Beyond Good and Evil
by Friedrich Nietzsche
|
|
| published
|
2003
by IndyPublish.com
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| first published
| 1886 |
| binding
| Hardcover |
| isbn
|
1404343121
(isbn13: 9781404343122)
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| ebook |
|
| pages
| 160 |
| date added
|
02-21-07
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Read in August, 2008
290. Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood.
If Nietzsche had started here – rather than nearly ending with this thought – he might have been more comprehensible. His readers might have said – ‘oh, right, so that is how it is going to be, is it? We’re dealing with some smart-arse that is going to play games with us – well, play away…’
But, he doesn’t start here – he starts here:
“SUPPOSING that Truth is a woman--what the...more
290. Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood.
If Nietzsche had started here – rather than nearly ending with this thought – he might have been more comprehensible. His readers might have said – ‘oh, right, so that is how it is going to be, is it? We’re dealing with some smart-arse that is going to play games with us – well, play away…’
But, he doesn’t start here – he starts here:
“SUPPOSING that Truth is a woman--what then?”
Now, my lecturer at university got very excited over this idea. In fact, he was writing his doctorate on precisely this idea – called it something like ‘Nietzsche’s Women’. So, I pretty much read this book as if it was written as an exploration of truth being defined as whatever a sort of German version of Victorian sexual relationships would have had the stereotype of ‘woman’ be. And really, Nietzsche, to me, simply doesn’t sustain this metaphor at all. Later in the work, when he talks of women (a highly sexist version of women, admittedly) but he talks of women, not of truth.
I ought to say something about how the book is structured. Firstly, there is a Preface, nine parts and a final sort of ramble that I guess is supposed to be quite ‘artistic’. The whole is divided into 296 numbered paragraphs. Some of these paragraphs can go for a couple of pages (which gets to be a pain in the bum to read, as they are thick text and quite dense). Others are aphorisms and can be quite direct: “141 The belly is the reason man does not easily take himself for a god” – or obscure to the point of incomprehensibility: “184 There is a wild spirit of good-naturedness that looks like malice”. Some of these end up on desk calendars, most don’t.
The paragraphs which I think my lecturer must have struggled over most were those from 233 to 239 – where Nietzsche discusses the ‘weaker sex’. This seems to me to be standard sexist nonsense and says nothing interesting about either women or truth.
Right then – my division of the spoils!
The Good:
From 247: “The preacher was the only one in Germany who knew the weight of a syllable or a word, in what manner a sentence strikes, springs, rushes, flows, and comes to a close; he alone had a conscience in his ears, often enough a bad conscience: for reasons are not lacking why proficiency in oratory should be especially seldom attained by a German, or almost always too late. The masterpiece of German prose is therefore with good reason the masterpiece of its greatest preacher: the BIBLE has hitherto been the best German book. Compared with Luther's Bible, almost everything else is merely "literature"--something which
has not grown in Germany, and therefore has not taken and does not take root in German hearts, as the Bible has done.”
I like this because I think it is based on a profound truth, that texts written that are not written to be voiced often do sound hollow and lack something very important.
I also liked some of the aphorisms, not least, “132. One is punished most for one’s virtues” (yeah, tell me about it) and the final one which since I first read it about 20 years ago has stayed in my memory and been something I have sought to avoid, “185. ‘I do not like it’ – Why? – ‘I am not up to it.’ – has anyone ever answered like that?” I would like to think that I have tried to be someone who has answered like that – that is, to admit (to myself, if no one else) when I have not understood something because it is beyond me. But this aphorism is even deeper than this – nevertheless, one should seek to avoid talking of disliking something because it hurts one’s vanity in its being too far beyond where one is currently up to.
