Darwin, Nietzsche e as consequências do darwinismo

Abstract

This paper aims at clarifying how Nietzsche thinks through the most fundamental philosophical consequences of Darwin’s evolution by natural selection. These consequences are mainly four: (1) that species are not eternal: they are evolutions, or developments; (2) that man, in all his dimensions, is continuous with nature; (3) that there are no final causes, only efficient causes; (4) that the teleological proof of God is groundless. Nietzsche accepts all these consequences. Therefore, his critique of Darwin and Darwinism is tantamount to a more radical view on points of agreement with Darwin and Darwinism. Most importantly, Nietzsche’s philosophical method of Genealogy presupposes such an agreement with Darwin and Darwinism.