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The Cambridge Companion to Nietzsche
The opening essay of this Companion provides a chronologically organized introduction to and summary of Nietzsche's published works, while also providing an overview of their basic themes and concerns. It is followed by three essays on the appropriation and misappropriation of his writings, and a group of essays exploring the nature of Nietzsche's philosophy and its relation to the modern and postmodern world. The final contributions consider Nietzsche's influence on the twentieth century in Europe, the United States and Asia.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published January 26, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 19, 2024
The “Nietzsche Ad Hominem” piece by Solomon fooled me for an undergrad philosophy paper in terms of substance and style; it was nearly bad enough for me to drop my rating of the whole irrespective of the other essays’ quality. But, thankfully, the writers used in the second half solidified this as an incredibly useful resource for approaching Nietzsche’s work and its various historical interpretations. The complexity and abstruseness of Nietzsche’s thought is demonstrated throughout this collection, “Nietzsche’s Alleged Farewell” being my favorite of the bunch. An essay like Pippin’s exemplifies why no survey of philosophy can seem to pin down Nietzsche’s approach to language and truth: the ambiguities essential to his arguments render meaning illusive—the very foundation upon which his approach rests is a stumbling block. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nietzsche doesn’t fold nicely into any author’s attempted formulation of a grand narrative for the philosophical tradition. I’d highly recommend this companion to anyone curious about the 19th century iconoclast, it’s one I’ll certainly be returning to as I work through his corpus.
February 9, 2009
An enjoyable read. I remember finding the essay on Nietzsche's relation to Buddhism to stand out a bit as well. This is a great series that Cambridge has been publishing and I intend to read several others namely on Spinoza, Bacon, Hume and Wittgenstein.
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November 1, 2021A good, clear introduction to Nietzsche with essays on a variety of topics. I should say that I didn't come to this with absolutely zero knowledge of Nietzsche, but still I found it to be a good introduction.
February 12, 2023
Nietzschean philosophy is perhaps one of the complex philosophy that have emerged in the early 20th century. As such it is understandable that the philosophy would be misunderstood by some.
I, unfortunately, are one who had misunderstood the meaning of his philosophy as well. This is mainly due to his philosophy are decidedly anti-metaphysical (something that I learned from the book). Hence, judging his philosophy from the same vein of prior metaphysical tradition as I did was a mistake.
Nietzschean philosophy are a perspectivist, anti-dialectical philosophy which revel the supremacy of aesthetic ideal. It is a very contra platonic philosophy.
On another note, Interestingly, I surmised Nietzschean philosophy being a precursor to postmodernist philosophy whilst reading Nietzsche philosophy early on. There are several articles in this book which discuss in which camp does Nietzschean philosophy belong to. Is it a premodernist classist philosophy, a modernity or post modernity. It isn't quite clear cut as one would expect.
In short, this book is a worth read for those who are interested in reading Nietzsche philosophy.
I, unfortunately, are one who had misunderstood the meaning of his philosophy as well. This is mainly due to his philosophy are decidedly anti-metaphysical (something that I learned from the book). Hence, judging his philosophy from the same vein of prior metaphysical tradition as I did was a mistake.
Nietzschean philosophy are a perspectivist, anti-dialectical philosophy which revel the supremacy of aesthetic ideal. It is a very contra platonic philosophy.
On another note, Interestingly, I surmised Nietzschean philosophy being a precursor to postmodernist philosophy whilst reading Nietzsche philosophy early on. There are several articles in this book which discuss in which camp does Nietzschean philosophy belong to. Is it a premodernist classist philosophy, a modernity or post modernity. It isn't quite clear cut as one would expect.
In short, this book is a worth read for those who are interested in reading Nietzsche philosophy.
June 18, 2019
This is a good collection of essays.
(I'm not sure if it would be suited to someone who has absolutely no knowledge at all of Nietzsche though - although there is an overview of his work at the start, it seems to have been included for completeness rather than usefulness)
There is of course always a risk with any collection of essays by different authors of contradiction leading the reader to confusion. This is largely but not entirely avoided here.
[For example, in "The Hero as Outsider", R. Hollingdale slates Elisabeth Forster-Nietzsche for misusing and having a poor understanding of his work, yet in "Nietzsche’s Political Misappropriation", Tracey Strong rejects such judgements ...
"[...] the texts work in such a way as to confirm the readings that readers want to make of them. As long as one seeks to treat Nietzsche’s texts, in other words, as containers of meaning to be opened and shown around, the only sense one makes of them will be precisely that, one’s own sense."]