The Bad
I find his rants against democracy and socialism – against what he calls the ‘herd mentality’ – quite obnoxious. From 202: after discussing Anarchists who are… “Apparently in opposition to the peacefully industrious democrats and Revolution-ideologues, and still more so to the awkward philosophasters and fraternity-visionaries who call themselves Socialists and want a "free society," those are really at one with them all in their thorough and instinctive hostility to every form of society other than that of the AUTONOMOUS herd (to the extent even of repudiating the notions "master" and "servant"--ni dieu ni maitre, says a socialist formula); at one in their tenacious opposition to every special claim, every special right and privilege (this means ultimately opposition to EVERY right, for when all are equal, no one needs "rights" any longer);” the rant continues on and on in yet another example of Nietzsche’s endless sentences – and one (I can only assume) that doesn’t read terribly well even in German despite his own advice quoted earlier. As one who is proud to call out – even in French, if necessary – Neither God nor Master! his rants did nothing to convince me otherwise. Having seen some of the morons who float to the top and call themselves ‘cream’ – I will happily struggle against every special right and special claim.
His criticism of the English in 252 “It is characteristic of such an unphilosophical race to hold on firmly to Christianity--they NEED its discipline for "moralizing" and humanizing” is the sort of trite and pointless nonsense, meant only as an insult, that undermines his arguments generally.
The Evil
I have a rather visceral reaction to some topics – eugenics is one that poisons the very depths of my heart’s blood. I find it hard to think clearly about something that I have such a potent reaction against – and naturally, Nietzsche is quite in favour of such hideous excesses. When he doesn’t talk about Darwin in contempt, he reiterates the least interesting conclusion - the need for a ‘struggle for existence’ to strengthen the ‘race’ (oh how the rightwing love such notions as ‘survival of the fittest’ – as if human culture wasn’t premised on mutual protection to make us strong despite all of our frailties – see for example: 262 “A species arises, a type becomes fixed and strong, through protracted struggle against essentially constant unfavourable conditions” – oh yeah, says who?).
And so he begins his most obnoxious part of the work, “What is Noble?” with the line: “Every elevation of the type ‘man’ has hitherto been the work of an aristocratic society”. Or in 258, “Its (an aristocratic society’s) fundamental faith must be that society should not exist for the sake of society but only as foundation and scaffolding upon which a select species of being is able to raise itself to its higher task and in general to a higher existence:” Blah, blah, blah. At university, when I would point to passages like these and complain about their obnoxious implications – that the majority of humanity is cast in the role of the play thing of the ‘powerful’ – I would be told not to see such statements as being about ‘society’ as such, but rather about the individual. And this has become the standard, the received reading of Nietzsche – that he was really about taking control of one’s own life and making life an artistic project and such blather – but I’ve never been able to read him in this way. His pronouncements on society are clear and unambiguous. He may not be the forerunner of Hitler, as he was made out by his sister, but the fact remains he is not hard to twist into a rightwing ideologue – his views are poisonous to society. And they are meant to be read as a social formula – I have yet to be convinced otherwise.
Beyond
I’ve gone back to reading Nietzsche again because twenty years ago I read him and hated him. Since then I’ve read many commentaries and listened to some lectures from the Teaching Company in which he is greatly praised by people I found quite sensible and worthwhile. I thought that perhaps I really had disliked him because I was not up to him. But if that was true then, it is still true now.
I find Modern Philosophy’s obsession with the individual and the ‘meaninglessness’ of the world to be a dead end. I find it as dull as dishwater and part of the reason I stopped reading philosophy and went on to reading about the advances in neural science instead, for example. I quickly become bored with obscurantism, and if there is one thing that the children of Nietzsche do exceptionally well it is obscurantism – Oh Heidegger, Oh Sartre, Oh Derrida… - As wrong as that might make me – I’m just not interested enough in the rants of someone who simply does not want to be clear. Life is too short.
Now, an aside.
Throughout this book there are odd punctuation marks – perhaps the cause of the sentences never seeming to come to an end. Anyway, one of these marks is : - and it seemed a bit out of place, but also made me think of smileys or emotes or whatever these hideous things are called “:-)” Except in this case they looked like little penises scattered throughout the text. After a while I couldn’t help feel this was quite appropriate.
...less
Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
The Disaffected/The Affected
Reading Nietzsche is fucking fascinating even if you can only grasp 85% of what he's getting at. He's pithy as all get out which makes him difficult to understand at points. He writes assuming the reader already has a certain background in history/philosophy/the history of philosophy and, frankly, it makes perfect sense that he's loathe to dumb it down because he despises the hoi polloi as it is.
