Homo Natura

Reviews / Votes

In Homo Natura Vanessa Lemm delves into Nietzsche's enigmatic, and often misunderstood, exhoration "to place the human back among the animals." With rigourous scholarship and original analysis, Lemm brings us to an understanding of what "naturalism" this is: not one advancing a biological reductionism. To the contrary, it finds in nature a principle of creativity and generativity that carries a surplus of life over any existing order, so that in returning to nature the human can exceed itself. Among its many merits, Lemm's reinterpretation of the body in Nietzsche's posthumanism offers a provocative reading of the centrality of gender and sexuality to the most radical aspects of his thinking. Homo Natura is a key text for those interested in what Nietzsche's philosophy can offer for contemporary feminism and Anthropocene thought. * Brian Massumi, author of 99 Theses for the Revaluation of Value: A Postcapitalist Manifesto * This book offers what may well be the finest appreciation to date of Nietzsche's relation to philosophical anthropology. It is certainly the most provocative. Lemm makes a strong case for reading Nietzsche as a thinker of the historicity of human nature, and in so doing she mounts an important challenge to simple-minded naturalistic and positivistic appreciations of him. The book abounds in fresh insights and suggests new and novel directions for thinking. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in the contemporary pertinence of Nietzsche's modes of thinking, as well as in issues concerning bio-politics and in the possibilities of post-humanist thinking. * Keith Ansell-Pearson, Professor of Philosophy, University of Warwick * Lemm's book is highly original and makes a stunning contribution to contemporary Nietzsche scholarship. In fact, the book shows how Nietzsche's influence on contemporary philosophy goes far beyond what others have imagined. This is a must read for anyone serious about understanding Nietzsche's thought and his legacy. * Kelly Oliver, Vanderbilt University * Erudite and provocative, this book breathes new life into Nietzsche's insight that there is no essence to human beings, other than their capacity for transformation, metamorphosis and becoming. Replacing the binary opposition of nature to culture with a dynamic continuum, Nietzsche challenges us to think differently about what it means to be human. Lemm argues forcefully for Nietzsche's inspirational role in contemporary debates on new materialism, posthumanism and the re-naturalisation of philosophy. An illuminating and timely intervention. * Rosi Braidotti, Utrecht University *