Whence Durkheim's Nietzschean grandchildren? A closer look at Robert Hertz's place in the Durkheimian genealogy

Abstract

Recent interptetive work suggests ways of historically situating French post-structuralism as a mingling of Nietzschean philosophy with elements of Durkheimian sociology. This article aims to demonstrate the presence of Nietzschean themes in the life-work of the Durkheimian Robert Hertz and to recognize him as a key figure in the history of this intellectual confluence. An examination of published and private sources reveals Hertz as a prototype of the Nietzschean/Durkheimian intellectuel pathitique of the inter-war period in France.