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The Gay Science
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Mass Market Paperback, Vintage Books, 398 pages
Published
January 12th 1974
by Random House
(first published April 1st 1882)
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If you read Nietzsche while not in the midst of some variety of emo existential crisis, Nietzsche is hilarious and insightful. If, however, you choose to read Nietzsche in high school in order to be counter-culture, odds are good Nietzsche will temporarily turn you into a horrible, pompous ass. Nietzsche is the first philosopher I ever read; I stole The Gay Science from my cousin's book shelf when I was nine because I wanted to read "what smart people read." Ever since then, Nietzsche and I have
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Die fröhliche Wissenschaft = The Gay Science, Friedrich Nietzsche
The Gay Science or The Joyful Wisdom is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, first published in 1882 and followed by a second edition, which was published after the completion of Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil, in 1887. This substantial expansion includes a fifth book and an appendix of songs. It was noted by Nietzsche to be "the most personal of all [his] books", and contains the greatest number of poems in any of his ...more
The Gay Science or The Joyful Wisdom is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, first published in 1882 and followed by a second edition, which was published after the completion of Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil, in 1887. This substantial expansion includes a fifth book and an appendix of songs. It was noted by Nietzsche to be "the most personal of all [his] books", and contains the greatest number of poems in any of his ...more
The more mistrust, the more philosophy.
How to review Nietzsche? His writing is so rich, so overabundant, so overflowing, that evaluating his works is like trying to drink up a waterfall. I cannot even decide whether Nietzsche was a philosopher, or something else. Perhaps he can be better described as an essayist, a poet, a sage, a neurotic, a raving madman, a prescient visionary? The title hardly matters, I suppose; although without some benchmark of comparison, I am left in the dark for a way ...more
Dec 19, 2013
David
marked it as eventually-read
NOT GAY ENOUGH.
Jun 13, 2010
Jonfaith
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Seemita Pooja
Recommended to Jonfaith by:
see
Shelves:
theory
For believe me! — the secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment is: to live dangerously! Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius! Send your ships into uncharted seas! Live at war with your peers and yourselves! Be robbers and conquerors as long as you cannot be rulers and possessors, you seekers of knowledge! Soon the age will be past when you could be content to live hidden in forests like shy deer!
While this wasn't my point of departure into ...more
While this wasn't my point of departure into ...more
"What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you in your loneliest loneliness and say to you:
"This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession and sequence—even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this ...more
"This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession and sequence—even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this ...more
Epic Nietzsche. My favorite Nietzsche text (and Nietzsche is my most favorite thinking creature of all time, so this means a lot) - somehow managing to be provocative, meditative, accessible, and entertaining in one stroke! One of those rare books that you can actually pick up, flip to any page, and read, without wondering all that much about what came before. I utilized many ideas presented in this book as jumping off points in my master's thesis, and were it not for the constrictions of time,
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384.
Having finished the book, the reader had no choice but to read himself. It was not a heroic story, nor a moral one - indeed, he scarcely understood the author's intent in various chapters. Its ending was implicit, if unwritten, yet the reader did not wish to imagine exactly what it would be. Oftentimes it was tedious, not worth reading, and he continued partially from spite, for he did not put a book down easily, and partially from a deeper sense he could not ascribe words to; a vibrancy, ...more
Having finished the book, the reader had no choice but to read himself. It was not a heroic story, nor a moral one - indeed, he scarcely understood the author's intent in various chapters. Its ending was implicit, if unwritten, yet the reader did not wish to imagine exactly what it would be. Oftentimes it was tedious, not worth reading, and he continued partially from spite, for he did not put a book down easily, and partially from a deeper sense he could not ascribe words to; a vibrancy, ...more
Sep 18, 2012
Marts (Thinker)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
poetry,
philosophy
The Joyful Wisdom or the Gay Science, is to me, a bit different from the other Nietzsche books I've read. The general philosophies of the writer are present yet the volume creates in the reader a sense of power, fulfilment, achievement... Upon all he postulates are reasons to overcome such and conquer.
Here he also presents his philosophy, 'God is Dead', as stated in section 108:
After Buddha was dead, people
showed his shadow for centuries afterwards in a
cave,—an immense frightful shadow. God is ...more
Here he also presents his philosophy, 'God is Dead', as stated in section 108:
After Buddha was dead, people
showed his shadow for centuries afterwards in a
cave,—an immense frightful shadow. God is ...more
Best Nietzsche I've read so far. Kaufmann's annotation is extremely informative, insightful and at times quite hilarious. Onwards to Zarathustra, then!
Edit: been reading it again this year. I'm convinced that this is N's singular best work. A real masterpiece.
Edit: been reading it again this year. I'm convinced that this is N's singular best work. A real masterpiece.
