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27th out of 89 books
—
15 voters
Basic Writings of Nietzsche
Introduction by Peter Gay
Translated and edited by Walter Kaufmann
Commentary by Martin Heidegger, Albert Camus, and Gilles Deleuze
One hundred years after his death, Friedrich Nietzsche remains the most influential philosopher of the modern era. Basic Writings of Nietzsche gathers the complete texts of five of Nietzsche’s most important works, from his first book to his las...more
Translated and edited by Walter Kaufmann
Commentary by Martin Heidegger, Albert Camus, and Gilles Deleuze
One hundred years after his death, Friedrich Nietzsche remains the most influential philosopher of the modern era. Basic Writings of Nietzsche gathers the complete texts of five of Nietzsche’s most important works, from his first book to his las...more
Paperback, 896 pages
Published
November 28th 2000
by Modern Library
(first published 1880)
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pp686-687: Nietzche on Buddhism. And Women and War. To inspire the read... . . :)
First Buddha
"One cannot get rid of anything, one cannot get over anything, one cannot repel anything-everything hurts. Men and things obtrude too closely; experiences strike one too deeply; memory becomes a festering wound. Sickness itself is a kind of resentiment".
"Against all this the sick person has only one great remedy: I call it Russian fatalism, that fatalism without revolt which is exemplified by a Russian s...more
First Buddha
"One cannot get rid of anything, one cannot get over anything, one cannot repel anything-everything hurts. Men and things obtrude too closely; experiences strike one too deeply; memory becomes a festering wound. Sickness itself is a kind of resentiment".
"Against all this the sick person has only one great remedy: I call it Russian fatalism, that fatalism without revolt which is exemplified by a Russian s...more
The main thing to emphasize is the convenience of this edition for students and scholars. It looks to me like one might have some issues with Kaufmann's translation, especially as regards "Beyond Good and Evil;" I prefer literal translations myself, and he seems to be on the mark with "The Birth of Tragedy."
What you get here is indispensable - if you're going to do serious work, or make a serious attempt to understand Nietzsche, you probably need "The Birth of Tragedy," "The Genealogy of Morals,...more
What you get here is indispensable - if you're going to do serious work, or make a serious attempt to understand Nietzsche, you probably need "The Birth of Tragedy," "The Genealogy of Morals,...more
"God is dead" is not SOLELY about God, or religion. Discuss.
What can one say? An ingenious compendium by a man who was a genius, who was head of a department of philosophy of a world-renowned university at 24, misunderstood (and mistranslated and mistreated) in his own lifetime, who knew he would be misunderstood, mistranslated and mistreated in his own lifetime, who became discouraged, depressed, spent too much time alone, got syphilis from sleeping with prostitutes, died in an asylum with the...more
What can one say? An ingenious compendium by a man who was a genius, who was head of a department of philosophy of a world-renowned university at 24, misunderstood (and mistranslated and mistreated) in his own lifetime, who knew he would be misunderstood, mistranslated and mistreated in his own lifetime, who became discouraged, depressed, spent too much time alone, got syphilis from sleeping with prostitutes, died in an asylum with the...more
Germany after its victory in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 - 1871 entered its expansive age. Rapid industrialization combined with unification allowed it to become a leader in many industrial and scientific fields (Einstein came out of this). It was a time of the heroic music of Wagner. Within this context of hubris and expansion a young 20 something Nietzsche imagined a Greek heroic culture as a societal ideal. Following that, his morality for nations (races) and individuals became the law of...more
This book collects together "The Birth of Tragedy," "Beyond Good and Evil," "On the Genealogy of Morals," "The Case of Wagner," "Ecce Homo" as well as seventy-five aphorisms from "Human, All-Too-Human," "Mixed Opinions and Maxims," "The Wanderer and His Shadow," "The Dawn," and "The Gay Science."
