Thus Spoke Zarathustra (World's Classics)

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Thus Spoke Zarathustra (World's Classics)

by Friedrich Nietzsche, Graham Parkes (Translator)

3.99 · rating details · 13,056 ratings · 618 reviews

hus Spake Zarathustra is a masterpiece of literature as well as philosophy. It was Nietzsche's own favorite and has proved to be his most popular. In this book he addresses the problem of how to live a fulfilling life in a world without meaning, in the aftermath of "the death of God." His solution lies in the idea of eternal recurrence, which he calls "the h...more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published August 14th 2008 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published 1883)

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May 19, 2008

Shawn rated it

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Horror movies never frightened me in the same way certain works of literature and film did. Reading through Zarathustra as a teenager was a singularly powerful experience; the work defies categorization or genre, time or place. I was warned that Nietzsche was dangerous for young readers (like Machiavelli) because he went insane. This I HAD to read. It was my first encounter with existential thought, a stinging critique of the very nature of values and belief. The events in the book are more like...more

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Aug 22, 2007

Clint rated it

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It's like Jesus, but cooler.

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Jun 05, 2011

Moayyad AL-mezin rated it

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يووووووووووووووه يوه يوه يوه ،، سأرقص ، إنه وقت الرقص والرقص والرقص
هل تتوقعون أن زرادشت نيتشه ، سيهتم بالتقييم والتعليق هنا ، لا لا لا أظن إطلاقا ،، فلهُ مخرجه
ولكنّه لو رآني وحروفي نرقص ، لأقبل ملتويا على رأسه راقصا ،، :)))))))))))))) ٠

تجربة رائعة ، إعراجية ، أستمتعت بالقراءة وإرادة القرآءة لهذاالزرادشت من ترجمتين ، الأولى علي مصباح ، والأخرى لفليكس فارس ٠
بابٌ هُنا وبابٌ هُناك ، مُحاولاً فكّ الرموز والتشبيهات تارة ، مُندهشاً أُخرى ، مُسرّحا ثالثة ، مصفوقاً كثيرا
تجرب...more

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Jan 04, 2012

John rated it

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I haven’t been able to sincerely laugh in a long, long time. This book gave me what I needed: a logical basis for accepting laughter into my life again.

I didn’t expect the intuitive introvert atheistic existentialist Nietzsche to have anything to say about laughter, but laughter was one of the primary themes here. This book isn’t just a collection of a philosopher’s wisdom. Nietzsche journeyed deep inside himself for his writing – so deep that he lost his own sanity and ultimately couldn’t agai...more

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Apr 17, 2008

Katie Muffett rated it

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Recommends it for: Anyone who feels they should read Nietszche but are turned off by his other books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. While this book will sadly always be bogged down in Nietzsche's unresolved and immature childhood angst, his poetic brilliance is...well, brilliant.

The real stride of Zarathustra lies more at the beginning, with the prophet's existence rather petering out toward the end, rather than the usual ascent into spiritual ecstasy with which similar stories finish. Still, I suppose if I read the text as an insight into the mind of Nietzsche himself - rather than an educational, theological j...more

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Jan 23, 2008

Vincent Flock rated it

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Though I doubt that I could read the German version as easily as I once could, I still much prefer it to the translations. If you must read a translation, make it the Walter Kaufmann version, which is, in any case, easiest to find beyond being the best that I have seen. Side note: Kaufmann's translation of Goethe's Faust is also one of the best you will find for that work.

As for the work itself, what can I possibly say that has not already been written in praise of this epic? The cri...more

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Sep 18, 2009

Joshua Nomen-Mutatio rated it

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Recommends it for: People That Have Already Read A Substantial Amount Of Nietzsche's Other Work

Shelves: philosophy, fiction, religion, nietzsche, poetry

"Have you ever said Yes to a single joy? O my friends, then you have said Yes too to all woe. All things are entangled, ensnared, enamored; if ever you wanted one thing twice, if ever you said, "You please me, happiness! Abide moment!" then you wanted all back. All anew, all eternally, all entangled, ensnared, enamored--oh then you loved the world. Eternal ones, love it eternally and evermore; and to woe too, you say: go, but return! For all joy wants--eternity."
...more