The Gay Science § 369:
Consider a continually creative person, a ‘mother’ type in the grand sense, one who knows and hears nothing any more except about the pregnancies and deliveries of his spirit, one who simply lacks the time to reflect on himself and his work and to make comparisons, one who no longer has any desire to assert his taste and who simply forgets it, without caring in the least whether it still stands, or lies, or falls – such a person might perhaps eventually produce works that ...more
Consider a continually creative person, a ‘mother’ type in the grand sense, one who knows and hears nothing any more except about the pregnancies and deliveries of his spirit, one who simply lacks the time to reflect on himself and his work and to make comparisons, one who no longer has any desire to assert his taste and who simply forgets it, without caring in the least whether it still stands, or lies, or falls – such a person might perhaps eventually produce works that ...more
Another book that doesn't need a review and probably shouldn't be reviewed by anyone today (one wonders if Nietzsche would look at the terrain of the world today and wonder if his "free spirits" and "philosophers the day after tomorrow" would ever arrive), but here it is! We didn't read this back in the seminar I took in college, focusing more on his other "major" works. But I think I like this one best of all, not only for its levity and joy, but because it contains kernels of all of his major
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I go back to this book again and again, but I've yet to plumb its depths or exhaust its riches. You don't read Nietzsche the way the pious read holy books; you read him the way tired undergraduates drink Red Bull. Reading Nietzsche is like taking a bolt of lightning to the head; it's like a bucket of ice cold water to the face first thing in the morning. Nietzsche forces you to wake up and think. He can make you mad sometimes. Really mad. He can make you laugh out loud. And he can make you cry.
So far in my philosophical venture into the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, I have read both this work and his Beyond Good and Evil. However, while I gave Beyond Good and Evil 3 stars, I feel that this is a better work academically and so give it the higher 4 star rating. In this The Gay Science, many of Nietzsche's key ideas come together in a much clearer manner, and it is easier to understand his views on concepts I feel he lacks more ignorance (religions for instance).
The title of this work ...more
This is one of those very-hard-to-categorize books. Poor Fred really did go to the outer limits of what could be possible, what can be thought, how far humans could go morally, aesthetically, etc.
Forget the stoned, peach fuzz'd, wild-eyed undergrad or high school kid with bad breath who reads this stuff all day and thinks he's a nascent ubermensch.
Nietzsche's the real deal and this is one of the books that sort of shows him stretching himself as far as he can. It's actually almost kind of ...more
While certain parts of this book are overtly misogynistic and anti-Semitic, I appreciate some of his writings on artistic creation and seeking knowledge. The best part of my experience with this book was the looks I would get from other people while I was reading it on the train. People don't quite know what to do with someone who reads Nietzsche in his or her spare time.
I think this is the only place in Nietzche's work where he explicitly says "In my opinion..." or "I believe that..."
Really liked the tone and language he used here. I enjoyed some of his poems aswell.
Really liked the tone and language he used here. I enjoyed some of his poems aswell.
Why, then, have I never yet encountered anyone , not even in books, who approached morality in this personal way and who knew morality as a problem, and this problem as his own distress, torment, voluptuousness, and passion? It is clear that up to now, morality has been no problem at all but rather that on which, after all mistrust, discord, and contradiction, one could agree—the hallowed place of peace where thinkers took a rest from themselves, took a deep breath, and felt revived. I see no...more
One of the great philosophical works. Do yourself a favor and realize right off the bat that it's quite unimportant whether you agree with him or not. He will challenge you and he will get you thinking.
Nietzsche can certainly be seen as too individualistic, too violent, too aristocratic, too condescending of democratic principles, too disrespectful of the little people, and only respectful of the individual 's will to power. That is his strength and his weakness.
Should we write him off as so ...more
Nietzsche can certainly be seen as too individualistic, too violent, too aristocratic, too condescending of democratic principles, too disrespectful of the little people, and only respectful of the individual 's will to power. That is his strength and his weakness.
Should we write him off as so ...more
Rather than laying out a point and following it with arguments and counter arguments, Nietzsche makes declarations about the world and leaves you to argue for or against him. Even though this book is full of intentional contradictions it does cause the reader to think more about the world around them. However it fails to make a point. Normal philosophy desires to find a conclusion, and from this conclusion the reader is left to think about what was said, but this book only says things to think
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This was not an easy book to digest, you have to be in a certain physiological state, of a certain digestion, which is precisely one of the significant points that Nietzsche raises in book 5. Against the prejudice of the scholars that the books are deep, contemplative products of reason/consciousness and that thinking is a heavy activity that weighs you down, plagues your head like a leaden helmet, and makes you sit down in your study, Nietzsche presents us with the notion of "gay science", of
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I have a spent a year studying this book and after all that effort I feel at once that I know less and that my life has been enriched - interesting; not unlike reading Kierkegaard and his pseudonyms. If you want the challenge of reading a difficult book rich in ideas, filled with images, and vibrant in its lust for life - then, read this book.
