Why I Am So Wise

by Friedrich Nietzsche, R.J. Hollingdale (Translator)

Ecce Homo, Friedrich Nietzsche's final book.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Classics, Essays, German Literature, 19th Century, Academic

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1888

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 She edited his unpublished writings to fit her German ultranationalist ideology, often contradicting or obfuscating Nietzsche's stated opinions, which were explicitly opposed to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

[emma]

i am always answering this

[Timothy Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, these reviews are incredibly depressing. First off, Nietzsche often wrote in a very ironic and grandiose style for the sake of hyperbole. He made outlandish statements often and rarely meant to be taken literally. That said, some of his eccentricity was very genuine - he was certainly no fan of German culture and did have a very very high opinion of himself. He also seemed to be somewhat deficient in social skills, even as a child he was described as highly intelligent but very anti-social and awkward. So you have to understand - this man was an incredible genius, his IQ is estimated to be over 160, he had an endless stream of bizarre, revolutionary, controversial, and at times even conflicting ideas screaming through his head at all times. Take a mind that was busier than we can even imagine, add to it rather poor communication skills, further add an awareness of how much more intelligent he was than most people. . .it must have been very difficult for him to coherently and accurately convey the chaos that was constant in his mind. It doesn't mean he was an asshole and it doesn't mean he was crazy, at least not until his mind properly had the break. He was too intelligent for most of us to identify with so we read his writings and assume what is in our heads after reading it is what was likely in his head when writing it - trust me, it wasn't. I've read enough of his work to see how he often changes styles to better suit the subject material. The writings included in Why I Am So Wise we're more like him venting than him trying to win a literary award. He was doing what most intelligent people do from time to time. . .he was simply asking the world why everyone acts or seems so damn dumb at times.

He also knew that people were already looking at him like he was a crazy person after some recent publications and his radical views in general so instead of explaining himself, he played the role of the crazy person. Bombastic, self aggrandizing far beyond his normal self-assessments. And of course, no one got the joke. It reminds me of Aleister Crowley writing about sacrificing babies and no one being bright enough to understand it was a euphemism for masturbation. To this day countless people think he was a mass child murderer. . .which he was by his definition. . .lol. . .just not the commonly accepted definition. That one joke that no one got stayed with him the rest of his life, he was investigated by the Crown, shunned by his friends, spit on in public, etc. Nietzsche was a lot similar - people who are not just comfortable but enthusiastic about living outside of the cultural norms of their times often are misunderstood and for that fact alone hated. Add to it how open and honest he was in his disdain of Christianity and its slave morality - people rarely hear the message in his words. The focus on the words, they get defensive, they often feel insulted by his views and opinions. So the message is never understood. . .which, of course, leads to numerous bad reviews by people who got their feelings hurt by his mean words and overt criticism of something they hold dear or reviews from people who just simply didn't comprehend what they read and instead of just admitting that, they have to malign his writings.

Its just sad, we can learn so much from Nietzsche. And you don't have to agree with him to learn from him. . .his critique of Christian morality is spot on. It was created by the slave classes and essentially made a virtue our of numerous personal shortcomings. It also made it to where improvement of the morals was impossible, they weren't subject to review or criticism because they came from god and god is always right. Lol. The age old Christian trump card - belief in statements that are literally impossible to disprove in an empirical manner. So they even prove that science isn't to be trusted. Oof. An open mind would read his critique and contemplate it, a Christian mind (and you don't have to be an active Christian, just indoctrinated into the ways of thinking that pervade our country based on the church's forced and fear based morality - refusal to admit a mistake, refusal to consider and opinion different than your own, a constant defensiveness about ANYTHING that doesn't support your current beliefs, etc) will read 2 sentences of him being critical of their religion and run for zee hills. The LAST think you want is real truth or reason when you know you're believing in a lie or at best grasping at straws. But - this is the world we live in today, a world that needs the knowledge of Nietzsche more than ever but is too busy calling him names for challenging them and speaking in an intelligent manner to even consider what's being said.