Anyway, what Nietzshe's on about is sort of demystifying humans as humans have been/are now perce...more
Reading Nietzsche is fucking fascinating even if you can only grasp 85% of what he's getting at. He's pithy as all get out which makes him difficult to understand at points. He writes assuming the reader already has a certain background in history/philosophy/the history of philosophy and, frankly, it makes perfect sense that he's loathe to dumb it down because he despises the hoi polloi as it is.
Anyway, what Nietzshe's on about is sort of demystifying humans as humans have been/are now perceived thanks to what we've been told about us. If that's not vague enough, Nietzsche himself sometimes gets a bit mystical, so, yeah, at points, it is hard to grasp what he's getting at. At the risk of over-simplifying the shit out of his general train of thought, Nietzsche rejects God and the soul, he doesn't even necessarily believe that there might be an "I" or "you" to speak of. The latter, matter--taken up later in much more detail by such luminary philosohers as Heidegger, Foucault, Derrida (esp. Heidegger)--is where it gets pretty confusing, but if you can hang on through it, it's worth it. Nietzsche's scope is none other than the entire intellectual history of Western society since Plato and really Socrates and considering this book is only like 175+ pages, his style is very terse and profound. Again, he doesn't really bother to elaborate a whole lot. You either understand or you don't.
Regardless, Nietzsche is just about the most radical thinker you're going to read. Not only does he dissavow of Christianity and any sort of morality which measures an action based on any sort of scale that measures good or evil (including utilitarianism), he also doesn't like democracy, humanism, equal rights, freedom to not find yourself under the tyrrany of someone and pretty much all of what rational people consider "progress." I think a lot of readers are originally attracted to the Nietzster because he despises Christianity whereas for the reader, it's "organized religion" that he/she is disaffected with. And then they realize Nietzsche doesn't like Christianity itself, and, moreover, pretty much hates everything and I mean Everything about modern society (because Christianity has shaped so much of modern society). And then the reader gets turned off and goes back to reading Locke or whatever. It is what it is. Still, pretty radical for 1886 or whenever this was written. I have more to say but I don't know if the word limit's going to let me. Anyway, read it (or don't)....less
bookshelves:
philosophy,
reviews
The master of all the books!
Freud described Nietzsche as the only man who knew his mind. Although both were quite mad there is no doubt about the veracity of the statement and this book just proves it. Written by an old, less passionate Nietzsche it dissects the human understanding and life with incredible precision. Mostly assorted in metaphysical aphorisms, it’s a summary of his pitiless quasi-objective observations. The question simply is.. Are you up to it..?
Daring in attack and asse...more
The master of all the books!
Freud described Nietzsche as the only man who knew his mind. Although both were quite mad there is no doubt about the veracity of the statement and this book just proves it. Written by an old, less passionate Nietzsche it dissects the human understanding and life with incredible precision. Mostly assorted in metaphysical aphorisms, it’s a summary of his pitiless quasi-objective observations. The question simply is.. Are you up to it..?
Daring in attack and assertive in defense this book’s only misgiving lies in the demand to be acquainted with the ideology of his earlier works. Although that makes it a lot skewed it’s nevertheless a charming read.
The following excerpts must define what laconism is.
From apophthegms and interludes:
*The belly is the reason why man does not so readily take himself for a god.
* Dreadful experiences raise the question whether he who also experiences them is not something dreadful also.
*A nation is a detour of nature to arrive at six or seven great men.-yes, and then to get round them.(Hegel in one line)
*We are most dishonourable towards our god he is not permitted to sin.
From what is noble:
Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood .The latter perhaps wounds his vanity; but the former wounds his heart, his sympathy, which always says: Ah why would you also have as hard a time of it as I have?