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Aug 05, 2009

Andreas Voigt rated it

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A wonderful piece of work, Nietzsche’s best, but highly complex, very multifaceted. You should know his other work before you take the intellectual challenge. It touches your spirit just like Goethe’s FAUST touches your heart. I needed three tries and age and academic sophistication until I truly comprehended the depth of Nietzsche’s superior mind. Reading and understanding ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA might not make you a SUPRAHUMAN (“...lightning out of the dark cloud Mankind”), but it will take yo...more

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Jun 28, 2007

Yousef Alikhani rated it

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زماني كتاب مقدسم شده بود

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Feb 21, 2011

Miquixote rated it

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Shelves: philosophy, classics, german, non-fiction, religion, psychology, poetry, theory, european-literature, 10, 38a, 90c, favourites

Incredibly interesting ideas. For sure you will be thinking about what is said here for a long, long time.

This most famous book of Nietzsche delves into the central idea: the "eternal recurrence of the same", also the parable on the "death of God", and the "prophecy" of the Übermensch. Nietzsche himself claims it is "the deepest book ever written". (he wasn’t one prone to humility…)

A fictionalized prophet descends from his recluse...moreIncredibly interesting ideas. For sure you will be thinking about what is said here for a long, long time.

This most famous book of Nietzsche delves into the central idea: the "eternal recurrence of the same", also the parable on the "death of God", and the "prophecy" of the Übermensch. Nietzsche himself claims it is "the deepest book ever written". (he wasn’t one prone to humility…)

A fictionalized prophet descends from his recluse to mankind, Zarathustra, and turns traditional morality on its head. Zarathustra was the first moralist (and now fictionally the first anti-moralist). This is intended as an irony, Nietzsche mimics the style of the Bible and indeed has ideas which fundamentally oppose Christian and Jewish morality and tradition. Many criticisms of Christianity can be found in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, in particular Christian values of good and evil and its belief in an afterlife. Nietzsche sees the complacency of Christian values as fetters to the achievement of overman as well as on the human spirit. To Nietzsche truthfulness is the highest virtue; the self-ovecoming of the highest morality, the opposite of the cowardice of the "idealist” who flees from reality.

According to Nietzsche, the will to power is the fundamental component of human nature. Everything we do is an expression of the will to power. The will to power is a psychological analysis of all human action and is accentuated by self-overcoming and self-enhancement (please note emphasis on self). Contrasted with living for procreation, pleasure, or happiness, the will to power is the summary of all man's struggle against his surrounding environment as well as his reason for living in it. Faced with the knowledge that he would repeat every action that he has taken (the eternal recurrence), a normal man would be moved to depression. An overman however would be elated as he has no regrets and loves life.

To many it sounds like evolutionary theory. And like Darwinism his philosophy was interpreted by many into a form of Social Darwinism and extermination of races. It is still up for debate whether he really was a Social Darwinist.

Although the word ‘Uberman’(overman, superman) has been thought to have connotations of racial superiority, especially by the Nazis, there is no evidence in Thus Spake Zarathustra that Nietzsche intended it to mean anything other than a generic "higher being". (however, you may find sentences about ‘inferior and superior races’ in his previous work The Gay Science… whether he meant race literally is unclear, and problematic translations may further complicate the interpretations.)
A vulnerability of Nietzsche's style is that his nuances and shades of meaning are very easily lost — and all too easily gained — in translation. There is an ambiguity and paradoxical nature, which has helped its eventual enthusiastic reception by the reading public, but has frustrated academic attempts at analysis (as Nietzsche may have intended). Thus Spake Zarathrustra was however clearly intended to be taken as an alternative to repressive moral codes and an aversion to "nihilism" in all of its varied forms. Two things that can and should also be taken positively.

There are certainly moral issues to take up against the man though (as he intended). Most controversially and to the point that matters most for many, would he have condoned the mass extermination of Jews taken upon by Nazis? I don’t think so, but only because he was too intelligent, and there is no evidence there is such a thing as a literally ‘inferior race’. He would however condone lethal actions in ‘the will to power’ (he quite explicitly states so in the Gay Science) and he did not have a positive view of participatory democracy (because he wouldn’t agree so-called lesser-developed men, the ones he would probably define as lacking the ‘gay knowledge’, should be given equal power).

Not passe at all, his ideas are alive and well today, but his immoral approach should be considered extremely problematic. If an important challenge to repressive moral codes it should also be firmly acknowledged as too absolutist and all-encompassing of a challenge to all morals.

