Easton Press Friedrich Nietzsche books
Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future - Books That Changed The World - 1994
The Birth of Tragedy and the Genealogy of Morals - Friedrich Nietzsche - The Great Philosophers - 1995
Friedrich Nietzsche biography
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist. He wrote critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy, and science, using a distinctive German language style and displaying a fondness for aphorism. Nietzsche's influence remains substantial within and beyond philosophy, notably in existentialism and postmodernism. His style and radical questioning of the value and objectivity of truth raise considerable problems of interpretation, generating an extensive secondary literature in both continental and analytic philosophy. Some of his major ideas include interpreting tragedy as an affirmation of life, an eternal recurrence (which numerous commentators have re-interpreted), a rejection of Platonism, and a repudiation of both Christianity (especially 19th-century) and Egalitarianism (especially in the form of Democracy and Socialism).Nietzsche began his career as a classical philologist before turning to philosophy. At the age of 24 he became the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel (the youngest individual ever to have held this position), but resigned in 1879 due to health problems, which would plague him for most of his life. In 1889 he exhibited symptoms of serious mental illness, living out his remaining years in the care of his mother and sister until his death in 1900.
Life
Friedrich Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844, in the small town of Röcken, which is not far from Lützen and Leipzig, within what was then the Prussian province of Saxony. He was born on the 49th birthday of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and was thus named after him. His father was a Lutheran pastor, who died of encephalomalacia, in 1849, when Nietzsche was four years old. In 1850, Nietzsche's mother moved the family to Naumburg, where he lived for the next eight years before heading off to boarding school, the famous and demanding Schulpforta. Nietzsche was now the only male in the house, living with his mother, his grandmother, two paternal aunts, and his sister Elisabeth. As a young man, he was particularly vigorous and energetic. In addition, his early piety for Christianity is born out by the choir Miserere which was dedicated to Schulpforta while he attended.After graduation, in 1864, he commenced his studies in classical philology and theology at the University of Bonn. He met the composer Richard Wagner, of whom he was a great admirer, in November, 1868, and their friendship began for a time. A brilliant scholar, he became special professor of classical philology at the University of Basel in 1869, at the uncommon age of 24. Professor Friedrich Ritschl at the University of Leipzig became aware of Nietzsche's capabilities from some exceptional philological articles he had published, and recommended to the faculty board that Nietzsche be given his doctorate without the typically required dissertation.
At Basel, Nietzsche found little satisfaction in life among his philology colleagues. He established closer intellectual ties with the historian Jakob Burckhardt, whose lectures he attended, and the atheist theologian Franz Overbeck, both of whom remained his friends throughout his life. His inaugural lecture at Basel was Über die Persönlichkeit Homers (On Homer's Personality). He made frequent visits to the Wagners at Tribschen.
When the Franco-Prussian war erupted in 1870, Nietzsche left Basel and, being disqualified for other services due to his citizenship status, volunteered as a medical orderly on active duty. His time in the military was short, but he experienced much, witnessing the traumatic effects of battle and taking close care of wounded soldiers. He soon contracted diphtheria and dysentery and subsequently experienced a painful variety of health difficulties for the remainder of his life.
Upon returning to Basel, instead of waiting to heal, he pushed headlong into a more fervent schedule of study than ever before. In 1870, he gave Cosima Wagner the manuscript of The Genesis of the Tragic Idea as a birthday gift. In 1872, he published his first book, The Birth of Tragedy in which he denied Schopenhauer's influence upon his thought and sought a "philology of the future" (Zukunftsphilologie). A biting critical reaction by the young and promising philologist Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, as well as its innovative views of the ancient Greeks, dampened the book's reception and increased its notoriety, initially. After it settled into the philological community, it found many rings of approval and exultations of Nietzsche's perspicacity. To this day, it is widely regarded as a classic piece.
In April, 1873, Wagner incited Nietzsche to take on David Friedrich Strauss. Wagner had found his book, Der alte und der neue Glaube, to be shallow. Strauss had also offended him by siding with the composer and conductor Franz Lachner, who had been dismissed on account of Wagner. In 1879, Nietzsche retired from his position at Basel. This was due either to his declining health or in order to devote himself fully toward the ramification of his philosophy which found further expression in Human, All-Too-Human. This book revealed the philosophic distance between Nietzsche and Wagner; this, together with the latter's virulent Anti-Semitism and proto-fascism, spelled the end of their friendship.
From 1880, until his collapse in January, 1889, Nietzsche led a wandering existence as a stateless person, writing most of his major works in Turin. After his mental breakdown, both his sister Elisabeth and mother Franziska cared for him. His fame and influence came later, despite (or due to) the interference of Elisabeth, who published selections from his notebooks with the title The Will to Power, in 1901, and maintained her authority over Nietzsche's literary estate after Fanziska's death in 1900.
Mental health
Nietzsche endured periods of illness during much of his adult life. In 1889, after the completion of Ecce Homo, his health rapidly declined until he collapsed in Turin. Shortly before his collapse, according to one account, he embraced a horse in the streets of Turin because it had been flogged by its owner. Thereafter, he was brought to his room and spent several days in a state of ecstasy writing letters to various friends, signing them "Dionysus" or "The Crucified." He gradually became less and less coherent and almost entirely uncommunicative. His close friend Peter Gast, who was also an apt composer, observed that he retained the ability to improvise beautifully on the piano for some months after his breakdown, but this too eventually left him.The initial emotional symptoms of Nietzsche's breakdown, as evidenced in the letters he sent to his friends in the few days of lucidity remaining to him, bear many similarities to the ecstatic writings of religious mystics insofar as they proclaim his identificatin with the godhead. These letters remain the best evidence available for Nietzsche's own opinion on the nature of his breakdown. Nietzsche's letters describe his experience as a radical breakthrough in which he rejoices, rather than laments. Most Nietzsche commentators find the issue of Nietzsche's breakdown and "insanity" irrelevant to his work as a philosopher, for the tenability of arguments and ideas are more important than the author. There are some, however, including Georges Bataille, who insist that Nietzsche's mental breakdown be considered.