For anyone who is genuinely interested in Nietzsche - if you're new to him - don't start here. Its a strange and difficult read to begin with and you will NOT understand his very dry and sarcastic and ironic style of humor or satire. It also doesn't really talk about any of his really influential beliefs or ideas at length, the couple it hits on are glossed over rather quickly and not explained. And if you want my advice, even thought its his most popular book, don't start on Zarathrustra either. It too is written in an odd style and can definitely be off putting to anyone who doesn't understand the guy to some degree. I would start on Human, All Too Human. It's a good middle ground where you can get a good taste of him and his grating style but without being run off by it.

. . .and maybe the most important thing to remember when reading this collection - you aren't supposed to agree with most philosophers. They question things that have been widely accepted for generations if not centuries. They're comfortable with being abrasive. Most of them lived lives either completely isolated from society or largely avoidant of it when possible. They aren't there for you to identify with or to lather you in confirmation bias. They're there to challenge your tightly held preconceived notions, they're there to try to ask a question in a way that makes you think rather than just react, and most of the time their only goal is to offer up a different perspective than you're used to. I get that that can come of as threatening to some people but that's when its most important to be a person of high character and hear it our before condemning it. You might actually. . .learn something. . .

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so he's wise. And clever. And writes good books.
Guess what else he is? A pompous ass.

[Phoenix Perpetuale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read Why I am So wise by Friedrich Nietzsche, let me understand that I do not have a clue about the materials people spoke and wrote centuries ago. I possess minimum knowledge in philosophy, and yet, while there are only remains of my philosophical knowledge from the university times, I can not feel this author. "Why I am so wise?" Who would ask such a question, or should I say a statement. I never had similar thoughts, and I knew no one until reading this little book. I am going to include this little book to reread. Maybe when I am older and experienced, it will hit me. However, should I add that before reading this little book by Nietzsche explaining himself and his previous work, I ought to read at least about Zarathustra beforehand?

[Kieran Glover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm Nietzsche. I enjoyed this read but didn't fully grasp it all because he really does have so much knowledge about everything. I found it more comical than anything else, hearing him inhabit his own ego for a hundred pages or so was insightful and also comical. I found it hard to get over the language he uses because he has such an expansive vocabulary.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

He is sexist but his anger, boldness and humour made his ideas so enticing. At the end of the day gotta give Nietzsche credit how few fucks he gave. I listened to Wagner during this quick read and highly suggest doing the same.

[Bening Tirta Muhammad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book, I put myself into less defensive mode. And this book struck my reasoning why I believe in God.

It appears to me that some of us (I assume) still have blind faith in Islam, at least partially.

Why partially? Because we only start to really believe - the start is the state of aqil baligh while the time before we were just asked to - after long living in believing environment. We are not given enough means to ponder upon in deciding whether to believe or not to. There - in the environment - we only learn what we have to know or rather are taught the cores needed, to defence our belief only.

The book discovers to me some cases in which logically wrong reasoning occurs. For example - my own example -: "I could have been able to answer that question well if I fasted today" - he/she could have spent more time on particular chapters -. The logic is wrong, because of wrong blaming. It is merely about his/her bad time management on during canteen peak hours and nothing to do with whether he/she voluntarily fasts or not.

I would also add that today's Islam turns out dogmatic like Christianity, thinking that how these days we rarely ask if we have doubts on things which must have explanation.

***

"Hey, dude! Maybe how you approached the book is rather out of the etiquette "supposed"!" - in which I was expected to be defensive -

Cheers,
a kind of lost boy

[Josefina Wagner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Böyle bir eseri olduğunubile bilmiyordum tabiki devam edeceğim Nietzche'yi okumaya ne varki hayranlığım gittikçe azalıyor!

[Laala Kashef Alghata · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never done this before (you can check my reviews if you’re skeptical) and I promise I won’t do it again, but I don’t want to say anything about Nietzsche except:

1. I either did not understand him (doubtful) and therefore it went over my head and therefore my opinion is negligible, or
2. I did understand him and thoroughly disliked him. He is pompous and grating.

[Vicky]

Purchased this for $3 in China #goated

[muthuvel · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Whoever believed he had understood something of me had dressed up something out of me after his own image – not uncommonly an antithesis of me, for instance an ‘idealist’; whoever had understood nothing of me denied that I came into consideration at all."

[aslı · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enteresan...