(I'm not sure if it would be suited to someone who has absolutely no knowledge at all of Nietzsche though - although there is an overview of his work at the start, it seems to have been included for completeness rather than usefulness)
There is of course always a risk with any collection of essays by different authors of contradiction leading the reader to confusion. This is largely but not entirely avoided here.
[For example, in "The Hero as Outsider", R. Hollingdale slates Elisabeth Forster-Nietzsche for misusing and having a poor understanding of his work, yet in "Nietzsche’s Political Misappropriation", Tracey Strong rejects such judgements ...
"[...] the texts work in such a way as to confirm the readings that readers want to make of them. As long as one seeks to treat Nietzsche’s texts, in other words, as containers of meaning to be opened and shown around, the only sense one makes of them will be precisely that, one’s own sense."]
July 22, 2025
excellent entry point for anyone looking to understand the complexity of Nietzsche’s philosophy. The essays are insightful, covering a range of topics from his critique of religion to his concept of the "will to power" and the idea of the Übermensch. The contributors do a great job of unpacking Nietzsche’s dense, often paradoxical ideas, making them more accessible without oversimplifying them. The book also does a good job of situating Nietzsche in the broader context of Western philosophy.
However, while the book is comprehensive, it could have benefited from a bit more depth on Nietzsche’s relationship to modern existentialism and postmodernism. Some sections feel like they only skim the surface of how Nietzsche influenced later thinkers like Heidegger, Foucault, or Deleuze. A deeper exploration of these connections would have added a lot more in my opinion.
However, while the book is comprehensive, it could have benefited from a bit more depth on Nietzsche’s relationship to modern existentialism and postmodernism. Some sections feel like they only skim the surface of how Nietzsche influenced later thinkers like Heidegger, Foucault, or Deleuze. A deeper exploration of these connections would have added a lot more in my opinion.
February 21, 2009
This collection of essays begins very strong. A good half of the book devotes its time to defending Nietzsche and debunking the voluminous popular criticism of the man (he was crazy, he was an anti-Semite, he wasn't a real philosopher but a so-called 'Continental', etc.) and reveals him to be one of the single most important figures in modern philosophy and modern literary theory -- the forerunner of Sartre, yes, but also the forerunner of Jacque Derrida as well.
The problem with this book -- and likely, any scholarly work on Nietzsche that chooses standard methods of evaluation -- is that this sort of institutionalized philosophy is in large part what Nietzsche found antithetical to thought. His views in some ways transcend a mathematical approach, and any attempt to describe something like 'perspectivism' or 'eternal recurrence' runs into immediate trouble.
This is largely why I believe that Nietzsche is so popularly derided. His legend -- and I think this is where the book succeeds -- ultimately spun out of control and became so much more visible than the actual text of his work. The Cambridge essays point with utter clarity toward the man at the center of Ecce Homo.
The problem with this book -- and likely, any scholarly work on Nietzsche that chooses standard methods of evaluation -- is that this sort of institutionalized philosophy is in large part what Nietzsche found antithetical to thought. His views in some ways transcend a mathematical approach, and any attempt to describe something like 'perspectivism' or 'eternal recurrence' runs into immediate trouble.
This is largely why I believe that Nietzsche is so popularly derided. His legend -- and I think this is where the book succeeds -- ultimately spun out of control and became so much more visible than the actual text of his work. The Cambridge essays point with utter clarity toward the man at the center of Ecce Homo.
July 16, 2014
A solid series of essays that traces the paths circling round the enigma that is Nietzsche's thought.
While I felt that some of the contributors' interpretations were misguided, the text would be helpful for one seeking an entry into Nietzsche though who perhaps feels daunted by his style.
In the end, whether you read this or not, you must turn (or return) to Nietzsche's work to plumb the depths of its infinite worth for yourself.
While I felt that some of the contributors' interpretations were misguided, the text would be helpful for one seeking an entry into Nietzsche though who perhaps feels daunted by his style.
In the end, whether you read this or not, you must turn (or return) to Nietzsche's work to plumb the depths of its infinite worth for yourself.
January 24, 2013
Both Kathleen and Bernd edited well a series of essays on Nietzsche. It is one great resource for Nietzsche research.
January 19, 2017
Not for those with faint understand of philosophy. Very heavy stuff.
April 16, 2013
very profound, clear cut writing style. a pleasure to read
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews