The Nietzsche Reader

by Friedrich Nietzsche, Keith Ansell-Pearson (Editor), Duncan Large (Editor )

The Nietzsche Reader brings together in one volume substantial selections from the entire body of Nietzsche's writings, together with illuminating commentary on Nietzsche's life and importance, and introductions to his major works and philosophical ideas.
- Includes selections from all the major texts, including The Birth of Tragedy, The Gay Science, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, The Anti-Christ, and Ecce Homo


- Offers new translations of key pieces from Nietzsche's unpublished "Lenzer Heide" notebook


- Provides a wealth of pedagogical features, such as editorial sections on Nietzsche's life and importance, an opening introduction to his philosophical ideas, introductions to each major section, and a comprehensive guide to further reading

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Classics, School, Ebooks

574 pages, Hardcover

Published February 6, 2006

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

[Edwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

only read parts for class, need to come back but section 279 will stick forever.

"Star friendship. - We were friends and have become estranged. But this was right, and we do not want to conceal and obscure it from ourselves as if we had reason to feel ashamed. We are two ships each of which has its goal and course; our paths may cross and we may celebrate a feast together, as we did - and then the good ships rested so quietly in one harbor and one sunshine that it may have looked as if they had reached their goal and as if they had one goal. But then the almighty force of our tasks drove us apart again into different seas and sunny zones, and perhaps we shall never see each other again; perhaps we shall meet again but fail to recognize each other: our exposure to different seas and suns has changed us. That we have to become estranged is the law above us; by the same token we should also become more venerable for each other - and the memory of our former friendship more sacred. There is probably a tremendous by invisible stellar orbit in which our very different ways and goals may be included as small parts of this path; let us rise up to this thought. But our life is too short and our power of vision too small for us to be more than friends in the sense of this sublime possibility. - Let us then believe in our star friendship even if we should be compelled to be earth enemies."

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is I'm favourite book.

[Haleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

UGH, NIETZSCHE. I LOVE YOU AS MUCH AS I HATE YOU

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five hundred pages of Nietzsche was too high of a dosage for me and would be for most people.

[Ryan Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s hard to give a star rating to this book. I’ve decided on four because the construction, selections, and introductions along with the explanatory notes are all well done. It’s an incredibly helpful volume. However, I also have to weigh the immense amount of Nietzsche’s words. He’s all at once a whirlwind of style, a force of rambling thought, a dark cloud of pessimism/optimism, positivism/complete nihilism, and at times, a complete mess of incoherence and confusion. He’s interesting to read for sure; but he’s not always as great as some say. I find myself in opposition to much of his conclusions and dislike the impact he has had on far too many - but I respect his honesty and his willingness to take his thoughts “all the way down” unlike so many of his peers and fellow atheists today. So, there is brilliance in Nietzsche, but there is also darkness and some (yes I’ll say it, as he would want me to be honest) over-hype about his insights.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nietzsche's writing induces a dreamy fugue state, laden with natural imagery, pregnant metaphors, interspersed with direct pronouncements, illuminating, clarifying our most basic and innermost emotions, passions, and drives. He provides wide ranging critiques of the modern psyche and its core structures - religion, morality, social conventions - much of which he sees as limiting, weakening, and blinding the masses. In its place, he thrusts us into a world where the individual - in isolation - is the center of the universe - unrestrained, liberated, elevated into a creator of his own values, shaper of reality.

[Gabrielle Huston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for HUMS 4000 at Carleton University. Read Human, All Too Human (Sections 1, 4, and 5), The Gay Science (sections 1, 3, 4, and 5), The Genealogy of Morals (Essay 1), and On the Utility and Liability of History for Life.

[Amelia Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will have to update my review when I get through all the sections, but I read a few of them for school. I realize I love how much I hate Nietzsche, and I’m going to just leave it at that.

[Colin Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really solid way to get to know this wild philosopher. Large chunks of all of his books are included and introductions to each section of writing guide the reader through the reading and alert them of it's cultural and historical context as well. Very interesting philosopher who was tragically misinterpreted to justify horrendous acts of violence. If you want to know Nietzsche and only want to read 550 pages rather than all of his catalog, this is a great choice.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book.

[Lisa영]

I love Freddy, even though he is rather effusive. It's interesting to see his thoughts develop over the course of his life in this collection.