In Search of the Wanderer and Free Spirits: The Ascetic Absence of Nietzsche in American Sociology

Abstract

This article examines the unfortunate absence of Nietzsche from sociological theory as it is practiced and reproduced in American sociology. The first part discusses how Talcott Parsons erased the presence of Nietzsche from Weber’s work as part of a larger ideological maneuver to provide a theoretical grounding for the belief in American exceptionalism. The second part of the article compares and contrasts Nietzsche to the conventional sociology of Weber and Durkheim in order to demonstrate how Nietzsche’s work provides sociologists with valuable material to be used for a critique of conventional sociological theory. American sociology is long overdue for a sustained engagement with Nietzsche. Such an undertaking is particularly relevant for those concerned with the on-going project of reconstructing a critical social theory that has emancipatory aims.