Genealogy and Critique

Abstract

The chapter examines the concept of a genealogy of morality and its critical significance. I consider and criticize interpretations of Nietzsche’s genealogical inquiries that take them to challenge the epistemic standing of moral judgments. I argue that genealogies aim instead to determine the function of these judgments by identifying what particular affective need they are suited to serve. This functional approach allows to shed light on the much-disputed role of history in genealogical inquiry, and to circumscribe what Nietzsche has in mind when he calls into question the “value” of moral values. In particular, I address two salient problems his functional approach poses for a functional critique of morality: respectively, the problem of dysfunctionality and the problem of multiple functionality.