luhmann, and is particularly focused on the “death of the Subject”, as discussed by such authors as Deleuze, Derrida, or Foucault; III. “Current Debates — From Embodiment to Agency” shows that the way in which Nietzsche engaged with such themes as the Self, Agency, Consciousness, Embodiment and Self-Knowledge makes his thought highly relevant for philosophy today, especially for Philosophy of Mind and Ethics.
Edited by João Constâncio, Maria João Branco, Bartholomew Ryan
Research Interests: Self and Identity, Hegel, Gilles Deleuze, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, and 12 moreSigmund Freud, Schopenhauer, Consciousness, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Immanuel Kant, Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Descartes, René, Niklas Luhmann, Subjectivity, and Philosophy of the Subject
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Research Interests:
This volume offers various considerations of Nietzsche's attempt to connect language to the instinctive activity of the human body. In focusing on how Nietzsche tries to dissolve the traditional opposition between instinct and language,... more
This volume offers various considerations of Nietzsche's attempt to connect language to the instinctive activity of the human body. In focusing on how Nietzsche tries to dissolve the traditional opposition between instinct and language, as well as between instinct and consciousness and instinct and reason, the different papers address a great variety of topics, e.g. morality, value, the concept of philosophy, dogmatism, naturalization, metaphor, affectivity and emotion, health and sickness, tragedy, and laughter. Among the authors are: Scarlett Marton, Werner Stegmaier, Patrick Wotling, and many others.
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Nietzsche's metaphor of the spider that spins its cobweb expresses his critique of the metaphysical use of language - but it also suggests that we, spiders, are able to spin different, life-affirming, healthier, non-metaphysical cobwebs.... more
Nietzsche's metaphor of the spider that spins its cobweb expresses his critique of the metaphysical use of language - but it also suggests that we, spiders, are able to spin different, life-affirming, healthier, non-metaphysical cobwebs. This book is a collection of 12 essays that focus not only on Nietzsche's critique of the metaphysical assumptions of language, but also on his effort to use language in a different way, i.e., to create a new language. It is from this viewpoint that the book considers such themes as consciousness, the self, metaphor, instinct, affectivity, style, morality, truth, and knowledge. The authors invited to contribute to this volume are Nietzsche scholars who belong to some of the most important research centers of the European Nietzsche-Research: Centro Colli-Montinari (Italy), GIRN (Europhilosphie), SEDEN (Spain), Greifswald Research Group (Germany), NIL (Portugal). In 2011 Joao Constancio and Maria Joao Mayer Branco edited Nietzsche on Instinct and Language, also published by Walter de Gruyter. The two books complement each other.
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The article is an attempt to explore a controversial hypothesis, which can be stated like this: there is a deep affinity – hitherto largely unnoticed – between Hegel’s conception of struggles for “recognition” (Anerkennung) and... more
The article is an attempt to explore a controversial hypothesis, which can be stated like this: there is a deep affinity – hitherto largely unnoticed – between Hegel’s conception of struggles for “recognition” (Anerkennung) and Nietzsche’s conception of the dynamics of “will to power” (Wille zur Macht.) This hypothesis concerns the ways in which struggle and domination are implicitly involved in the Hegelian notion of recognition, that is: it concerns the intersubjective dynamics of failed-recognition. Struggle and domination (as well as violence) are crucial concepts in Hegel’s whole conception of recognition – but they are for him operative concepts, whereas in Nietzsche they become thematic, because the concept of “power” becomes thematic. What the article tries to show is that the Nietzschean hypothesis of “will to power” is relevant for the contemporary debate on “recognition and power” because it enables an adequate description of the intersubjective dynamics in which reciprocal recognition is not achieved and relationships of struggle and domination persist, i.e., what persists is “will to power” qua will to domination. However, this is only so because the Nietzschean hypothesis of “will to power” entails a “doctrine of the affects”, and hence a conception of “power” (Macht) in terms of “action at a distance”, i.e., in terms of intersubjective influence mediated by perceptions, interpretations, and perspectives. This conception of “power” entails a “recognitive” conception of human desire and human will, and, therefore, it would be wrong to claim that Nietzsche’s “will to power” involves the dissolution of power-relations in trans-subjective processes of domination. Hence the affinity between Hegel and Nietzsche which the article tries to evince.
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Quando reflectimos filosoficamente sobre a história do cinema, uma das principais questões que podemos e devemos levantar é a de saber como foi que o cinema, ao longo da sua história, adaptou (pelo menos no essencial) a interpretação... more
Quando reflectimos filosoficamente sobre a história do cinema, uma das principais questões que podemos e devemos levantar é a de saber como foi que o cinema, ao longo da sua história, adaptou (pelo menos no essencial) a interpretação aristotélica do que é, mas também do que deve ser, uma estrutura narrativa. Este artigo procura mostrar como, de facto, o cinema clássico americano pensa a narrativa em termos aristotélicos, mas também lhe dá uma forma nova, que é especificamente cinematográfica.
Para defender esta tese, o artigo faz uso de dois exemplos: a cinematografia americana de Ernst Lubitsch e a de Billy Wilder.
Para defender esta tese, o artigo faz uso de dois exemplos: a cinematografia americana de Ernst Lubitsch e a de Billy Wilder.
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In aphorism 191 of Beyond Good and Evil (BGE 191), Nietzsche criticizes the traditional opposition between instinct and reason. His main concern in this aphorism is the way philosophy, since Plato, has tried to avoid facing the Socratic... more
In aphorism 191 of Beyond Good and Evil (BGE 191), Nietzsche criticizes the traditional opposition between instinct and reason. His main concern in this aphorism is the way philosophy, since Plato, has tried to avoid facing the Socratic paradox that it is not ...
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The present article is a reflection on the way how, in "Genealogy of Morals", Nietzsche rethinks "the aesthetic issue" based on the opposition between Kant's conception of beauty as a predicate of a "disinterested" judgment and the... more
The present article is a reflection on the way how, in "Genealogy of Morals", Nietzsche rethinks "the aesthetic issue" based on the opposition between Kant's conception of beauty as a predicate of a "disinterested" judgment and the stendhaliana conception of beauty as the effect of a "crystallization" and a "promise of happiness". The key to the thought of Nietzsche's in this context resides on the concept of "intoxication" (Rausch) on the one hand, as a key-term to designate the "pre-physiological condition" of art, but on the other hand, as a process of spiritualisation of the instincts or of the drives, which internalizes and intensifies them. This spiritualization is distinguished from disinterested contemplation for it does not dis-affects us, and because it is by large a spiritualization of sexuality, without renouncing to imply a revaluation of the values and a widening on the horizon of the human. That is why art can be thought of as a "counter-movement" that affirms life and fights the "ascetic ideal" and the "European nihilism".