5 stars, but only if you skip the poetry.
The Will to Truth
“The ‘will to truth’ is more than, ‘I will not allow myself to be deceived,’ it must be ‘I will not deceive, not even myself.’ Thus we have reached the realm of morality.”
Here, the truth is willed into existence as a stream of consciousness, unsullied by any editor or second thought. One chapter amounts to a Happy New Year greeting from Genoa. Sometimes the chapters trail off into… [I guess he went out to think in the open air. Whatever, publish it anyway.] Maybe it is best read ...more
“The ‘will to truth’ is more than, ‘I will not allow myself to be deceived,’ it must be ‘I will not deceive, not even myself.’ Thus we have reached the realm of morality.”
Here, the truth is willed into existence as a stream of consciousness, unsullied by any editor or second thought. One chapter amounts to a Happy New Year greeting from Genoa. Sometimes the chapters trail off into… [I guess he went out to think in the open air. Whatever, publish it anyway.] Maybe it is best read ...more
It's nice to catch Nietzsche in a good mood. Although this is critical period Neet, it's certainly transitional, he's palpably getting inspired towards Zarathustra, both in the open question of where critical philosophy leads to, and in his infectious style. I should say this is a scattered collection of various thoughts rather than having a singular focus, which I suppose goes with his theme of joining a wild chaotic dance which incorporates its stumbles, but it still helps to read this
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Another great read from one of the most mischaracterized thinkers I know. This one is notable for how many key, famous concepts of his it lays out: eternal recurrence, amor fati, God is dead, etc. But again, the greatest delight in reading Nietzsche is that his strengths as a wrecking ball are surpassed by his full throated affirmation of life. His is not a gloomy philosophy, although it certainly would look that way to someone clinging on to the traditions he attacks with such mischievous vigor
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Nietzsche's excess is a forgivable fault since it is balanced out by his wisdom. "The Gay Science" is overflowing with a staggering 383 aphorisms, some tainted by a maudlin tone and others teeming with joyfulness. He discusses multifarious issues and thoughts reflectively and intimately.
His prologue is composed of some highly personal poems and it all escalates from there. To Nietzsche, all moral sentiments and ideas are hogwash and he blatantly claims: "Morality is the herd-instinct in the ...more
His prologue is composed of some highly personal poems and it all escalates from there. To Nietzsche, all moral sentiments and ideas are hogwash and he blatantly claims: "Morality is the herd-instinct in the ...more
I read this book during slack time in medic school—probably not the wisest choice, but I did manage to convince a few hecklers to read it and to give it a try. They all reported good results with the few sections they read.
The book, to me, serves as a revaluation of how one could live his life—the invention of a pesudo Zorba the Buddha: completely in love with life, fascinated that he exists at all, yet completely happy to accept that he can only know Life in relation to his own Life.
It is, ...more
The book, to me, serves as a revaluation of how one could live his life—the invention of a pesudo Zorba the Buddha: completely in love with life, fascinated that he exists at all, yet completely happy to accept that he can only know Life in relation to his own Life.
It is, ...more
"Who will sing a song for us, a morning song, so sunny, so light, so fledged that it will not chase away the blues but invite them instead to join in the singing and dancing?"
("Wer singt uns ein Lied, ein Vormittagslied, so sonnig, so leicht, so flügge, dass es die Grillen nicht verscheucht,—dass es die Grillen vielmehr einlädt, mit zu singen, mit zu tanzen?")
-Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, Book Five, section 383
("Wer singt uns ein Lied, ein Vormittagslied, so sonnig, so leicht, so flügge, dass es die Grillen nicht verscheucht,—dass es die Grillen vielmehr einlädt, mit zu singen, mit zu tanzen?")
-Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, Book Five, section 383
Nietzsche at his best- his most fun, probing, quoteable, lucid, and aphoristic book(if my memory serves me well), and among the least psychotic- any pretentious and self-important 19-year old ought to love this book, the silly mustache notwithstanding. When they get older, though they'll be a bit embarrassed, they should continue to love it; after all, there's quite a bit to be said for being self-important and 19.
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Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche 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 idea of “
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“What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more' ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.”
—
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“The heaviest burden: “What, if some day or night, a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: ‘This life, as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh… must return to you—all in the same succession and sequence—even this spider and this moonlight between the trees and even this moment and I myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is turned over again and again—and you with it, speck of dust!’ Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: ‘You are a god, and never have I heard anything more divine!’ If this thought were to gain possession of you, it would change you as you are, or perhaps crush you. The question in each and every thing, “do you want this once more and innumerable times more?” would lie upon your actions as the greatest weight. Or how well disposed would you have to become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than this ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?”
—
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