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first forty or so pages really turned me off. It is like a caricature of Nietzsche more than anything I've read by him. If it were the first thing I'd read by him I'd probably have been put off his work for a long time.

The first half consists mostly of an examination of the climate and cuisine (yes, cuisine) that made him so great, usually expressed in flat declarations - sometimes obscure and almost always outrageous. As a colorful example, he describes one musical composition of his by saying not only that his friend had never seen its equal but that "It constituted a rape on Euterpe." Euturpe, I'm pretty sure, is the classical muse of musical composition. Good God, man.

Maybe the syphilis was kicking in by this point. Or meningioma. Or whatever: http://atheism.about.com/b/a/223349.htm

That said, the last fifty pages or so are pretty awesome.

This is exciting philosophy. His writing and his points become more clear, sometimes beautifully so; he seems towards the end of the book to be making more of an effort to be frank and clear than I've perhaps ever read him - but still with his own style: conversational, engaging, profound, lively, at times off-handed, poetic, stylized (including a use of punctuation to make points that might be more familiar to modern readers in the likes of Dave Eggers). The seeming randomness and outrageousness of the majority of the beginning make the sudden, sharply coherent insights that much more enlivening.

Still, I would recommend The Use and Disadvantage of History for Life or On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense to a Nietzsche neophyte. This book (actually selections from Ecce Homo and Twilight of the Idols, I believe) seems a good articulation or example of his later philosophy, from what I can gather, which sharply deviates from some of that earlier corpus. I'm not even sure the will to power still exists for him by the end. Reading in some roughly chronological order would probably make sense.

As a side note, Nietzsche bashes no one more than the Germans in this book, saying at one point that to even be near one interferes with his digestion. So f*** off, Nazis.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but I'm still not sure if I know if I really know what its about!!

[Dallas Doctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The maddening thing about Nietzsche is that he reaches completely abhorrent conclusions with perfectly impeccable arguments. A great read!

[Ali Paloba · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ramblings of an arrogant madman.

[patrycja · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ★
Den här köpes när jag var lie lullig hahaha men den var så intressant ändå. Lowkey perforamive read ngl men det var väldigt insiktsfullt att få läsa Nietzsches självbiografi, har gjort så många anteckningar. Detta var tydligen hans sista verk innan han fick sitt första mental breakdown och gick av rälsen så aaa men det märktes ändå här o där.

[Alastair Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I approached Nietsche with some trepidation, but a small collection without copious footnotes and a heavy introduction helped. As did the accessible translation (RG Hollingdale) which gave N's writing a directness that was refreshing compared to some of his contemporary thinkers.
The main message, perhaps N's only real message, that came through was the divorce of man from the constructs of society, history and most importantly the burden of fate. Up to this point most philosophies relied on a higher agent, whether it was God, a mystical fate, or just a 'spirit of progress' and an idea that mankind had a special purpose or pre-destiny that meant the human race was developing towards some ideal. N' cut through this and headed off into the unknown with only himself to think of. Selfish, but lonely and I suppose that natural outcome was that he had to become quite strong minded to hold himself together without much else to occupy him on his mountain top.
Maybe scientific thinking of the time helped (Darwin?) or maybe it was the incredibly angry, egoistic self confidence, which is actually rather enjoyable and liberating to read. Either way I now have more respect for N's thoughts and imagine these texts were a very challenging read by a rather brave thinker in his time. Reading between the lines I expect he was actually quite a timid soul and sadly time seems to have been rather cruel to N's legacy but to me, looking at this afresh, it stands out as an enjoyable diversion from the path in the development of 'western thought'.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

The less than perfect star rating isn't so much against the material in Why I Am So Wise as it is against the compilation. This book is actually, in fact, a compilation of some of Nietzsche's works that has been stripped out of its original source. If one wants to get the full flow of Nietzsche's thought and progression in one work, pick up the books that this book took the material from and read them in procession; namely, Ecce Homo and Twilight of the Idols.

Notwithstanding the fact that this book only chose selective snippets of Nietzsche thought from various sources thereby breaking of the logical procession of thought insofar as Penguin Books wanted to make a short compilation with as many famous Nietzsche quotes they could pack into one sellable book, Why I Am So Wise presents Nietzsche in his natural state: The self-accuser who puts his own philosophy under the ring, thereby safeguarding himself from all future criticisms.