For those who doubt Nietzsche’s influence, and are still unclear what he represents, he is fundamental to a wide variety of ideas. Some are highly questionable as helpful against nihilism (such as anarco-individualism/anarcho-capitalism and post-modernism). And some you may or may not find helpful (such as atheism). If still in doubt, here is a short list of those he has profoundly influenced:

Adorno, Bataille, Baudrillard, Benjamin, Bloom, Allan, Buber, Butler, Camus, Deleuze, Derrida, Dreyfus, Foucault, Freud, Heidegger, Iqbal, Jaspers, Jung, Kafka, Kaufmann, Kojeve, Lovecraft, Marcuse, Mencken, Molyneux, Onfray, Robakidze, Rogers, Santayana, Sartre, Strauss, Spengler, Williams, Wittgenstein, Zapffe
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Nov 27, 2009

Kathryn rated it

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Shelves: classics, audiobook

Supposedly, this book is recommended before attempting any of Nietzsche's other later works. I'll freely admit that I was lost through most of this. I listened to the audio for approximately the first third and then switched to the free download. Otherwise, I would never have finished. I realize that I'd probably benefit from a second reading of this book but really, I try to read for pleasure and this was not pleasurable the first time so a second go around any time soon is out of the question....more

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Oct 07, 2008

Mr. rated it

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Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra remains one of the most powerful and cryptic tomes in the history western thought. Is this a work of philosophy or poetry? Due to the immense power of Nietzsche's writing, it remains highly readable, even for those who are not usually comfortable reading philosophy. In the prologue, Nietzsche describes Zarathustra's isolation in the mountains and his intention to descend so that he can teach mankind. Zarathustra proclaims that God is dead and the overman, the s...moreNietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra remains one of the most powerful and cryptic tomes in the history western thought. Is this a work of philosophy or poetry? Due to the immense power of Nietzsche's writing, it remains highly readable, even for those who are not usually comfortable reading philosophy. In the prologue, Nietzsche describes Zarathustra's isolation in the mountains and his intention to descend so that he can teach mankind. Zarathustra proclaims that God is dead and the overman, the sort of man who has overcome his own nature. Zarathustra proclaims: "The time has come for man to set himself a goal. The time has come for man to plant the seed of his highest hope" (17). Nietzsche is passing his philosophical project onto Zarathustra as an author might pass his personal impressions onto a fictional character. Zarathustra is a new symbol of wisdom in the modern era; he teaches that man is now burdened with the task of creating a meaning for himself. In Zarathustra's speeches, he speaks of the "three metamorphoses of the spirit" (25), which include how the spirit becomes a camel, the camel a lion, and the lion a child. For Nietzsche, even the lion of freedom is not sufficient; the child who can create represents the possibility of an overman. Zarathustra says: "The child is innocence and forgetting, a new beginning, a game, a self-propelled wheel, a first movement, a sacred `Yes.' For the game of creation, my brothers, a sacred `Yes' is needed: the spirit now wills his own will, and he who had been lost to the world now conquers his own world" (27). Zarathustra teaches man that God is the result of an act of creation, that man is capable of willing new gods and goals. He says: "this god whom I created was man-made and madness, like all Gods!" (33). Zarathustra might be called the God of the Body as he claims that it was originally the sick and decaying who hated the body and nature and subsequently created heaven. Zarathustra provides and alternative: "Listen rather, my brothers, to the voice of the healthy body: that is a more honest and purer voice. More honestly and purely speaks the healthy body that is perfect and perpendicular: and it speaks of the meaning of the earth" (33). Zarathustra warns man of the power of `Good and Evil,' of preachers of virtues and the soul. However, for all of man's creative efforts in conjuring systems of value, man still is left without a clear goal. Zarathustra concludes the first book by insisting that he will only return when his listeners have denied him, for he desires to cultivate an independence of thought.