As I type this, I’m filled with memories where friends at college debated these passages all through night. For the treasure of insight it beholds it’s definitely worth it, that, if you look- beyond the Nazi interpretation and a few later passages on feminism with comical indignation. If you have lived your prides, prejudices, convictions, defeats, victories, sit and read Beyond good and evil in one piece....less
Read in July, 2007
I keep this book close at hand and re-read a few chapters here and there several times each year. Nietzsche's title suggests a work of moral philosophy, which this is. But rather than deriving a view of moral behavior from metaphysics, Beyond Good and Evil asserts the primacy of moral categories in our thought. By explaining how a myopic moralism underpins our Platonic tradition, Nietzsche submits his philosophical forebears to a withering critique. His writing is at times playful and at other ...more
I keep this book close at hand and re-read a few chapters here and there several times each year. Nietzsche's title suggests a work of moral philosophy, which this is. But rather than deriving a view of moral behavior from metaphysics, Beyond Good and Evil asserts the primacy of moral categories in our thought. By explaining how a myopic moralism underpins our Platonic tradition, Nietzsche submits his philosophical forebears to a withering critique. His writing is at times playful and at other times unsettling, full of unconcealed contempt for the metaphysics of the past.
Like many of Nietzsche’s works, Beyond Good and Evil is distinctive for its directness, its accessibility, and its literary flourishes. And it is quite simply a delight to read. Furthermore, it is an important text in the tradition, for it did, as Nietzsche intended, foreshadow the “philosophers of the future”. Those later philosophers - especially Nietzsche's best readers – would point out that even the most strong-willed, rigorous intellect cannot simply decide to opt out of traditional patterns of human thought and language. We are confined to the categories and oppositions that our languages can support. Nevertheless, despite the ultimate impossibility of escape, this is a breathtaking act of philosophical unchaining. And it contains some of Nietzsche's richest writing, such as his assertion that "a living thing desires above all to vent its strength..."...less
How can I put this.....this man's words are inspired. When I first encountered Nietzsche, I was astonished at how much I agreed with his thoughts. No, even more, how he had put down in writing thoughts and ideas that I had formed over the years of my life. And, then, of course there was a lot that was new to me as well. Much of his writing seemed inspired, almost like words from the Devil. Many times now, I'm not even sure where some of my thoughts and ideas have come from, whether they formed o...more
How can I put this.....this man's words are inspired. When I first encountered Nietzsche, I was astonished at how much I agreed with his thoughts. No, even more, how he had put down in writing thoughts and ideas that I had formed over the years of my life. And, then, of course there was a lot that was new to me as well. Much of his writing seemed inspired, almost like words from the Devil. Many times now, I'm not even sure where some of my thoughts and ideas have come from, whether they formed on their own or after I read his works. It seemed truly incredible to me that someone else shared many of my own thoughts. Well, anyway, there were a few points that I disagree with him on and much that gave me a lot to think on. I don't really know if I agree with him on his overarching ideas even, but many of the sayings and things he has here are brilliant indeed. I find myself baffled whenever I think about this person and his philosophy which is not highly tangible. He champions independence in thought and form. I felt free to take whatever I wanted from his works without feeling a pressure to agree with him. He's also a far better writer than most philosophers especially Kant whose name I will again have to encounter one day. So dull, boring,and impenetrable are the works of Kant. I also feel that Nieztsche has a very penetrating look at the world around him and even many a glimmer at the psychological aspects of people.
-Rav...less
For those of you who are unfamiliar with him, Friedrich Nietzsche was an angry little man who protected himself from the Mean Old World by swaddling himself in an exaggerated ego (and an even more exaggerated moustache).
Rather than suggest that you read any or all of his works, I've taken the liberty of creating a "Nietzsche Book Generator" that you can use to construct your very own philosophical tomes, in the comfort of your own home!
Just follow these simple steps:
1) Make...more
For those of you who are unfamiliar with him, Friedrich Nietzsche was an angry little man who protected himself from the Mean Old World by swaddling himself in an exaggerated ego (and an even more exaggerated moustache).
Rather than suggest that you read any or all of his works, I've taken the liberty of creating a "Nietzsche Book Generator" that you can use to construct your very own philosophical tomes, in the comfort of your own home!
