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Summary: Nietzche for dummies...
Review: After Nietzche summed up his philosophy in his previous book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, he must have realized if someone wasn't acquainted with his writings before, they wouldn't know what he was talking about. With this in mind, Nietzche takes everything he sees wrong about the world and writes it down here. He discusses his views on religion in that Judeo-Christian morality is simply a guise to give those who promote it power over their followers. He also criticizes other philosphers for their self-righteous dogmatist thinking and how they, in seeking the truth, end up looking at all their views as objective, and warp their idea of truth into what they want it to be. Nietzche is shunned my many because of his views on women, but for anyone interested in existentialist writings that questions systematic reasoning, I highly recommend this.
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Summary: Proof that Nietzsche was the most interesting philsopher
Review: Many of the epigrams and sections of Beyond Good and Evil refer to the denouement of organzied religion, the superiorty of men over women, other philosopher's works, and Nietzsche's own personal opinions. Most people who are interested in philosophy, regardless of personal preferences, will find Nietzsche's somewhat erratic and meaningful passages to be very interesting and thought provoking and would make fdder for a good debate.
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Summary: Nietzsche turns philosophy on its head
Review: Though he was all but unread during his actual lifetime, the eventual impact of Friedrich Nietzsche's writings have had something of the effect of a hydrogen bomb being dropped on the world of philosophy. Though this is perhaps not Nietzsche's best book, it is probably the best one to read if you are not familar with his works, as it is a nice and concise introduction to his philosophy, and easier to get into than other works, such as the more famous Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In the course of this book, Nietzsche does nothing less than shake all of Western philosophy, including some of its most sacred and long-held tenets, to its core. Starting with the ancient Greeks and going all the way through the then-contemporary Schopenhauer, no one and nothing is safe from the scathing, vitrolic attack of Nietzsche's pen, being a critical assestment and denunciation of philosophy the level of which had not been seen since Voltaire - a man Nietzsche seems to have held a somewhat-reluctant admiration for (though he also speaks of a certain philosopher as being "more profound than Voltaire... and consequently a good deal more silent.") Nietzsche, herein, attacks some of our most sacred and fundamentally-held beliefs: boldly declaring that good and evil, ethics and morality, and more are simply mere cultural inventions, and cannot be objectively defined, while also telling us that there is no God, no soul, and that life is essentially meaningless and absurd. While all of these are obvious implications of Nietzsche's famous perspectiveism - and clearly give him full claim to the title of Grandfather of postmodernism and existentialinism - he was not, as is often claimed, a nihilist. No, Nietzsche tells us that there is one thing, at least, that is noble (if not quite virtuous): that which affirms life. Though this aspect of Nietzsche's philosophy is expanded upon much further in Zarathustra, we see that he was not, as one may tend to think from his writings, a pessimistic, gloomy, hopeless individual, but an enthusiastic person, full of zest for life, vowing that, despite everything, he would do it all over again. How many of us can truly say the same? That said, the book is not perfect: much of it is mere polemic, only vaguely philosophical, and, at times, downright embarrassing when read with the benefit of hindsight; the core of the book resides in the first two sections. Still, for those two alone, this book remains an essential philosophy read.
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Summary: still not Nietzsche's best
Review: I usually tell people to read this book first if they have not read any Nietzsche, followed by Genealogy and Zarathustra. Nietzsche's overall project in this book is extremely significant, and especially toward the beginning of the book he seems to be at his best. But as Kaufmann notes in his intro., the book contains many embarassing passages such as the section on women (it's not embarassing b/c of its subject matter - I love to hear Nietzsche tell it how it is about women - it's just that the aphorisms aren't good except for perhaps, "A black dress and a silent part make a woman appear smart.")and the poem at the end. Besides this there are many weak sections, and Nietzsche really accomplishes his task after the first few sections. Nevertheless, this work is essential for understanding Nietzsche's thought, and while not the best stylistically, it remains one of the most important.
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Summary: Prelude to a Philosophy for the Future
Review: The work is not a dogma based moral philosophy. You will find no guide to your life within its pages. This book is a prelude to a philosophy for the future, something for which Nietzsche recognized a need, but never did create.That said, many of the criticisms will be hard for the simple minded to understand or appreciate. Some will rail against his criticisms of Christians and Jews, but is not criticizing their person per say, but their Christian and Jewish way of living. Today, women in particular seem to take offense at his writings supposedly against women. The behavior of women was no different then as it is now. Nietzsche is not condemning women as a gender, but criticizing female behavior, in the hopes that a new philosophy can be created for them. In a day when the nihilism of women is made obvious by rampant materialism and sexuality, it is absolutely imperative that women gain a new philosophy or the human race is doomed. It is this nihilism that existed amongst the better of women of Nietzsche's day and what he attempted to expose. We can dance around the issue and pretend that women are free from male oppression and everyhing is wonderful, but a glance at any chick magazine (ie Cosmo et al) will quickly prove that all is not well in the heads of our female population. In fact, Nietzsche's criticisms of women can easily be applied to any issue of Commo.
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Summary: Nietzshe is mean to Jesus.
Review: Nietzsche is very mean and not nice to Jesus and to Christians also. My pastor said it is important to love Jesus and to let poeple know when Jesus is being made fun of. Nietzsche says on p. 64 "Later, when the rabble gained the upper hand in Greece, fear became rampant in religion, too -- and the ground was prepared for Christianity." But in allowing himself to believe that an original fear -- and not a weakness of the human condition -- leads to Christianity, he goes against what he had said in Human, All to Human. His contradiction with the earlier texts, even Zarathustra (which he laughingly claims as precursor to Beyond Good and Evil), make the later Nietzsche unbelievable. How can we know that the last books are not simply parody? At the beginning of The Gay Science, he actually wrote "Incipent Parodia" (that is, the Parody Begins!) Given that, how could we ever take him seriously?
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Summary: Honest; If only he had lived to see the age he ushered in...
Review: In Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Nietzsche lays out his philosophy through a collection of his thoughts on various different issues including: women, nations, religion, and many other fundamental aspects of human life. While the book may seem jumbled and random at times, as it is Nietzche's thoughts given in a non-linear manner, the reader will finish with a solid understanding of Nietzche's philosophy. He truly was the father of post-modernism, and the world we live in today, on the average, has a belief system much more in line with Nietzsche than with any Biblical beliefs. In other words, for the most part, Nietzsche was right in saying that "God is dead", and the 20th Century, as we got beyond good and evil, clearly crowned Nietzsche the new king. At the same time, Nietzsche is much more honest and direct than most intellectuals of our current, post-modern age. To demonstrate, here's Nietzsche (from Beyond Good and Evil): "They discover, these acute observers and idlers, that the end is fast approaching, that everything around them is corrupt and corrupting, that nothing can last beyond the day after tomorrow, one species of man excepted, the incurably mediocre. The mediocre alone have the prospect of continuing on and propagating themselves -- they are the men of the future, the sole survivors; 'be like them! become mediocre!' is henceforth the only morality that has any meaning left, that still finds ears to hear it. -- But it is difficult to preach, this morality of mediocrity! -- for it can never admit what it is and what it wants! it has to speak of moderation and dignity and duty and love of one's neighbor -- it will scarcely be able to conceal its irony!" So, if it feels good, do it (be mediocre!)... but what is this silliness about also preaching moderation, dignity, love, etc, as these same modern cultural intellectuals do? If truth is completely subjective, as they clearly state in their "feel good" philosophy , then why do they just as strongly believe that moderation, dignity, and love are "good", a statement of objective truth itself? As Nietzsche says of the philosophy of these hypocrites, "...it will scarcely be able to conceal its irony!" This is a great book, that will challenge anyone to think about the prevalent worldview of the modern, Western elites and the world we all live in.
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Summary: Right book, right translation, wrong edition
Review: This is as good a place as any to start your exploration of Nietzsche. The problem is, even though it is supposed to be a more straightforward approach at communicating the message found in Zarathustra, this is still written very pithily. The prose is very joyful, poetic, and requires thought. Then again, if you weren't willing to commit some thought to Nietzsche, then it's not worth picking up Nietzsche. However, it is worth mentioning that you shouldn't pick up this book. Now that Kaufmann's Basic Writings of Nietzsche, which contains this book along with four others (Birth of Tragedy, On the Genealogy of Morals, The Case of Wagner, and Ecce Homo) is in paperback for only slightly more money, it's best to buy that instead.
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Summary: Vastly overrated
Review: Nietzsche, along with Derrida and Foucault must be amongst the most overrated of all philosophers. They represent the polemics of the literary mindset against the epistemic/logical concerns that ought to be the concern of philosophy. Forget Nietzsche. If you seek logic, read Frege, Wittgenstein and Russell. A chapter each of Hume, Kant and Hegel have more substance than the entire Nietzschean corpus. If it is practical philosophy that is your concern, you would do well to read the Stoics, Cicero, Seneca and Boethius. Sceptical considerations are well accounted for, by Sextus Empiricus and the Pyrrhonean school. OTOH, if mindless and intemperate polemics is all that you seek, by all means read Nietzsche. That is all that he is capable of.
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Summary: BG & E: Introduction to Nietzsche
Review: Beyond Good and Evil is a criticism of the most profound depths of human existence. A testimony from a heightened spirit and his journey upon the fine line between attacking the system unaided and falling into the "abyss" of nihilism. Nietzsche antagonizes the school of thought that says 'the status quo of all things human leaves room for progression of the human mind, spirit and physiology.' All around him, Nietzsche sees that human existence is corrupted by the "monsters" encompassing it. These "monsters" are Nietzsche's metaphor for human ideas, modern and ancient, primitive or sophisticated. These ideas endemic of humanity, which he defines as limiting to human creativity, expression, and progression are: religion, equality, morality, democracy, nationalism, communism, classicism, stoicism, and belief in fixed human nature, (there are many more). Nietzsche fears that these ideas will plague humanity like unseen skeletons in the closet, making all men neither savage, nor great; these ideas will breed a population of mediocre humans, whom are oblivious to the self-destructive nature of their coveted ideas. And in ultimate effect: no mediocre man will dare antagonize the "herd" and its ideas; as Nietzsche so vividly illustrates that he can. Even if one disagrees with some of the criticism, no open-minded reader will be left untouched with a sense of uncertainty for today's existence. Beyond Good and Evil is a masterpiece to the individualist and an unnecessary evil to those of convention. This book is a compass that encourages the individual to define oneself and find one's own niche among existence. Thus a philosophy for the future: where individuals using conscience and reason set in place their own self-guiding principles; and individual path through existence devoid of a world where such things as the 'normal people' and other superficial mechanisms exist. What Nietzsche shows us among this cacophony of criticism for humanity's ugliness, is that there is a great spirit within all of us, and if we refuse convention, then we are on our first step to finding that true self. Nietzsche follows the methodology that only through harsh, yet logical, criticism/ skepticism of conventions and ideas can one cultivate the essence of humanity's evolutionary progression (or in other words, by freeing the individual mind from the oppressive force of the mainstream, a new beginning in human thought will take place). Nietzsche provides the first beginning for this new world: he has thrown off the blanket of good and evil which has been covering all our eyes since the history of human civilization. And has made it possible for a future exclusive of gratuitous limitation on the human: psyche, mind, creativity and evolution beyond.... As one can see, my analysis and rating consider this work by Nietzsche an intellectual masterpiece. I highly recommend it to those with an open mind and a taste for philosophy.
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