Drives as Inverted Forms: A Comparison of Nietzsche’s and Socrates’s Philosophical Psychologies.

Abstract

A recent paper by Tom Stern suggests that Socrates’s philosophical psychology, which emphasizes rational reflection, is superior to Nietzsche’s drive model when explaining human behavior. I argue that Stern’s analysis is wrong on three fronts. First, the models share common, though inverted, features. Second, Stern fails to consider the role of Socrates’s daimon when evaluating Socrates’s philosophy of mind; third, Nietzsche’s model is more warranted.

Keywords

• Drives, Socrates, Nietzsche, daimon, elenchus.