Nietzsche spent the last ten years of his life insane and in the care of his sister Elisabeth. He was completely unaware of the growing success of his works. The cause of Nietzsche's condition has to be regarded as undetermined. Doctors later in his life said they were not so sure about the initial diagnosis of syphilis because he lacked the typical symptoms. While the story of syphilis indeed became generally accepted in the twentieth century, recent research in the Journal of Medical Biography shows that syphilis is not consistent with Nietzsche's symptoms and that the contention that he had the disease originated in anti-Nietzschean tracts. One of the best arguments against the syphilis theory is summarized by Claudia Crawford in the book To Nietzsche: Dionysus, I Love You! Ariadne. The diagnosis of syphilis is supported, however, in Deborah Hayden's Pox: Genius, Madness, and the Mysteries of Syphilis. His handwriting in all the letters that he had written around the period of the final breakdown showed no sign of deterioration.
Beyond Good and Evil
Published in 1886, Beyond Good and Evil stands as one of the most significant works in the philosophical canon. This seminal text represents a departure from conventional moral philosophy, challenging established notions of morality, truth, and human nature while advocating for a radical reevaluation of traditional values.In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche embarks on a daring intellectual journey, dissecting the foundations of Western morality and exposing what he sees as its inherent flaws and contradictions. Rejecting the binary opposition of good and evil as simplistic and limiting, Nietzsche proposes a more nuanced and complex understanding of morality, one that transcends conventional moral categories and embraces the full spectrum of human experience. Central to Nietzsche's critique is the notion of the "will to power," the driving force behind all human actions and aspirations. According to Nietzsche, this primal urge for power and self-affirmation underpins all human endeavors, from the pursuit of knowledge to the formation of moral values. Rather than being inherently good or evil, Nietzsche argues that actions should be evaluated based on their ability to enhance life and promote individual flourishing.
In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche also introduces the concept of the "Ubermensch" or "Overman," a figure who transcends conventional morality and embraces a life of creativity, self-mastery, and self-overcoming. The Ubermensch represents the pinnacle of human potential, liberated from the constraints of societal norms and moral conventions.
Throughout the book, Nietzsche employs his characteristic aphoristic style, weaving together disparate ideas and insights into a rich tapestry of philosophical reflection. His prose is incisive, provocative, and often paradoxical, challenging readers to confront their preconceptions and rethink their assumptions about morality and existence.
While Beyond Good and Evil was initially met with mixed reviews and limited readership during Nietzsche's lifetime, its influence has grown steadily in the years since its publication. Today, it is regarded as a seminal work in the fields of philosophy, ethics, and cultural studies, inspiring generations of thinkers, writers, and artists to question the foundations of morality and explore new possibilities for human existence. In summary, Beyond Good and Evil stands as a testament to Friedrich Nietzsche's intellectual vision and philosophical daring. By transcending conventional moral categories and embracing the complexities of human nature, Nietzsche invites readers to embark on a journey of self-discovery and self-affirmation, challenging them to go beyond the confines of good and evil in pursuit of a more authentic and meaningful existence.
The Birth of Tragedy and The Genealogy of Morals
Friedrich Nietzsche, the enigmatic German philosopher of the 19th century, crafted intellectual masterpieces that challenged the very foundations of Western thought. Among his seminal works are The Birth of Tragedy and The Genealogy of Morals, which stand as pillars in the edifice of his philosophical legacy.The Birth of Tragedy
Published in 1872, The Birth of Tragedy marked Nietzsche's debut into the realm of philosophy. In this groundbreaking work, Nietzsche delves into the essence of Greek tragedy, dissecting its origins and significance. He introduces the dichotomy of the Apollonian and Dionysian principles, contrasting the rational, ordered world represented by Apollo with the chaotic, primal forces embodied by Dionysus. Nietzsche argues that Greek tragedy emerges from the tension and synthesis of these opposing forces, offering a cathartic release that transcends the mundane realities of existence. Moreover, he laments the decline of tragedy in contemporary culture, attributing it to the overpowering influence of rationalism and the suppression of primal instincts.The Genealogy of Morals
Nietzsche's The Genealogy of Morals, published in 1887, extends his philosophical inquiry into the realm of ethics and morality. Here, Nietzsche embarks on a historical investigation into the origins and development of moral concepts, challenging conventional notions of good and evil. He posits that traditional moral values, rooted in Judeo-Christian ethics, stem from a slave mentality that glorifies weakness and obedience while condemning strength and independence. Nietzsche provocatively suggests a reevaluation of these values, advocating for a "revaluation of all values" that embraces individual autonomy and the affirmation of life's inherent struggles.Both The Birth of Tragedy and The Genealogy of Morals reflect Nietzsche's profound engagement with existential questions concerning the nature of human existence, the dynamics of power, and the construction of meaning in a world devoid of inherent truths. Through his provocative prose and incisive analysis, Nietzsche invites readers to confront the complexities of human experience and to challenge the prevailing dogmas that constrain individual freedom and creativity. Despite initial reception marked by controversy and misunderstanding, Nietzsche's works have exerted a profound influence on subsequent generations of thinkers, artists, and scholars. The Birth of Tragedy and The Genealogy of Morals remain essential texts in the philosophical canon, offering enduring insights into the human condition and the perennial quest for self-understanding and authenticity.