Nietzche's perspectivism consists in any or all of the following:
The notion of perspectives for Nietzche is meant to be an "optics" of knowledge.
There are no facts/truths only interpretations. A weaker restatement of this is that we can only access facts/truths through interpretations. Indeed, interpretation is the essential condition of the human life and existence. And the human subject is in a constant act of interpreting the world from his own perspective in search of meaning. These interpretations can not be transcended by the human mind as a matter of principle since we are wholly bounded to our perspectives and interpretations.
An objective reality even if it exists is indeterminate and only ways or perspectives of looking at the world and experiencing it can exist. Furthermore, reason and the other human cognitive powers are incapable of freeing the human subject from these interpretations, i.e. separating the thing-in-itself (reality) from the appearances of the phenomenal (world). But, the human mind is certainly capable of comparing objectively various perspectives.
Our philosophical concepts (substance,cause, etc) do not therefore correspond to the world because of its indeterminacy. Furthermore, these concepts are necessarily partial and limited since they are from the particular point of views of the philosophers, i.e. the personal can not be taken out of philosophy.
Perspectivism for Nietzche is not a theory of knowledge. He employed it to shift the problem of knowledge and truth to the problem of values and will to truth. However, the statement that "all knowledge is perspectival" is already a theory of knowledge. And the notions that "true knowledge can only be a view from nowhere" and "an all-inclusive perspective which contains all perspectives and thus delivers an absolute knowledge" are both incoherent ideas.
Although a perspective-free and an interpretation-free knowledge does not exist an optimal perspective and an optimal interpretation always exist which can be obtained by coherently superposing or summing many perspectives. This allows us to reach an optimal truth.
Perspectivism is not philosophical relativism despite its rejection of 1) the reality of truth and 2) the absolute objectivity of the human subject (only intersubjectivity is left in its place which also solves indirectly the problem of solipsism). Perspectivism is not relativism simply because not all perspectives are equal and not all interpretations are valid.
In perspectivism, objectivity is certainly possible after a particular set of perspectives. More precisely, objectivity can only be approached asymptotically by taking into account many perspectives and interpretations.
Thus, the world have many meanings corresponding to the various perspectives and interpretations. Perspectivism for Nietzsche is therefore tied to the loss of an absolute meaning of the world (nihilism) yet the human subject remains in constant act of interpreting it in search for a perspectival meaning.
Is perspectivism itself a perspective?
The answer is "yes".
But perspectivism is certainly the best perspective since it admits this fact and therefore it is a less distorted -by perspectives- theory of knowledge and metaphysics.
The notion of perspectives for Nietzche is meant to be an "optics" of knowledge.
There are no facts/truths only interpretations. A weaker restatement of this is that we can only access facts/truths through interpretations. Indeed, interpretation is the essential condition of the human life and existence. And the human subject is in a constant act of interpreting the world from his own perspective in search of meaning. These interpretations can not be transcended by the human mind as a matter of principle since we are wholly bounded to our perspectives and interpretations.
An objective reality even if it exists is indeterminate and only ways or perspectives of looking at the world and experiencing it can exist. Furthermore, reason and the other human cognitive powers are incapable of freeing the human subject from these interpretations, i.e. separating the thing-in-itself (reality) from the appearances of the phenomenal (world). But, the human mind is certainly capable of comparing objectively various perspectives.
Our philosophical concepts (substance,cause, etc) do not therefore correspond to the world because of its indeterminacy. Furthermore, these concepts are necessarily partial and limited since they are from the particular point of views of the philosophers, i.e. the personal can not be taken out of philosophy.
Perspectivism for Nietzche is not a theory of knowledge. He employed it to shift the problem of knowledge and truth to the problem of values and will to truth. However, the statement that "all knowledge is perspectival" is already a theory of knowledge. And the notions that "true knowledge can only be a view from nowhere" and "an all-inclusive perspective which contains all perspectives and thus delivers an absolute knowledge" are both incoherent ideas.
Although a perspective-free and an interpretation-free knowledge does not exist an optimal perspective and an optimal interpretation always exist which can be obtained by coherently superposing or summing many perspectives. This allows us to reach an optimal truth.
Perspectivism is not philosophical relativism despite its rejection of 1) the reality of truth and 2) the absolute objectivity of the human subject (only intersubjectivity is left in its place which also solves indirectly the problem of solipsism). Perspectivism is not relativism simply because not all perspectives are equal and not all interpretations are valid.
In perspectivism, objectivity is certainly possible after a particular set of perspectives. More precisely, objectivity can only be approached asymptotically by taking into account many perspectives and interpretations.
Thus, the world have many meanings corresponding to the various perspectives and interpretations. Perspectivism for Nietzsche is therefore tied to the loss of an absolute meaning of the world (nihilism) yet the human subject remains in constant act of interpreting it in search for a perspectival meaning.
Is perspectivism itself a perspective?
The answer is "yes".
But perspectivism is certainly the best perspective since it admits this fact and therefore it is a less distorted -by perspectives- theory of knowledge and metaphysics.
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