Nietzsche and the Knowledge of the Child at Play: On the Question of Metaphysics

In his article "Nietzsche and the Knowledge of the Child at Play: On the Question of Metaphysics" Johannes Welfing raises the question of a Nietzschean metaphysical presence (did Nietzsche define the essence of life and of being and thus also implicitly establish an imperative about the way in which one should lead one's life, or did he refrain from all definition, truth, system or law whatsoever?). The controversy continues: while for some critics Nietzsche's philosophy is animated by a desire for truth, others emphasize the novelty of a philosophical project that questions the very premises on which it is based. In particular, the author attempts to establish, by referring to a specific excerpt from the Nietzsche text, that the paradigm of the Nietzschean child at play on the "beach of life" -argument of an important, contemporary brand of Nietzsche interpretation that situates Nietzsche beyond the metaphysical tradition -cannot be said to be truly based on the Nietzsche text. While focusing on both Alan Schrift's and Mihailo Djuric's argument that Nietzsche attempted to escape the metaphysical tradition by emphasizing the knowledge of the child at play, Welfing argues that for Nietzsche -if knowledge is to secure the escape from the belief in metaphysical essence on the level of practical life -this knowledge is generated by the body rather than by the rational mind.. Johannes F. Welfing, "Nietzsche and the Knowledge of the Child at Play: On the Question of Metaphysics" page 2 of 10 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 1.3 (1999):