Just follow these simple steps:
1) Make one or more completely ridiculous claims
2) Cover your ass by asserting that anyone who disagrees with you is simply too stupid to understand what you're saying (aka "The Emperor's New Clothes" method of argument)
3) When you run out of things to say, just write the most misogynistic thing that comes to mind
4) Be sure to dazzle the reader with your endless supply of Latin clichés
5) Repeat steps 1-4 two hundred times or so, and you've got yourself a "book"
Then all that's left is to sit back and prepare to be taken seriously by a large number of otherwise intelligent people!...less
This is essential reading for anyone interested in philosophy of ethics and the best introduction to Nietzsche. BGaE is an important work as it critically examines the ethical and philosophic systems that preceeded it. Nietzsche's writing is throught provoking and often difficult. Many will not find it convincing as many of his ideas are put forward without support or in a manner of building agreement with the reader. I find Nietzsche's ethics troubling as they seem to come from a position of su...more
This is essential reading for anyone interested in philosophy of ethics and the best introduction to Nietzsche. BGaE is an important work as it critically examines the ethical and philosophic systems that preceeded it. Nietzsche's writing is throught provoking and often difficult. Many will not find it convincing as many of his ideas are put forward without support or in a manner of building agreement with the reader. I find Nietzsche's ethics troubling as they seem to come from a position of superiority to the average person and based on a very dim view of humanity in general. One can draw a straight line from Nietzschean ethics to Ayn Rand's cold objectivism and perhaps the Nazis conception of the ubermensch (many have made this connection) A system of ethics needs to be based compassion for humanity, even its ordinary members and in spite of our weaknesses. Tolstoy sees this. Nietzsche does not. Also, I think a philosopher can benefit from some humility and the understanding that there are many ways to be wise. It is the fault of an elitist to conflate lack of education with stupidity....less
One scholar (I can't remember who) noted Nietzsche's overwhelming excess of style and that he has. This makes him fun to read - to a point. Other times, forgive my heresy, Nietzsche seems to be the bad teenage poet of philosophy - so far over the top, so dramatic, that you lose whatever point he had. And he does have some points worth considering, especially his challenges to traditional notions of morality, as much more down to Earth scholars such as Philippa Foot have noted. Foot is...more
One scholar (I can't remember who) noted Nietzsche's overwhelming excess of style and that he has. This makes him fun to read - to a point. Other times, forgive my heresy, Nietzsche seems to be the bad teenage poet of philosophy - so far over the top, so dramatic, that you lose whatever point he had. And he does have some points worth considering, especially his challenges to traditional notions of morality, as much more down to Earth scholars such as Philippa Foot have noted. Foot is also right that Nietzsche's "revaluation of values" is, as she puts it, not one we actual human beings can really ever accept. I can't help but suspect that many contemporary people carelessly read Nietzsche and use his work as an excuse to be jerks to other people. This is too bad because underneath all the rhetorical excess, there lives a negative side of moral skepticism worth considering, even if his more "positive" program is ultimately ridiculous, if not terrifying....less
Read in September, 2007
so... God is dead,
any questions?
no, he never existed, he's another chain or anchor that man put on himself to limit potential, and yet another means of putting a limit on personal freedom. Now that the Judeo-Christian moral code, and other moral codes like it have been laid to rest, we can finally make something of ourselves.
Nietzsche makes the claim that he is here to clear the way for the coming Ubermensch much in the same way that John the Baptist claimed to clear the way for Christ....more
so... God is dead,
any questions?
no, he never existed, he's another chain or anchor that man put on himself to limit potential, and yet another means of putting a limit on personal freedom. Now that the Judeo-Christian moral code, and other moral codes like it have been laid to rest, we can finally make something of ourselves.
Nietzsche makes the claim that he is here to clear the way for the coming Ubermensch much in the same way that John the Baptist claimed to clear the way for Christ.
I guess this is the point where you go out there and make an ubermensch of yourself.
It is to philosophy what sex and candy are to my senses....less
Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone, except perhaps very happy Christians
Wow. I can't even imagine what it must have been to be in his head.
Very, very unique perspective on life. Makes you question a lot of "unquestionable" beliefs.
I like his perspective on truth, i.e. there is no such thing. There is only perspectives and views. Truths look different from different view points, so it's better to see things from many different view points than hold fast to 'truths'. Holding fast to 'Truths' is what can get you in the pilot seat of an airplane be...more
Wow. I can't even imagine what it must have been to be in his head.
Very, very unique perspective on life. Makes you question a lot of "unquestionable" beliefs.