Why these writings inspire me:
1. He is a philosopher but he is also a writer; in fact, the two in him are indistinguishable.
2. He loves what is noble, instead of what is good; he hates what is contempti...more
Why these writings inspire me:
1. He is a philosopher but he is also a writer; in fact, the two in him are indistinguishable.
2. He loves what is noble, instead of what is good; he hates what is contempti...more
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SUMMARY: One hundred years after his death, Friedrich Nietzsche remains the most influential philosopher of the modern era. Basic Writings of Nietzsche gathers the complete texts of five of Nietzsche's most important works, from his first book to his last: The Birth of Tragedy; Beyond Good and Evil; On the Genealogy of Morals; The Case of Wagner; and Ecce Homo. Edited and translated by the great Nietzsche scholar Walter Kaufmann, this volume provides a definitive guide to the full range of Nietz...more
Comment:
Overall, the 'Basic Writings of Nietzsche' is better than the 'Portable Nietzsche'. Why? First, and most importantly, these works are (thank the Fates!) indexed. The introductions to the works are too terse, as in the 'Portable Nietzsche', but in a cheap edition it is about what one should expect. Ignore the 75 Aphorisms. It is always better to read Nietzsche complete. The 'Commentary' consists of snippets from three interpreters: Heidegger, Camus, and Deleuze. Better to read them comple...more
Overall, the 'Basic Writings of Nietzsche' is better than the 'Portable Nietzsche'. Why? First, and most importantly, these works are (thank the Fates!) indexed. The introductions to the works are too terse, as in the 'Portable Nietzsche', but in a cheap edition it is about what one should expect. Ignore the 75 Aphorisms. It is always better to read Nietzsche complete. The 'Commentary' consists of snippets from three interpreters: Heidegger, Camus, and Deleuze. Better to read them comple...more
2/10/2013 - "When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you" wrote Nietzsche. I thought I was spiritually strong enough to peer with impunity through the hole Nietzsche tore open in the veil of the abyss - that somehow the abyss would not notice me glancing into it, would leave me alone. Now, more than one year after completing this anthology (and Thus Spake Zarathustra) I understand that these books don't leave a serious reader unchanged. While on one level I approached them seriously,...more
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It would be impossible to give an actual review to this book. The profundity of all that it contains simply defies any attempt at a concise interpretation. Therefore, I will simply make a minor comment on the edition itself.
This project of this book is invaluable. The scope, depth, and insight provided by the editors and Kaufmann himself are of inestimable importance. It is easy to get lost, even the most robust of readers, in such a compendium, and I thank the editors of this volume for providi...more
This project of this book is invaluable. The scope, depth, and insight provided by the editors and Kaufmann himself are of inestimable importance. It is easy to get lost, even the most robust of readers, in such a compendium, and I thank the editors of this volume for providi...more
Nov 03, 2011
Erik Graff
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Erik by:
Janny Marie Willis
Shelves:
philosophy
I had already read some of the texts in this collection prior to finding this affordable Modern Library Giant. Having been into Nietzsche for some three years or so already, and being seduced into Kaufmann's style of translation, I was trying to assemble everything, preferably in hardcover.
Nietzsche, like Plato, is a philosopher kids can read with profit. Of course, not being familiar with the historical and cultural contexts out of which they wrote, one can go quite wrong in one's interpretatio...more
Nietzsche, like Plato, is a philosopher kids can read with profit. Of course, not being familiar with the historical and cultural contexts out of which they wrote, one can go quite wrong in one's interpretatio...more
Jul 20, 2009
Vanja Antonijevic
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
philosophically inclined and open-minded
First, a note about the collection itself. It includes Nietzsche’s: “The Birth of Tragedy”, “Beyond Good and Evil”, “On the Genealogy of Morals”, “Case of Wagner”, and “Ecce Homo”. These are all excellent books, and the first three may serve as excellent introductions and general surveys of Nietzsche, especially the second and third in the list.
Also, there is a miscellaneous collection of sections from other books, notes, and letters.
For those that want to read more Nietzsche, the perfect comp...more
Also, there is a miscellaneous collection of sections from other books, notes, and letters.
For those that want to read more Nietzsche, the perfect comp...more
1 like · like · see review
I recommend all of Nietzsche's works, especially the Walter Kaufmann translations. Kaufmann was born in Germany and moved to the U.S. as a young adult so he understood German and American culture from the insider's perspective. He became a philosopher in his own right so he understands Nietzsche from that perspective, as well. He gathered the majority of Nietzsche's writings into 2 volumes, The Portable Nietzsche and The Basic Writings.