In the second book, Zarathustra returns and begins to speak about creation and pitying. In the second section (Upon the Blessed Isles), he argues that "God is a conjecture; but I desire that your conjectures should not reach beyond your creative will. Could you create a god? Then do not speak to me of any gods. But you could well create the overman [...] of the overman you could recreate yourselves: and let this be your best creation" (86). For Zarathustra, creation is the solution to redeem man from his suffering. Additionally, man's will to power is a potentially liberating capacity. In the fifth section, Zarathustra critically examines different conceptions of traditional virtue. He says: "you are too pure for the filth of the words: revenge, punishment, reward, retribution" (94). After much vivisection and refutation, Zarathustra moves into a discussion of the possible meaning of existence for man in the section On the Tarantulas. Here, he makes a proposal: "For that man be delivered from revenge, that is for me the bridge to the highest hope, and a rainbow after long storms" (99). Zarathustra warns man to mistrust all who have a powerful inclination to seek revenge and enact punishment.In book three, Zarathustra continues his prophetic teachings to mankind, though he insists that he is "Godless" (170). He reflects about the absence of having a true audience; one gets the impression that Zarathustra is echoing Nietzsche's loneliness as a largely unrecognized philosopher and writer. He continues with a transvaluation of all values wherein Zarathustra declares the `three best cursed things,' which are: "sex, the lust to rule, [and] selfishness" (188). He condemns Christianity's disapproval of these things, arguing that sex represents a happiness of the body, the lust to rule is a variant of the will to power, and selfishness is a mode of self enjoyment. Zarathustra is concerned that the dominant institutions of our time have conditioned human beings to hate and fear themselves. Additionally, he teaches man about man's ultimate purpose, which he describes in the third section of `The Old and New Tablets,' where he writes: "There it was too that I picked up the word `overman' by the way, and that man is something that must be overcome-that man is a bridge and no end" (198). For Zarathustra, a going under is a crossing over, a transition. In this way, mankind is taught to confront his own mortality.
In `The Convalescent,' Zarathustra rests for seven days after a collapse in his cave. He is upset with the animals for watching him in pain, for pain and cruelty (whether it is directed inward or outward) is the greatest flaw of man. It is here that Zarathustra gives his most profound teaching: "Alas, man recurs eternally! The small man recurs eternally!' Zarathustra has established his reason for being: to teach the eternal recurrence of the same. All events and beings of the universe have existed an infinite number of times and will continue to repeat eternally. Zarathustra claims: "I myself belong to the causes of the eternal recurrence. I come again, with this sun, with this earth, with this eagle, with this serpent-not to a new life or a better life or a similar life: I come back eternally to this same, selfsame life, in what is greatest as in what is smallest, to teach again the eternal recurrence of all the things" (221). It is because of the eternal recurrence of the same that mankind should affirm life and will subsequently overcome nihilism. Zarathustra expresses a desire that mankind embrace himself as such, and to be willing to act as a bridge for something greater. He declares: "You are mere bridges: may men higher than you stride over you. You signify steps: therefore do not be angry with him who climbs over you to his height" (283). According to Zarathustra, it is only since God has died that mankind can be resurrected. In `On the Higher Man,' Zarathustra announces the life of the overman, an indication of a higher being able to climb over man. Zarathustra announces: "O my brothers, what I can love in man is that he is an overture and a going under [...] Overcome these masters of today, O my brothers-these small people, they are the overman's greatest danger" (287). Human beings must, in accordance with their nature, be willing to go down in order to go across. They are the bridge to something higher. The thought of eternal return contains many facets and implications. One the one hand, the notion of eternity without the trajectory of a goal and without a definitive close could be viewed as the essence of nihilism or pessimism. However, this is not a complete thought of eternal recurrence. Yet if the thinker understands the relation between nihilism and the eternal recurrence of the same, he can fully affirm life.
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Dec 30, 2007

Christopherseelie rated it

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Easily the best book of wisdom literature I've come across. This one I shall take slowly, with many sections reread...for pleasure.
Walter Kaufman warns the reader ahead of time that this is the work of a profoundly lonely man. I think it adds to the joy of reading, because one must separate for themselves the wisdom and the neurosis. The devise of an "untrustworthy narrator" reaches a new level of subtlety. And for it all, the book actually has some laugh lines!
Nietzsche th...more

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Jan 18, 2008

Todd rated it

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Recommends it for: Jill

Shelves: western-philosophy

I reread this book periodically. Nietzche's work is often completely misunderstood and misrepresented. He is one of the most reviled thinkers in the western philosophical pantheon. Some of this comes from Nietzche himself who went bonkers toward the end of his short life (it was a brain tumor actually and not syphllis as many believe) and some of it comes from the Nazi perverts who did not apprhend his concept of the uberman and used his ideas to justify some of their more perverted ideas.
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Dec 11, 2008

