Beyond Good and Evil
by Friedrich Nietzsche
published
2005
(first published 1886)
by 1st World Library
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binding
Hardcover, 236 pages
isbn
1421806223
(isbn13: 9781421806228)
description
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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
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
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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
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
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7 comments
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
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
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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 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
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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
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Read in May, 1998
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Although not what I expected, Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil was a more than satisfying meditation on morality. It wasn't what I expected because most of Nietzsche's words were spent prophesying about and discussing the "herd" mentality of democracy's slave culture, which prepares us for his final, magnificent essay, "What is Noble," but the overthrowing of my expectations was never a problem.
Too many pass ...more
Too many pass ...more
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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
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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
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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
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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
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
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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
Anyway, what Nietzshe's on about is sort of demystifying humans as humans have been/are now perce...more
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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
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Read in October, 2008
recommends it for:
free spirits
I doubt I would have ever finished this book on my own – but I signed up for a discussion group and we steadily worked our way through it for 5 weeks. Despite Nietzsche's playful provocative prose (which sparkles and jabs even in translation), he's not easy to understand. Has anyone ever written philosophy this way? And I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be as matchlessly brilliant, as excruciatingly lonely, as he was. Actually I'm tempted to read him as a mystic – Beyond Good and Evil ...more
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Read in December, 1970
recommended to erik by:
Edward Ericksonrecommends it for: everyone
This, unfortunately, was the first Nietzsche I read. It was during winter break from college, sophomore year, and was unconnected to any class. I read a Park Ridge Library copy, often in the library to get out of the house, but subsequently got my own copy. It is not the book to start with. Later, I got serious about Nietzsche and started to read him systematically.
Still, even unprepared and doubtlessly missing a lot, I enjoyed the book. The only philosophy course I'd ever had, freshman ...more
Still, even unprepared and doubtlessly missing a lot, I enjoyed the book. The only philosophy course I'd ever had, freshman ...more
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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
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This book was assigned to me in my introduction to philosophy class as a freshman in college and fuck(!) I didn't understand any of it!
However, now, almost 9 years later and re-reading it, I get some of it! It kind of made sense--though I found his misogyny gross and his elitism staggering.
I guess I kind of read this as a defense of elitism--although I could be wrong and there are tons of little snippets of thought--some gems, some shit--that make it thought provoking.
At the same t...more
However, now, almost 9 years later and re-reading it, I get some of it! It kind of made sense--though I found his misogyny gross and his elitism staggering.
I guess I kind of read this as a defense of elitism--although I could be wrong and there are tons of little snippets of thought--some gems, some shit--that make it thought provoking.
At the same t...more
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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
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This was one of the earliest books on philosophy that I read. I read it while on tour in the mid-eighties, and have read it many times since. Nietzsche is an articulate, flamboyant, dry-witted, and accurate writer. He is also one of the most misquoted and abused philosophers (together with B. Russell and A. Einstein). This book is wonderful because of its organization: it is a collection of short essays and aphorisms that make it extremely approachable while not losing Nietzsche's style and ...more
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Learned some, cross-applied it to everything before, learned everything, became a new person.
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