NIETZSCHE AND THE PLANT HUMAN
ON VEGETAL PERSPECTIVISM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26694/pensando.vol14i33.4502Keywords:
Nietzsche, Vegetal Philosophy, Plants, perspectivism, Will to powerAbstract
The strategic and metaphorical use of vegetal phenomena is a recurring theme in Nietzsche's work and has sparked the interest of several interpreters of his thought, who seek to connect these ideas with what has now become known as “vegetal philosophy.” In this article, we intend to analyze one aspect of these connections, demonstrating that vegetal perspectivism gives name to a strategy of criticism against the anthropocentrism rooted in the belief in the human being's rational superiority, upon which the moralization of nature has been built. By drawing parallels between the human and the plants, Nietzsche not only criticizes such tradition but also highlights the philosophical task he has undertaken: to re-naturalize morality as a measure for the re-creation of values. We aim to demonstrate how this helps us understand how the plant serves as a paradigmatic example of the conception of life as will to power, as it becomes a vehicle for a perspective on life itself. We will begin by addressing Nietzsche's critique of anthropocentrism and then demonstrate how the approximation between human and plants (in the conception of a Pflanze Mensch) can be understood through three aspects (which are the three lessons of vegetal life): measuring, growing, and resisting.
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