The Birth of Tragedy & The Genealogy of Morals

If you like easy reading... Forget this book. Its a book for dipping into... But dip lightly at your own peril. This is deep stuff. The first book is for those interested in the deeper psychology of the greek tragedy. It is fascinating. I had the advantage of studying this gem in university and so I had plenty of opportunities to discuss the book with others who had read it too. That helps a lot. Read a page and close the book and think, think think. Nietzsche is, above all, a great challenge to the intellect. Remember that. As for the second book, the challenge that Nietzsche poses to the established sense of morality is breathtaking. I will tell you one thing though; this is warrior philosophy. This is for the radical individualist. This is for the free thinker. You must remember that being truly alone means you are abandoned on a long and winding path. It is a rocky path that is strewn with the obstacles that the herd left there, filled with the traps of the mediocre. It is a path easily strayed from. If you are indeed one of these rare individuals, this book will provide you with energy. It is the energy of YOUR THOUGHTS reflected back at you in eloquent prose and solid logic. If you are a free thinking individualist... nietzsche is for you. He makes you work on every page though. I wouldn't recommend this as your first Nietzsche read however. "Beyond good and evil" is a slightly easier starting point. If you already have an idea of what old boy Friedrich is babbling about, then give this gift to the world a go. He never lets you down.

The decision to publish the Birth of Tragedy and the Genealogy of Morals in one volume was a perspicacious one. In the Birth of Tragedy the young Nietzsche combines powerful insights into Attic tragedy with hints of the philosophy he will bequeath to the world. In the Genealogy of Morals the increasingly megalomaniac Nietzsche expresses this philosophy more fully while still hinting at its origins in the study of Athenian culture. Let me explain in more detail. The Birth of Tragedy argues that the ancient tragedians understood, in a sense akin to the Buddha, the tragic reality of human life. Individuals bubbling up and dissolving from the underlying monistic universe—their only solace the Apollonian arts which enables them to endure this cold grasp of reality. Art is a deception—the enemy of the Socratic/Platonic/Aristotelian progress of truth and reason. The full repercussions of this are not hidden. Modern science itself is acknowledged to have a Socratic origin and is thus rejected as a remedy for the human predicament. Only with the embrace of a mythic/artistic view can modern man achieve his full potential. These ideas come into full flower in the Genealogy of Morals where the same essential outlook is maintained. Now, however, the reaction to this predicament is a surpassing of human morality. The heroic man is he who leads, dominates and shows no regard for the mass of lower men trying to alleviate their inner turmoil through some kind of religion or ascetic practice. I cannot conclude this review without noting that, for all his insights, these ideas have had largely a baneful effect on modern civilization. Post-Darwin but before evolutionary psychology became a science, Nietzsche’s philosophic anthropology is disastrous for one’s health—as indicated in his own ultimate demise. Surely, fallible yet correctable reason is what has enabled life expectancy, standards of living and freedom to increase throughout much of the world. While myths may still have a place in those areas of human experience that lie beyond the power of reason, the return to a mythic/tragic view of life is not only infeasible but a recipe for madness. Nietzsche—great author, great thinker but disastrous guide. Read with one’s skeptical mind well prepared for grandiose and attractive claims that lead to nothing but the real possibility of personal catastrophe.

This was required reading for one of political science classes. Great book! Just keep in mind you need to expect a book on the theory of politics to have some controversial ideas.

Epic poetry is Apollonian. Lyric poetry, though, is music in images. Schlegal argued that the chorus was a sort of ideal spectator. The Dionysiac resembles Hamlet. The Dionysiac Greek desires truth, nature, simplicity. Metaphor is not rhetoric but representative image. Each being, human and divine, suffers for its individuality. Prometheus, Oedipus are masks of Dionysius before Euripides. Music caused myth to flower. Greek tragedy died by suicide, an insoluble conflict. In Euripides tragedy perished through conflict of the Dionysian spirit with the Socratic. Socrates is the great exemplar of the theoretical man. Where does music stand in relation to image and concept Nietzsche asks. Image and concept are heightened by appropriate music. Music lets us understand the annihilation of the individual. Tragic art arose out of music. There is a close affinity of myth to music. These works are the bookends of Nietzsche's career in philosophy. In the latter it is asserted that we have no right to isolated thoughts, that thoughts need to grow out of values. Origins of good and bad are to be found in the paths of nobility and distance. What does the etymology of terms for good tell us? Warrior and priestly castes have different presuppositions for valuation. When a nobleman feels resentment it does not poison him. Feelings of guilt and personal obligation commence in debtor-creditor relationships. Punishment has many utilitarian purposes. An artist is permanently separated from ordinary morality.

At times brilliant, at others incomplete. Golffing sometimes comes up with brilliant formulations, but all too often his text skips over or omits details that should be included.

