Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is--Revised Edition

Nietzsche's literary addendum to his philosophical oeuvre is, at its root, a radically modern autobiography. Written weeks before his collapse into paralysis, these are the final reflections of cogency from this great thinker; the sections are indeed self-inflated and passionate, with titles like `Why I am So Wise,' and `Why I am So Clever,' etc. However, Nietzsche is finally dubious about his reputation and whether or not he will ever be truly understood. He insists that his name "will be associated with the memory of something tremendous," and indeed it would. His work sought to expose the power structures of old societies and to expose the moral systems of Christianity. Nietzsche's tone is eerily prophetic as he insists that "there will be wars the like of which no one has ever seen," his stylish prose rings of a bold yet hysterical urgency. However, at the foundation of Nietzsche's thought is one of the great and subtle tensions in philosophy, the idea that his negating and destroying are "conditions of saying Yes." This is the difficulty of Nietzsche, who is all too easily categorized as the "Will to Power" philosopher of the modern period. We are still catching up to his profound insight, and this self-analysis should be a window into his genius and original intentions.

Ecce Homo is a book written by a man of genius, solitude and an overwhelming insight to the times in which he lived. In his depiction of the society that has come and past, it's striking how much the people of then are like the people of now. When he spoke of the judgement, misunderstanding and blatant disrespect based solely on an image, he spoke of the cliques of the modern day. When he spoke of the shallow, moral-filled strong arms that controlled society, he spoke of the society of today. Thus the life of a philosopher. In this book, he reflects on his past. It is his version of an autobiography. He talks of past works, reinstates his beliefs with more clarity, and of other admired artists/philosophers and their works that have impacted him. The book is almost like an essay, with his old beliefs coming to light and covering new grounds, new theories put on the table and a strong voice that makes for a delivery that was anything but shaky in disposition. What I liked most about Ecce Homo was Nietzche's unflinching conviction to his unpopular perspective on religion, morality and life. Amongst his strong points were his ideas or one liners that leave you pondering after you have put the book down for the night. Also powerful was his voice that reflected his mental state at the time in which Ecce Homo was "conceived". Not to mention his plea for all followers of his readings to learn from him, expand due to him and then forget him. To disconnect the connection and move on. To claim the new ideas as only your own. There was nothing to hate about the book as far as I am concerned. I have read several of his works, and where they showed his weaknesses as being against society, this final work has really summed up the man well. It leaves no doubt in your mind as to where he stands and who he is. And given his fate, I'd be happy to have this be my final testament if I were him. I highly recommend this read to all with an open mind; to anyone who is bored with standard teachings or beliefs; or anyone who is lonely as hell and can't see the beauty and clarity to such circumstances.

In Ecce Homo, Nietzsche, clocked in the overt convention of the critical autobiography, lashes out at the practice of divorcing art from action. He takes aim at the reification of the linguistic world, which he believes has grown at the expense of the pre-linguistic world and his quarrel is with those who use words to mediate their experiences in the world in order to deny their own heroic capabilities."Saying 'Yes' to life," says Nietzsche, "is its strangest and hardest problem; the will to life rejoicing over its inexhaustibility even in the sacrifice of its highest types--that is what I call Dionysian, that is what I understood as the bridge to the psychology of the tragic poet." This Dionysian status, he goes on to say, is not gained through "thumbing through books," but by suffering through experience and rejoicing in the vitality of living.Nietzsche also writes, "In questions of decadence I am experienced." In this he intimates his own experience of life denial through words and his imagery compares intellectual endeavors with physical conditions, e.g. digestion."The German spirit," he says, "is an indigestion: it does not finish with anything." Nietzsche uses the human stomach as a metaphor of the reification of the linguistic world. The stomach digests food by breaking it down into its component parts, readily recognizable to physiology but having little to do with the original product.An orange, after all is not just vitamin C. Furthermore, says Nietzsche, what the body cannot use is rejected as waste product. When disorders of the stomach occur, the body cannot distinguish between waste and nutrient and consequently it churns endlessly, causing distress to the entire organism. Nietzsche, himself, is not embarrassed by his experience of decadence but sees it as something which has given him a special sensitivity to the "signs of ascent and decline."For Nietzsche, the world is a chaotic place, given order only by the imposition of human will. Humans, in this way, says Nietzsche, create something out of nothing. However, in the face of the "abyss," man creates and acts as if his creation is real, in such a manner as to allow himself the vital and joyous activity of affirming the very importance of his creation. The heroic figure then moves on towards greater acts of creation using each personal, willful creation as a stepping stone, not towards an ultimate goal, but towards other projects. Nietzsche tells us to beware of the organizing "idea" which "...leads back from side roads and wrong roads...as a means towards a whole." The endless road of "becoming" is traveled by a will which is excited and invigorated by its trip, enjoying its stops along the way, but which ultimately has no other purpose but to go further and further as the journey becomes more and more exhausting.For Nietzsche, the battle is always emphasized over the goal. It is a simple matter, he tells us, to conquer that which is already beneath you. To move b

"Ecce Homo, on eof the supreme masterpieces of German prose, is perhaps the strangest 'autobiography' ever written""In late 1888, only four weeks before his final collapse into madness, Nietzsche (1844-1900) set out to trace his development as a tragic philosopher. He examines the heroes he has identified with, struggled against, and then overcome - Schopenhauer, Wagner, Christ - he predicts the cataclysmic impact of his forthcoming revaluation of all values, and he gives final, definitive expression to his main beliefs. Throughout he employs the range of exuberant but unsettling styles descibed in Michael Tanner's Introduction, 'the high spirits, the manic self-celebrations, the parodistic orgies', which blend with a far more elegiac voice in a way 'that is uniquely moving, especially when one knows that total and permanent breakdown was imminent.'"Isn't this what we are looking for when we go to read an autbiography? Isn't this the spirit that those who choose to write their autobiographies are interested in? Nietzsche was definitley ahead of his time in this genre of prose...take a look at Martha Stewart and Oprah....

In his autobiography "Ecce Homo" Friedrich Nietzsche recounts his life and works. Nietzsche probably felt the need for this work because he feared that he was "not understood" by his readers. History proved him right in his suspicion about us readers. The autobiography closes with the question "Have I been understood?-Dionysos against the Crucified...." "Ecce Homo" should not be read as an introduction to Nietzsche. I recommend this book for those who have read some of Nietzsche's works or at least an introductory text to Nietzsche's philosophy.