Ecce Homo truly represents Nietzsche not as most people perceive he thought of himself as, namely in the way one would think if they breifly read the chapter titles of his book, but in the way he truly knew himself to be: a human...all too human.

Brent McCulley

[Neelakantan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher par excellence, has tried to give the reason and the gist of his wisdom in a pithy manner. To describe in his own words"philosophy means living voluntarily among ice and high mountains—seeking out everything strange and questionable in existence". Most of his philosophy has been propounded while living in the lofty mountain of St. Moritz in Switzerland. Nietzsche attributes his cleverness to selective nutriment, selective climate and place, cleanliness and the right kind of recreation.

He urges us to 'revalue all the values' and how the teachings on morality and God, which is the detriment to all humanity, has been stifling human society. He explains that the very idea of existence of god and morality is antithetical to life. "Morality-the idiosyncrasy of decadents with the hidden intention of avenging themselves on life-and successfully." But for some, his nihilistic views maybe hard to digest and I think it will start to make sense to whoever listens to the Zarathustra.

This book is an absolute treat to whoever is curious and hungry to discover something uncanny. His maxims and arrows will hit you hard and will liberate you from the shackles of ideals.

[Romain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nietzsche writes with a feverous intelligence; the strength of his conviction a seething torrent that sweeps through the pages of this book. His discussion of the shortcomings of morality, as entrenched in Christian teaching and understanding is intruiging- but it seems to me that too often he takes the antithetical approach. An inversion will intrinsically carry the flaws of the original. It is also to his detriment that he speaks so often in absolutes on topics of superiority, race and gender. I don't pretend to understand everything he is saying yet, but at present I'm sort of struggling to like the guy.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting formally, but hard to take seriously. The overblown self-aggrandising may have been ironic, but the misogyny seemed like it really, really wasn't. Very interesting in relation to his own role in German culture. A self-identifying Pole who hates all of German culture modern and ancient...
Would recommend to those who need a bit of Nietzsche and have already read his fun stuff.

[Agung Wicaksono · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seperti judulnya yang bisa kita anggap "sombong" ini memang niat Nietzsche untuk membuktikan pada dasarnya ia memiliki pemikiran yang berbeda dari kebanyakan orang di zamannya. Ini adalah tulisan tentang dirinya sendiri bagaimana ia memandang hidup dan membahas karya agungnya berjudul 'Zarathustra' bahwa manusia bisa melampui segala moral antara kebaikan dan keburukan.

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Choice quote:

If one adds to this the downright bestial dinner-drinking habits of the ancient and by no means only the ancient Germans one will also understand the origin of the German spirit -- disturbed intestines ... The German spirit is an indigestion, it can have done with nothing.

[Simo · Rating 3 out of 5]

the whole deal of this book can be summarized in the following sentence :
I wrote Thus spoke Zarathustra, therefore I am cool, I am Wise, I am clever and I am way ahead of my time.
Strangely Though, I Think he is right.

[Angela Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this is my first Nietzsche. Reading was a bit confusing.. but as the back cover said it was written in the end.
I liked the sarcasm and skepticism are great and I had good laughs and thought.
I liked and I can't wait to read Zarathustra...

[Az · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing substantial happens in 'Why I Am So Wise' until about page 50 due to Nietzsche's unrelenting arrogance.

[Bossman Beasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the fuck just happened!?

[Mai · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want to witness a: narcissistic personality disorder in paper, read this. I used to have respect for him, I don’t anymore.

[Paul Bard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful. Ecce Homo, finished two weeks before his breakdown. Poor sensitive guy is losing the plot on paper, but I still like him.


I like being healthy. Nietzsche likes being sick because it gives him such strange thoughts. There’s no doubt unstable folk like Nietzsche are insightful but what a dreadful cost!

The undermining and dazzling rhetoric is so manipulative and deliberately confusing.

The arrogance is not satirical or ironic, and philosophical wankers are rationalising when they say that. He believes his insane ramblings. He’s sincerely manipulative and confusing.

So yeah, dreadful book. Full of resentment, self-pity, evasive justification, extremely high neuroticism, and deluded rhetoric.