Abstract for 2008 Honors Colloquium
Samuel Thacker
Philosophy
"Ressentiment as Keystone in Nietzsche's Genealogical Narrative of Morality"
Ressentiment, like an arch's keystone, holds everything together in the first essay of Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morality. After establishing the importance of this fundamental concept within the scope of the first essay's overarching Narrative by reconstructing said Narrative, I will develop a comprehensive picture of ressentiment based on its usage both in the Genealogy and elsewhere in Nietzsche's notes and work. With this definition at my disposal I will turn back to the Narrative, inserting the newly developed picture of ressentiment where appropriate and evaluating the internal consistency of the Narrative itself.
