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The Philosophy of Nietzsche
The selections in this anthology cover a vast range. The reader will find contradiction, ambivalence, ambiguity. But he will also find the insight, the brilliant prose style, the often mordant wit, the impassioned attempt to create human values in a post-Christian world, which have made Nietzsche one of the most relevant of philosophers for contemporary man. Designed to reflect the many facets of Nietzsche's philosophy, these selections exemplify the mind and thought of a man who strove to reconcile the rational and irrational in human nature - and in so doing, to provide a new basis of morality in a world bereft of guideposts.
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
640 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published September 1, 1965
About the author
Friedrich Nietzsche
4,653 books26k followersFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German classical scholar, philosopher, and critic of culture, who became one of the most influential of all modern thinkers. He began his career as a classical philologist before turning to philosophy. He became the youngest person to hold the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel in 1869 at the age of 24, but resigned in 1879 due to health problems that plagued him most of his life; he completed much of his core writing in the following decade. In 1889, at age 44, he suffered a collapse and afterward a complete loss of his mental faculties, with paralysis and probably vascular dementia. He lived his remaining years in the care of his mother until her death in 1897 and then with his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche. Nietzsche died in 1900, after experiencing pneumonia and multiple strokes.
Nietzsche's work spans philosophical polemics, poetry, cultural criticism, and fiction while displaying a fondness for aphorism and irony. Prominent elements of his philosophy include his radical critique of truth in favour of perspectivism; a genealogical critique of religion and Christian morality and a related theory of master–slave morality; the aesthetic affirmation of life in response to both the "death of God" and the profound crisis of nihilism; the notion of Apollonian and Dionysian forces; and a characterisation of the human subject as the expression of competing wills, collectively understood as the will to power. He also developed influential concepts such as the Übermensch and his doctrine of eternal return. In his later work, he became increasingly preoccupied with the creative powers of the individual to overcome cultural and moral mores in pursuit of new values and aesthetic health. His body of work touched a wide range of topics, including art, philology, history, music, religion, tragedy, culture, and science, and drew inspiration from Greek tragedy as well as figures such as Zoroaster, Arthur Schopenhauer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Richard Wagner, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
After his death, Nietzsche's sister Elisabeth became the curator and editor of his manuscripts. She edited his unpublished writings to fit her German ultranationalist ideology, often contradicting or obfuscating Nietzsche's stated opinions, which were explicitly opposed to antisemitism and nationalism. Through her published editions, Nietzsche's work became associated with fascism and Nazism. 20th-century scholars such as Walter Kaufmann, R.J. Hollingdale, and Georges Bataille defended Nietzsche against this interpretation, and corrected editions of his writings were soon made available. Nietzsche's thought enjoyed renewed popularity in the 1960s and his ideas have since had a profound impact on 20th- and early 21st-century thinkers across philosophy—especially in schools of continental philosophy such as existentialism, postmodernism, and post-structuralism—as well as art, literature, music, poetry, politics, and popular culture.
Nietzsche's work spans philosophical polemics, poetry, cultural criticism, and fiction while displaying a fondness for aphorism and irony. Prominent elements of his philosophy include his radical critique of truth in favour of perspectivism; a genealogical critique of religion and Christian morality and a related theory of master–slave morality; the aesthetic affirmation of life in response to both the "death of God" and the profound crisis of nihilism; the notion of Apollonian and Dionysian forces; and a characterisation of the human subject as the expression of competing wills, collectively understood as the will to power. He also developed influential concepts such as the Übermensch and his doctrine of eternal return. In his later work, he became increasingly preoccupied with the creative powers of the individual to overcome cultural and moral mores in pursuit of new values and aesthetic health. His body of work touched a wide range of topics, including art, philology, history, music, religion, tragedy, culture, and science, and drew inspiration from Greek tragedy as well as figures such as Zoroaster, Arthur Schopenhauer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Richard Wagner, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
After his death, Nietzsche's sister Elisabeth became the curator and editor of his manuscripts. She edited his unpublished writings to fit her German ultranationalist ideology, often contradicting or obfuscating Nietzsche's stated opinions, which were explicitly opposed to antisemitism and nationalism. Through her published editions, Nietzsche's work became associated with fascism and Nazism. 20th-century scholars such as Walter Kaufmann, R.J. Hollingdale, and Georges Bataille defended Nietzsche against this interpretation, and corrected editions of his writings were soon made available. Nietzsche's thought enjoyed renewed popularity in the 1960s and his ideas have since had a profound impact on 20th- and early 21st-century thinkers across philosophy—especially in schools of continental philosophy such as existentialism, postmodernism, and post-structuralism—as well as art, literature, music, poetry, politics, and popular culture.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 2, 2022
This volume gives the reader a good idea of some of the range of Nietzsche's thought and writing.
In The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche writes as a Classics scholar, hypothesizing the phenomenological experiences out of which Greek drama emerged, describing how it changed in reaction to Socratic philosophy, and arguing that the music of Richard Wagner is evidence of its re-emergence in contemporary times. Nietzsche's distinction between the Apollonian and the Dionysian continues to resonate with thinkers and artists down to our own times.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra is the most stylistically experimental of Nietzsche's books. Here, he writes poetically rather than analytically, and much of the text seems to parody the conventions of early religious writings, particularly the Gospels. Among the things discussed are the concepts both of the Superman and of the Eternal Return.
Beyond Good and Evil comments on a number of topics, from metaphysics to morality to (German, in particular) nationalism.
In On the Genealogy of Morals Nietzsche analyzes morality with reference to a number of issues, including language, metaphysics, psychology and power.
In Ecce Homo, Nietzsche looks back at his own life and career in chapters with titles like “Why I am So Clever” and “Why I Write Such Good Books.”
Acquired 1987
I do not remember exactly where I got my copy, but would guess it was from S.W. Welch Booksellers or The Word, both in Montreal, Quebec
In The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche writes as a Classics scholar, hypothesizing the phenomenological experiences out of which Greek drama emerged, describing how it changed in reaction to Socratic philosophy, and arguing that the music of Richard Wagner is evidence of its re-emergence in contemporary times. Nietzsche's distinction between the Apollonian and the Dionysian continues to resonate with thinkers and artists down to our own times.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra is the most stylistically experimental of Nietzsche's books. Here, he writes poetically rather than analytically, and much of the text seems to parody the conventions of early religious writings, particularly the Gospels. Among the things discussed are the concepts both of the Superman and of the Eternal Return.
Beyond Good and Evil comments on a number of topics, from metaphysics to morality to (German, in particular) nationalism.
In On the Genealogy of Morals Nietzsche analyzes morality with reference to a number of issues, including language, metaphysics, psychology and power.
In Ecce Homo, Nietzsche looks back at his own life and career in chapters with titles like “Why I am So Clever” and “Why I Write Such Good Books.”
Acquired 1987
I do not remember exactly where I got my copy, but would guess it was from S.W. Welch Booksellers or The Word, both in Montreal, Quebec
December 18, 2018
Not a popular read. I don’t enjoy his ego nor understand his impending need to self critique so much. In relief for whatever pain he deeply felt maybe? I didn’t enjoy his worldly views about the church preaching nonsense because he simply never paid attention since he was so busy emptying his thoughts every waking hour. Clearly delusional and not worth the excessive thoughts he tries to share. Personally I wouldn’t experience any growth from this novel nor recommend it to a sound of mind.
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March 26, 2010The Philosophy of Nietzsche by Geoffrey Clive (1965)
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March 10, 2013GOD IS DEAD!!! The conclusion: The God concept was fulfilled decades ago by individuals who with their own divine will and power achieved self-actualization.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews