 "A Philosopher of the Past or of the Future?" | 2008-07-19 |
| - Reviewed By phallllllus |
Commanding the earth and Ruling Religion: Nietzsche's Dionysian Apocalypse of Man
Nietzsche's classic work, unfinished and unpublished when he collapsed into insanity, is the most controversial of his works. Some avoid using it as the basis of their Nietzsche studies because they cannot be sure if these thoughts are genuinely Niietzsch's, a question that is largely a question of the way Nietzsche's legacy was handled by his sister. However, some who have interpreted Nietzsche, most notably Heidegger, tend to emphasize this work above his other works, especially with respect to clarifying the question of Nietzsche's thought and its relationship to metaphysics. I sympathize with this approach to Nietzsche, for Heidegger was a philosopher interpreting a philosopher, and his judgement can, perhaps, be considered valuable for that reason, but not for that reason alone: I think Heidegger reads Nietzsche in a way that allows him to best see how the various parts of Nietzsche's philosophy can be conjoined so as to facilitate its proper interpretation: the will-to-power has a central relationship, Heidegger asserts, to all of the other parts of Nietzsche's thought, so he tends to read Nietszsche to some degree as a systematic thinker, which in another sense, cannot be further from the truth: Heidegger and Nietzsche both seek to do justice to the complexities or oversimplicities of modernity, but they also seek to found a discourse that is faithful to the almost infinite perspectives that are existentially possible. |
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 "Caveat--The Will To Power: incomplete goldmine" | 2008-06-01 |
| - Reviewed By aquaticmarsupial |
HAH, Mixed Opinions and Maxims
137. The worst readers.- The worst readers are those who proceed like plundering soldiers: they pick up a few things they can use, soil and confuse the rest, and blaspheme the whole.
157. Sharpest criticism.-- One criticizes a person, a book most sharply when one picture their ideal.
Here I'll say there's an enormous difference between a sword and a pen. Too many reviews here say nothing, and if they do, it is with a sword inveighing against straw men. So, to clear the air, I quote from the Gay Science:
130. Incense.-- Buddha said: "Do not flatter your benefactor." This saying should be repeated in every Christian Church--right away it clears the air of everything Christian.
273. Whom do you call bad?-- Those who always want to put to shame.
274. What do you consider human?-- To spare someone shame.
Again, this should not be your introduction to Nietzsche. It is a tedious and poorly constructed compilation of unpublished notes from the Nachlass. Nonetheless it's some of the only material from it that is available in English with extensive notes. That said, the best introduction to the man's thought is found in The Gay Science and Daybreak.
[aside-Snob: ORIGIN late 18th cent.(originally dialect in the sense [cobbler] ): of unknown origin; early senses conveyed a notion of `lower status or rank,' later denoting a person seeking to imitate those of superior social standing or wealth. Folk etymology connects the word with Latin sine nobilitate `WITHOUT NOBILITY' but the earliest recorded sense has no connection with this.]
Nietzsche's philosophy centers on the ideas of nobility, dignity, integrity, achieving the means to future goals and expanding one's horizons to its furthest limit in order to find what is sought and claim what is one's own. If you are fanatic about 'equality' and 'justice' or are compelled to things via independence of thought by association ("I am not your crutch" TSZ) you had best stay away from this man, whose model is the "Roman Caesar with Christ's soul" and "Dionysos against the Crucified." Five stars for content, -1 for Form. |
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| "Caveat--The Will To Power: Notes for several works, all incomplete." | 2008-06-01 |
| - Reviewed By aquaticmarsupial |
HAH, Mixed Opinions and Maxims
137. The worst readers.- The worst readers are those who proceed like plundering soldiers: they pick up a few things they can use, soil and confuse the rest, and blaspheme the whole.