"Die, Jew!" These words and other anti-Semitist phrases echo through the reader's mind as he studies this piece. Friedrich Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals is the powerful piece of literature with more than controversial ideals. Upon reading it, one gets the sense that this work is the product of a demented, enraged mind. In the course of this reading, Nietzsche shows his ability to captivate a reader with his reason, no matter how twisted his reason is. After reading this selection I came to the assumption that Nietzsche used his brilliant mind to make broad, generalized attacks against those whom he claims are responsible for the problems in the world. Nietzsche sees a problem with the way morals and values are carried out in our society. The strong are seen as forbidding and the weak are viewed as righteous. He believes that this is an inversion of morals which originates from the hatred of Jews transferred through the Gospel of Christianity. He assumes that any belief in God or values based on kindness is based on personal weakness and is the fruit of the true evil in the world. Morals and values which place a restriction on the strong and favor the weak are the cause for the unjust society. Nietzsche also has a modal for the great controversy these past two thousand years. He uses the titles the dispute "Rome vs. Israel, Israel vs. Rome." Rome he sees as the epitome of strength and the ideal he holds to be noble, Israel as the system which created the weak values system. He is angry because this weak system was able to topple mighty Rome. I had to read Nietzsche in short sections at a time because it overwhelmed me. It was hard for me to see how someone can be so enraged by the system of values to write a book such as this. As a Christian, I cherish the values of the Bible and hold to a belief in a better life beyond this world. I appreciate Christianity for giving hope to hopeless world. However, Nietzsche sees Christianity as the ultimate form of slavery and the belief in a loving God as an infection upon the human mind. It is impossible for these two ideals to see eye to eye without one side trying to strangle the other. I also see Nietzsche's vendetta against the Jews, his love for strength, and his justification of the strong preying upon the weak as the cornerstone principles needed in for the creation and development of Nazi Germany. However, I am looking back on his writing from perspective which has seen what he ideals carried out have produced. I doubt that Nietzsche intended to create monsters like Hitler and the terrible power of Nazi Germany. It seems to me that Nietzsche is merely looking at his world from a rational, atheistic viewpoint and is not happy with how things are going. Therefore, he does what all humans do when they have a problem he complains about and uses his writing as a venue to channel out his aggression. I wonder what Nietzsche would say if he knew the consequences of his tantrums and ranting. Though I do not agree with Nietzsche's offhand remarks against God and believers in God, I did find humor in his dialogue with Mr. Foolhardy into the shop where ideals are contrived. He uses this little anecdote to target mainstream Christian beliefs in a satirical sort of way. He even mentions the unpleasant smell of this shop in a humorous offhand way. I enjoyed that excerpt, though I did not agree with it at all. Overall Nietzsche's writing is a revolt against the Christian dogma which has captivated the world for so long. He views the system as a manufacturer of weakness and itself a type of parasite to attach to any unwary victim. In this sense I cannot help but understand where Nietzsche is coming from. His perspective of Christianity is the result of centuries of political strife caused by unconverted Christians making hypocritical and atrocious statements in the name of Christ. This has not given the church a good reputation in the eyes of many and may be the single greatest caused for atheism. It is not rational for people to be humble and to learn to love your enemy. Human nature tells us to seek revenge and retaliation but Christ tells us to forgive. This does not make sense to someone who does not have a relationship with God and is extremely preposterous to a person looking at it from outside the Christian circle. Nietzsche is a prime example of the results of the affects of "manufacturing" morals without winning people over. Christians can avoid creating enemies such as Nietzsche if we stop trying to ram our values down other peoples' throats, take away the political influence of the church, and let Christianity be its own witness.

I have to be the sensible voice of dissent on this one: having read the Hollingdale and Kaufmann translations of these books, and although Golffing was no authority par excellance on Nietzsche (but rather a poet--not utterly devoid of perspective), I think this particular pair of translated works has its necessary place among the more respected editions. Yes, it does lack the trademark styles and general passion characteristic of Nietzsche's writings--but only for the initiated reader; this is actually a perfect edition for the rookie, the newbie: it takes the overwhelming aspect away, it eases the fresh reader into the shock and rapidity of the stream of thought, it presents the subject matter in a way that would garner an undergrad or graduate student "props" as a brilliant writer with a universal style. Obviously, as one becomes more attuned to these vibes, they will want to reach for the more difficult readings--not merely to test their comprehension skills, but for personal aesthetics as well, like the feeling of accomplishment. The more seasoned reader knows that Nietzsche is all about personality (he is literary-style, personified) and passion, but they should as well note that our author here is not accessible to everyone the same way (let alone with ease, if at all). I still found substance here, I found a less colorful rendition of thematic scope, I found a "Nietzsche for Beginners"--but why hate on Golffing as a result?; and considering the growing popularity of the author, the latecomers will all have to step through that door in some fashion, and this book does a better than average job of allowing just that.

Ill give it 2 stars instead of 1. because it is not nietzsche i have the prolem with. I knew i was taking a chance by buying this, I like Hollingdale, and like kaufman, but this translater, takes the fun out of freddie. It hardly even sounds like nietzsche speaking. For one example a famous line is "we all speak vaugly about poerty because we are all bad poets.".. When i read that line i barely realized i read it as he write "we all speak abrtractly about our poetry because we tend to be indifferent poets." The whole book reads like that. Nietzsche Bold statements! poetic prose are replaced with boring textbook like translation. I realized we might have a problem when i read the "ABOUT THE AUTHOR" in the book and he had traslated the title of "THE GAY SCIENCE" to "THE JOYFUL KNOWING" uhm.... I'm re-buying the book today the kaufman version. dont buy this.