Mel rated it

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"...Adalah kata-kata yang paling hening yang mendatangkan badai. Pikiran-pikiran yang datang pada kaki merpati-merpati membimbing dunia..."

kali ini tidak membicarakan isi bukunya sendiri. hanya mengutip kalimat diatas, dikaitkan dengan kejadian yang dialami persis di hari pembacaan bukunya selesai. refer ke kalimat di awal tadi, hari ini saya malah mendapatkan kejadian yang sebaliknya. mendapatkan kata-kata kencang menggunakan suara auman singa dari seseorang, yang mungkin ...more

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Sep 19, 2008

Matthew rated it

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I'm sure it's very banal of me to point out how the bulk of this work is a contradiction of Neitzsche's main premise, but what he mostly seems to me to be saying is, 'Think for yourself, be original, be a maverick, and thou shalt do so in precisely thus & such a way. That way you can sacrifice yourself and your own aspirations to the possibility that somebody else in the future might become the Superman.' That criticism notwithstanding, there are a lot of ideas in the book worth mulling over, ...more

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Jun 05, 2007

montana rated it

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Recommends it for: none and all

I learned about eternal recurrence, that big wheel of life that repeats itself again and again and again. I recently edited this concept to suggest that life is a giant fuzzy hoop that is constantly vibrating. It was within minutes of meeting Elise’s friend Samer that I came to this realization; he, rather, saw life as a ski slope with a tiny pendulum at the tip. True or false: Nietzsche infected himself with syphilis to attain supreme enlightenment and collapsed on a street corner hugging a ...more

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Nov 07, 2011

Vanessa rated it

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Genius! Written in a format to mimic the bible, Nietzsche presents his ideas on mastering one’s self, will to power, and his unapologetic disgust with Christianity. This is not an easy read. I had to read it twice. I, maybe, understood half of it after the second reading. When I did "get" a passage, boy, was it amazing. He expresses his ideas in such a poetic and assertive way. While I find truth in his nihilistic view of the world, I don’t agree with his contempt for Christianity.
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Jan 11, 2012

Seth Lawrence is currently reading it · review of another edition

Seth Lawrence

Book Review

American Humanities

This book is about a boy named Friedrich. He lives a life of a struggling jew, with his family. He was born in a small town of Rocken, Germany. He lives with his Mother, Father, Grandmother, two Aunts, and a Sister. Friedrich is a brilliant student, and which is offered an academic position at the university of Bonn. His life revolves around school, and making friends. When he attends this school, he finds himself a new...more

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Dec 21, 2011

محمود أغيورلي rated it

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هكذا تحدث زرادشت
فريدريك نيتشه
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لقد علمتني ذاتي عزة جديدة اعلمها الان للناس : علمتني الا اخفي راسي بعد الان في رمال الاشياء السماوية بل ارفعها راسا عزيزة ترابية تبتدع معنى الارض
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ان اقرب الطرق بين الجبال هو الخط الممتد من ذروة الى ذروة
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انني مازلت راكضا منذ تعلمت المشي وها انا ذا اطير ولست بحاجة الى من يدفعني لاتحرك لقد اصبحت خفيفا فانا اطير مشعرا بانني احلق فوق ذاتي وان الها يرقص بداخلي
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Sep 12, 2011

Ruhat alp rated it

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Be aware, o man!
What does the deep midnight declare?
'I was asleep. From a deep dream I woke
The world is deepp
Deeper than the day had thought.
Deep is its woe.
But ecstasy is deeper yet than agony
Woe says: Be gone!
But joy aims at eternity
At deep, deep eternity.....

Much of the reigning spiritual malaise is due to what Zarathustra refers to as the "Death of God." Not that Zarathustra thought that God had ever existed, but...more

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Aug 10, 2011

Jarod Kintz rated it

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Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a difficult book to read, particularly if you are asleep. But I wasn't asleep, I was only pretending to be asleep! You know, to take advantage of those who claim to be awake.