157. Sharpest criticism.-- One criticizes a person, a book most sharply when one pictures their ideal.
Here I will say that there is an enormous difference between a sword and a pen. Too many reviews here say nothing, and if they do, it is with a sword inveighing against straw men. So, to clear the air, I quote from the Gay Science:
130. Incense.-- Buddha said: "Do not flatter your benefactor." This saying should be repeated in every Christian Church--right away it clears the air of everything Christian.
273. Whom do you call bad?-- Those who always want to put to shame.
274. What do you consider human?-- To spare someone shame.
Again, this should not be your introduction to Nietzsche. It is a tedious and poorly constructed compilation of unpublished notes from the Nachlass, arranged by his Anti-Semitic sister with the aid of Peter Gast, and the general intent of the collection lies at her feet, not Nietzsche's. Furthermore, most of it is jabberwocky without some prior familiarity with Nietzsche's published intentions; the references are uncharacteristically vague and esoteric being jottings, so this problem is only compounded. Nonetheless it's some of the only material from it that is available in English with extensive notes. That said, the best introduction to the man's thought is probably not the posthumous writings of this posthumously born man, but those from his youth: The Birth of Tragedy, The Untimely Meditations, "On Truth an Lying in the Extra-Moral Sense" and so on.
Aside:[ etymology of "Snob": ORIGIN late 18th cent.(originally dialect in the sense [cobbler] ): of unknown origin; early senses conveyed a notion of `lower status or RANK,' later denoting a person seeking to IMITATE those of superior social standing or wealth. Folk etymology connects the word with Latin sine nobilitate `WITHOUT NOBILITY' but the earliest recorded sense has no connection with this.] -Elitism is justified where egalitarianism IS palpably mendacious. Or as Benjamin Franklin put it, "Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding on what to eat for supper."
Nietzsche's philosophy centers on the ideas of nobility and integrity; of firm individual determination and strength of will; of naturalness in every form; of achieving the means to future goals one has set for oneself and expanding one's horizons to their furthest limits to find what is sought and claim what is one's own and take it -or to bravely face destruction on the road there. If you are fanatic about 'equality' and 'justice' or are compelled to things via independence of thought by association ("I am not your crutch" TSZ) you had best stay away from this man, whose model is the "Roman Caesar with Christ's soul" and "Dionysos against the Crucified." -It's dangerous to play with dynamite!
Five stars for content, -1 for Form and historical-editorial infelicity. |
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| "The Greatest Book Of One Of The Greatest Minds" | 2008-05-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2G9MO59TY2Z8L |
| This is the literary equivelent to a posthumous release of demos from a great musician. Nietzsche will always be a source of inspiration to the people who reserve the right to form their own opinions. I think what endears him to people such as myself is his ability to trim the fat off the obvious and serve up only the best and most essential for our intellectual consumption. The first time I read this book I had felt a great deal of relief that the general essence and inspiration found in many of Nietzsche's books could be crystalized in so perfect a tome of mental clarity as well as personal strength. This is a book made to make men stronger and should be read for pleasure as well as self improvement. |
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 "Good Book but not to be read through" | 2008-03-16 |
| - Reviewed By User: AD5W69ZW6KZ59 |
| This book is loaded with good philosophy but don't expect to pick it up and read through it. It is comprised of various notes left behind by Nietzsche and that is how they are put in the book. There is very little structure and the entries may seem drawn out and repetitive. |
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| "going, going, ...insane." | 2007-10-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: ADQBJJNYIM9JH |
a collection of notes and fragments from a brilliant philosopher having second thoughts before his brain went supernova on him. this kaufmann fella does a great job with f.n.'s work...thorough presentation, exhaustive annotations and footnotes, historical perspective, etc. not my favorite nietzsche book, but still intellectually light years ahead of what comprises the majority of modern thought. which isn't saying much...
not for those new to mr. n. i'd suggest one of the collections (kaufmann's obviously gets my vote) and then a look at 'zarathustra'. if you get into his writing the way many people do, then pick this up as a companion to 'ecce homo' and read them more as ABOUT the guy than BY him. |
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