Nietzsche on Love

by Friedrich Nietzsche, Ulrich Baer (Editor)

Friedrich Nietzsche presented many of his greatest insights in pithy, well-turned short phrases that do not follow any philosophical dogma. Instead, his chastening but ultimately life-affirming philosophy puts forth true love and friendship as our best hope in dark times. Here are Nietzsche’s key sayings about love from the vast body of his philosophical writings, which have influenced politics, philosophy, art and culture like few other works of world literature. As the first edition of its kind, this collection presents Nietzsche’s thoughts on love not as academic philosophy but as a guide to life. At turns delightful and astute—and always wise— Nietzsche on Love offers an original and startling glimpse into what one of the world’s foremost thinkers says about the fundamental experience of our lives. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist, and Latin and Greek scholar. One of the greatest thinkers of all time, his ideas have exerted an immeasurable influence on philosophy, politics, art, literature, psychology, and popular culture around the world. Ulrich Baer holds a BA from Harvard and a PhD from Yale. He is University Professor at New York University, where he teaches literature and photography. He has been awarded Guggenheim, Getty, and Alexander von Humboldt fellowships. A widely recognized expert on poetry and translator, among his books are Rainer Maria Rilke’s The Dark Interval, Letters on Life, and Letters to a Young Poet. Other books include Spectral The Photography of Trauma, What Snowflakes Get Free Speech, Truth, and Equality on Campus, and in the Contemplations Dickinson on Love and Rilke on Love. He lives in New York City.

Genres: Philosophy

138 pages, Paperback

Published February 14, 2020

About the author

Friedrich 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.

Reviews

[Jose Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect as a pocket book of love. Feels like an oracle of love actually. I’m in love with it ❤️

[Ava Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just an enjoyable collection, not necessarily a book. Neitzsche makes me laugh

[lostoyster: chili · Rating 3 out of 5]

"in the end, one loves one's desire, and not what one desires." (71)

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow. evaluating all my morals now (in the best way possible)

[Jacqueline Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps those who are the most pessimistic about love are those who feel the most. I feel him and Murakami would have a very interesting discussion on the animalistic love that Nietzsche describes.

[Mackenzie Colvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting and funny compilation of Nietzsche’s take on love

[Sofia Trejo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why must one feel

[Derek Vargas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tu sabe que ese pana tiene pal de chistes, what i found most funny and interesting is the resounding confirmation that loves come from within ourselves mostly and not from others W NIETZSCHE

[Michelle Del Villar · Rating 4 out of 5]

nunca te enamores si no sientes nada por ti

[Nico Heyman · Rating 2 out of 5]

it could have been cool if the editor gave even a little thought into the order but i guess that is asking for a lot from a coffee table book

[Zaira Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful revelation on the power of self love.
Sin tú amor, no eres capaz de amar.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good coffee table book

[kenzie bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

nietzsche read me to filth

[Zuhdi Ahmed · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is unbelievable how bad this book was. I started saving the pages I audibly laughed at. "Experiencing joy together, not pain, makes the friend" 😭😭 Actually a third grader

[Lauren Hinds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nietzsche is lowkey funny