I like his perspective on truth, i.e. there is no such thing. There is only perspectives and views. Truths look different from different view points, so it's better to see things from many different view points than hold fast to 'truths'. Holding fast to 'Truths' is what can get you in the pilot seat of an airplane bent on death to all infidels. Extreme example, but they can also lead to a long life of unhappiness and guilt.
I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to get the old cogs in the head to moving.
...less
bookshelves:
philosophy
I'm generally pretty good at dismissing all the sexist stuff you find in older books, because you know, such was the style of the time to think of women as less than equal. Fine. I get that, but this book actually has a section about the inferiority of women with adages like, "Black dress, white pearls, and a silent mouth is the best outfit for a woman." Ok, in a lot of cases that's true, but you don't have to write about it! Dang. Plus he says women haven't even mastered cooking. Some...more
I'm generally pretty good at dismissing all the sexist stuff you find in older books, because you know, such was the style of the time to think of women as less than equal. Fine. I get that, but this book actually has a section about the inferiority of women with adages like, "Black dress, white pearls, and a silent mouth is the best outfit for a woman." Ok, in a lot of cases that's true, but you don't have to write about it! Dang. Plus he says women haven't even mastered cooking. Someone had a bad mommy in my opinion. Shit. I hate that I really loved that book when I read it, then I got to the this part at the end and now all I can remember is my rage....less
bookshelves:
currently-reading
Read in May, 2008
Nietzsche is grouchy and batty, but also smart and funny. Nietzsche understands that life wants to grow more than anything else. Life wants to grow more than it wants to live. Its weird and its true and our complex minds are driven by that same urge.
Nietzsche builds a maze out of his thoughts and it helps you learn to think like an acrobat. But watch out, Nietzsche is kind of a dick and spends alot of the book complaining about how stupid Everyone Else is. He also admires dictators and think...more
Nietzsche is grouchy and batty, but also smart and funny. Nietzsche understands that life wants to grow more than anything else. Life wants to grow more than it wants to live. Its weird and its true and our complex minds are driven by that same urge.
Nietzsche builds a maze out of his thoughts and it helps you learn to think like an acrobat. But watch out, Nietzsche is kind of a dick and spends alot of the book complaining about how stupid Everyone Else is. He also admires dictators and thinks slaves are useful. So... fuck him for that....less
Read in January, 2005
Nietzsche is German, and considered an existentialist- two of my favorite characteristics of a writer- so I thought that he would be interesting by default. But I was wrong. This book is overly verbose and quite hard to get through; most of his sentences are a paragraph long and by the time you've gotten to the point you've forgotten what he was talking about. I gave up several chapters in because I had no idea what he was talking about and what the general feel of the book was... all I knew was...more
Nietzsche is German, and considered an existentialist- two of my favorite characteristics of a writer- so I thought that he would be interesting by default. But I was wrong. This book is overly verbose and quite hard to get through; most of his sentences are a paragraph long and by the time you've gotten to the point you've forgotten what he was talking about. I gave up several chapters in because I had no idea what he was talking about and what the general feel of the book was... all I knew was that I was confused. And bored....less
Read in January, 2004
Nietzsche has been popularized and assimilated into pop culture for his bad-assness, but at the loss of appreciation for his incredibly poetic prose, his devastating critique of modernity, and--oddly enough--the importance of his writing. He's not a pop philosopher, he's a gigantic menace to philosophy as a project, and the point of departure for literally hundreds of influential thinkers who followed him. Reading him made me think everyone I had read before him was stupid, not because he told...more
Nietzsche has been popularized and assimilated into pop culture for his bad-assness, but at the loss of appreciation for his incredibly poetic prose, his devastating critique of modernity, and--oddly enough--the importance of his writing. He's not a pop philosopher, he's a gigantic menace to philosophy as a project, and the point of departure for literally hundreds of influential thinkers who followed him. Reading him made me think everyone I had read before him was stupid, not because he told me to think that, but because he writes and thinks so damn well....less
Nietzsche can be puzzling, mainly due to his aphoristic style, but also amazingly lucid. As with all his writings, this is a book of short segments of reflection on various topics, not all of which the reader will agree with, but then at times it's not at all clear whether Nietzsche is being literal, rhetorical, metaphorical, cynical or (typically) some combination of all of those. Definitely worth one's time. Some of the author's interests have become dated due to their removal from us in ti...more