Nietzsche is always provocative, especially when you strongl...more
Nietzsche is always provocative, especially when you strongl...more
It’s pretty dense reading, especially for us non-philosophy types, but easily within the grasp of a dedicated effort. The translation seems solid and there are plenty of footnotes for context and perspective. I've always identified with Nietzsche from the tidbits I'd read here and there, but this was an excellent place to properly start, with several of his major works. As far as philosophers go, I think Nietzsche was one of the most brilliant, most brave, and most talented writers among them.
Has "On the Genealogy of Morals" - Paradoxically, this is Nietzsche's most unusual work in that it is linear, systematically analytic, and very much a (I hate to use the word) conventionally-presented thesis, in stark contrast to his modus operandi which is seemingly non-linear, perhaps scattered aphoristic writing. Regardless, a brilliant analysis of morality, it's evolution (according to N.), religion, master/herd mentality, etc...
I have always found Nietzsche's work to be brilliant - even where it is desolating. He was surely brilliant in his wrestling with moral philosophy, religion and the place of inherited values. The "new atheists" (read Dawkins and Hitchens) with their absurd arguments from silence and irrational meanderings should learn from Neitzsche. Here was a man with a moral conscience that didn't simply want to punish powerful clerics by pointing out their human flaws. Instead, he struggled deeply with the d...more
Nietzsche is nothing if not provocative. And you've got to read this stuff with a critical mind to it - if you're just trying to accept it all you'll get angry pretty quick. But Nietzsche is pretty much trying to break down the ways in which acceptance and complacence were institutionalized by European culture - and continue to be.
But you've got the whole range here - The Birth of Tragedy is young Nietzsche at his most careful, but still a cocky bastard. At the other end of the spectrum, and...more
But you've got the whole range here - The Birth of Tragedy is young Nietzsche at his most careful, but still a cocky bastard. At the other end of the spectrum, and...more
I've never been able to completely embrace the philosophy of Nietzsche, after all, the man lived a sad life and died a lonely death. It leaves one to wonder if maybe his philosophy was flawed? But I have to respect him for his scholarship and the contributions he made to the field of philosophy in general. I also enjoyed Kaufman's translation.
I can't say much other than "Damn!" Nietzsche is definitely my favorite writer I have come across. Not a book for just anyone. I will have to reread this just for the pleasure of the language he uses to express himself.
Loved this when I studied it back in college (political theory); I'll have to go back and re-read as I feel like I've forgotten a lot of what I used to know.
To read an author, the best is toread his books. Basic writings? Everyone should choose which are every author's basic writings...
Jul 28, 2009
jordan
marked it as to-read
I've read The Birth of Tragedy and parts of Beyond Good and Evil, but it seems like ages ago.
A brilliant masogonistic woman-hater who craved personal power!! Yuk.
one of those books i keep coming back to.
Good stuff. Still go back to it once in a while.
Aside from the prose style, what's not to like?
'read' is misleading...I finished the portion I was planning to read (On the Genealogy of Morals), but didn't read anything else in the book.
Might not agree with everything Nietzsche wrote, but he is certainly thought provoking.
Love nietzsche
Great collection of works. It was hard to put down when I had to at times and am extremely glad to have some Nietzsche under my have read category. I'll definitely be going back again to digest each book more thoroughly whenever the time comes. Just happy to have read some of his work.
Nietzsche was one of the first philosophers I ever read and has become my fave. This book logically starts at Attempt at Self-Criticism and The Birth of Tragedy and closes with Why I am a Destiny and closing commentary by Deleuze, Camus and others. It's heady and like most philosophy and the language is pure 18th century, I have to read it through 'in coats', like paint, but it's worthwhile. If you've been curious about Nietzsche or you want to revisit an old friend, this is the one for the book...more
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Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844–1900) was a German philosopher of the late 19th century who challenged the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. He was interested in the enhancement of individual and cultural health, and believed in life, creativity, power, and the realities of the world we live in, rather than those situated in a world beyond. Central to his philosophy is the id...more
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