Abstract

This study investigates Nietzsche's early value theory via a critical reconstruction of his writings on the state, culture, education, and humanity. My principal thesis is that while young Nietzsche tacitly abandoned standard sources for moral and political values , he, nevertheless, sought to provide his normative theory with alternative sanctions, viz., by appealing to "Nature" , calling on the example of the ancient Greeks, and invoking the authority of the "German Spirit."