Nietzsche can be puzzling, mainly due to his aphoristic style, but also amazingly lucid. As with all his writings, this is a book of short segments of reflection on various topics, not all of which the reader will agree with, but then at times it's not at all clear whether Nietzsche is being literal, rhetorical, metaphorical, cynical or (typically) some combination of all of those. Definitely worth one's time. Some of the author's interests have become dated due to their removal from us in time, but in principle they still hold tremendous worth....less
bookshelves:
maybe,
non-fiction,
own,
to-read
To be honest, I'm not sure why I own this. The copy I have is really old and worn, so I probably picked it up at a thrift store somewhere because I felt like I should read Nietzsche (or because I'd been watching too much A Fish Called Wanda). It's definitely not what I anticipated - I think I was expecting really dense writing, and lo and behold, a huge part of it is just numbered statements. I'd like to think I'll pick it up someday, but in the meantime it just makes me look well-rounded...more
To be honest, I'm not sure why I own this. The copy I have is really old and worn, so I probably picked it up at a thrift store somewhere because I felt like I should read Nietzsche (or because I'd been watching too much A Fish Called Wanda). It's definitely not what I anticipated - I think I was expecting really dense writing, and lo and behold, a huge part of it is just numbered statements. I'd like to think I'll pick it up someday, but in the meantime it just makes me look well-rounded and alluring, or something....less
bookshelves:
philosophy
Read in February, 1999
This book picks up where Zarathustra left off, namely building an ethical system free of absolutes like "good" and "evil." His philosophy is fully developed in this book and it's a bit more clear than Zarathustra, albeit less fun to read. The section where he calls out philosophers and tells them they're all sheep trying to justify their own assumptions rather than explore truth was particularly interesting to read, especially as Nietzsche reveals his own foibles quite well i...more
This book picks up where Zarathustra left off, namely building an ethical system free of absolutes like "good" and "evil." His philosophy is fully developed in this book and it's a bit more clear than Zarathustra, albeit less fun to read. The section where he calls out philosophers and tells them they're all sheep trying to justify their own assumptions rather than explore truth was particularly interesting to read, especially as Nietzsche reveals his own foibles quite well in this book (misogyny, etc.)....less
Has a copy to sell/swap
recommends it for:
a philosopher or someone who wants to be prodded
I have been reading the man for years... I now know as the lsd told me years ago nietszche is peachy...in fact i have the t-shirt which a buddy made for me...the book was weighty to me...and that can be a very good thing especially when the author is trying to challenge conventional thought throughout history...though i didn't understand the half of what I have read...I know that some nourishing meat has sunk into my unconscious mind to make a pearl in the oysters darkness...mike seely and the a...more
I have been reading the man for years... I now know as the lsd told me years ago nietszche is peachy...in fact i have the t-shirt which a buddy made for me...the book was weighty to me...and that can be a very good thing especially when the author is trying to challenge conventional thought throughout history...though i didn't understand the half of what I have read...I know that some nourishing meat has sunk into my unconscious mind to make a pearl in the oysters darkness...mike seely and the acid tong...less
Read in September, 1981
Corrections to the listing: 1) published I think in 1886, not 2003. 2) Actually, get the translation by Walter Kaufmann if you can.
This to me is the best single Nietzsche if you're going to read just one. I don't like the bombast and mythologizing of Zarathustra, the final books are a little nutty, and the earlier books don't have his complete logic fleshed out (though The Birth of Tragedy is daz
Ever wonder if people just give 5 stars to some books because the author's name and prestige obligates them to do so?
Anyway, if you can get over the whole equating women with livestock thing, this is a dense (yet light in the world of philosophy texts) collection of the depressing thoughts of a man whose name nobody seems to be able to pronounce correctly. I typically read it while listening to really bad punk rock, to prep myself for the daily pleasures of college life.
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avg rating
(all editions):
4.03 (2151 ratings)
avg rating
(this edition): 4.00
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number of reviews: 124
other editions
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Beyond Good and Evil (Penguin Classics)
isbn: 014044923X
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Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future (Paperback)
isbn: 0679724656
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Beyond Good and Evil (Paperback)
isbn: 1420922505