Channeling his inner Christ, Socrates, and Orafoura, Nietzsche gave voice to a mute mystic named Zarathustra. Chronicling his spiritual development and preemptively establishing the modern notion of postmodern ennui and apathy that accompanies everyone being at once anonymous and also m...more

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Apr 08, 2011

Nathan added it · review of another edition

After years of hearing about Nietzsche's contributions to western philosophical culture, and after reading countless texts that referenced, examined or quoted him, I finally decided to tackle one of his books in full. But now, having done so the only honest reaction that I can offer is "what the !@#$ did I just read." Call me a philistine, but I got nothing out of this book and it seems to me that the whirlwinds of hype surrounding Nietzsche could be a case of literary "emperors n...more

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Jun 03, 2010

Rowland Bismark rated it

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Thus Spoke Zarathustra is one of the strangest books ever to achieve the status of a classic and represents Nietzsche’s boldest attempt to find a literary form appropriate to his revolutionary ideas. Zarathustra, commonly known by his Greek name, Zoroaster, was an ancient Persian prophet who was the first to preach that the universe is engaged in a fundamental struggle between good and evil. Nietzsche appropriates Zarathustra because, as he explains in Ecce Homo, “Zarathustra created this most c...moreThus Spoke Zarathustra is one of the strangest books ever to achieve the status of a classic and represents Nietzsche’s boldest attempt to find a literary form appropriate to his revolutionary ideas. Zarathustra, commonly known by his Greek name, Zoroaster, was an ancient Persian prophet who was the first to preach that the universe is engaged in a fundamental struggle between good and evil. Nietzsche appropriates Zarathustra because, as he explains in Ecce Homo, “Zarathustra created this most calamitous error, morality; consequently, he must also be the first to recognize it.” Through Zarathustra, Nietzsche tries to preach a nobler alternative to the Judeo-Christian worldview. Throughout the text, we find Nietzsche playfully subverting elements from the Old and New Testaments, particularly in reference to the life and ministry of Jesus. For example, at the age of thirty, Jesus spends forty days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. By contrast, Zarathustra happily spends ten years in the wilderness, suggesting that he is more cheerful in spirit and less needful of others. We also see Zarathustra preaching against “the herd,” whereas Jesus portrays himself as a shepherd leading a flock, and toward the end we find a parody of the last supper.

We should be careful not to mistake Nietzsche’s criticism of Christianity, and particularly his proclamation that “God is dead,” for smug atheism. Certainly, Nietzsche has a great deal of venom to expend on Christianity, but he is perhaps even more troubled by the spiritless atheism that he fears will follow it. The claim that God is dead is more of a sociological observation than a metaphysical declaration. Christian morality and its attendant concepts of good and evil no longer have such a powerful hold on our culture as they once did. Nietzsche worries that the world is being increasingly consumed by nihilism, the abandonment of all beliefs. He expresses this worry in the figure of the last man, who represents the triumph of science and materialism. Nietzsche would likely recognize in early twenty-first century consumer culture a perfect expression of the last man, where we direct our tremendous wealth and power to insulating ourselves from all risks and all passions. Zarathustra preaches about the overman not so much to replace Christianity as to fill the void that opens in a culture where fundamental values are eroding.

The overman, sometimes translated as “superman” or rendered in the original German as Übermensch, is Nietzsche’s ideal of a creative, independent, spiritual genius. The overman is often misconceived as any person who has an independent and revolutionary attitude toward ethics or politics, such as a Thomas Jefferson or Martin Luther King, Jr. Most likely, Nietzsche would have criticized these two figures, the first for advocating democracy and the second for advocating Christianity. Nietzsche dislikes both democracy and Christianity for the way they promote equality and defend the weakest in a society. Nietzsche instead has Zarathustra invoke a system of values in which the strongest and most original in a society can rise above the masses and shine. A great artist, then, is a closer approximation to the overman than a political leader. As expressed in the figures of the camel, the lion, and the child, an overman sets aside the values and assumptions he was raised with and develops his own creative vision of the world, much like an artist. However, the overman is more than just an artist in that his creativity is not limited to the page or the canvas. The overman’s work of art is his own life, which he forges and lives according to his own creative will.

The will to power, which lies at the heart of Nietzsche’s concept of the superman and of his mature philosophy generally, is the supreme drive behind all life. Contrary to alternative views—for instance, that we are fundamentally driven by sex or the need for survival—Nietzsche believes that all life is driven by a lust for power. Barbarians might express this will to power by raping and pillaging, whereas Christians might express it by turning the other cheek and showing that they have enough self-mastery to swallow their vengeful instincts, but the principle is the same. In all cases, living things do what they can to assert their power over themselves and over the world around them. Everyone has a will to power, but some have a healthier will to power than others. Nietzsche would criticize a barbarian’s will to power for not exhibiting enough self-mastery and a Christian’s will to power for being mistrustful of our natural instincts. The overman exhibits a supremely healthy will to power. He celebrates his strength of spirit, is free from guilt and resentment, and is profoundly in love with life.

The doctrine of the eternal recurrence is the profoundly life-affirming lynchpin of Nietzsche’s philosophy. The idea is based on the supposition that if there is only a finite amount of matter in the universe, there are only a finite number of arrangements of that matter, so if time is infinite, each arrangement of matter will be repeated an infinite number of times. The idea as Zarathustra expresses it is logically unsound. Even assuming that there is a finite amount of matter and an infinite amount of time, there are still infinitely many possible configurations of matter, so it is by no means necessary that any given moment, let alone all moments, must repeat itself. However, Nietzsche’s main interest in the eternal recurrence is the theoretical one of how a person would come to terms with this doctrine. In a sense, the eternal recurrence is a kind of litmus test for a potential overman. Faced with the prospect that every moment in one’s life will echo for eternity, only an overman would rejoice. Only an overman is so in love with life that he would not take back a single moment.(less)

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Feb 26, 2010

James rated it

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Shelves: philosophy, literature

One of the great books of wisdom. In our own age the sort of individuality that Nietzsche promotes is hardly recognizable because of its more well-known and culturally diluted counterpart; however, anyone who takes to heart the central message of this book of Nietzsche's will see through the tinsel-splendor and understand that to be an individual involves no glamor but instead a form of sublime dignity, a fearlessness regarding life and knowledge.

Most people I must presume misread o...more

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Jan 31, 2012

Alberto rated it

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Shelves: bia, escritores-favoritos, grandes-pensadores, por-el-gusto

Estupenda; una lectura obligada que sirve como parteaguas para dividir el pensamiento de dos épocas.
Escrito de forma casi poética en lo que puede decirse que fué su momento de mayor madurez -o de menor locura-. Un pensador que vivió como murió.
Uno de mis pensadores-filósofos favoritos no sólo por su obra sino por lo que significó en el momento que lo hizo.
En mi opinión fué el primer valiente que habló de manera frontal en contra de una sociedad y una religión que aplastaba con...more

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Aug 21, 2010

Timothy rated it

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Very much enjoyed this book; wonderful concepts concerning the human condition and I love Nietzsche's view of a will to power. I quite enjoyed the biblical style while taking direct aim at Judeo-Christian values and metaphysics.

There were several parts where I stopped and read up on some related (and I would consider prerequisite) material that influenced Nietzsche's world view, such as Schopenhauer and Richard Wagner-- both of whom seem to make appearances (of a sort, assuming Nietz...more

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Jan 01, 2010

Prokop Holy rated it

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Zarathustra's Vorrede.

Als Zarathustra dreissig Jahr alt war, verliess er seine Heimat und den See seiner Heimat und ging in das Gebirge. Hier genoss er seines Geistes und seiner Einsamkeit und wurde dessen zehn Jahr nicht müde. Endlich aber verwandelte sich sein Herz, - und eines Morgens stand er mit der Morgenröthe auf, trat vor die Sonne hin und sprach zu ihr also:
"Du grosses Gestirn! Was wäre dein Glück, wenn du nicht Die hättest, welchen du leuchtest!
Zehn Jahre ...more

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Oct 12, 2009

Ahmad rated it

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Shelves: classic, philosophy

ای انسان! هشدار! نیم شب ژرف چه می گوید؟
خفته بودم، خفته بودم، از خواب ژرف برخاسته ام
جهان ژرف است، ژرفتر از آن که روز گمان کرده است. رنج آن ژرف است، لذت، ژرفتر از محنت. رنج میگوید: گم شو! اما هر لذتی جاودانگی می خواهد، جاودانگی ژرف ژرف را! ترجیع بند زرتشت

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Jul 15, 2011

Brian Coupland rated it

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I feel like I would've been able to get deeper into this book if I had more of a religious upbringing. The force Nietzsche wrote with kept me turning pages, till about the 4th part where everything seemed to get happy. I was still so tuned in from the first 3 that I couldn't stop, but it didn't seem to add too much other than some message like "Look the world is no less beautiful or happy after God."

The introduction prepared me for this a little, but I still was kind of sur...more

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About Friedrich Nietzsche

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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The Gay Science with a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs

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