The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs

It's hard to give a cursory review of a book of aphorisms. This edition of 'The Gay Science' however comes with observations by the superlative Nietzschian commentator, Walter Kaufmann, who says that "this book is a microcosm in which we find almost all of Nietzsche: epigrams and songs, aphorisms and...philosophical problems, ethics and theory of knowledge, reflections on art and on the death of God, the eternal recurrence and even Zarathustra." This is about as good a review of 'The Gay Science' as any.I must say that of the 4 other Nietzschian works I have read (BG & E, Geneology of Morals, BOT, and Antichrist) this is the best, most complete, and most enjoyable so far. This book showcases Nietzsche for what is probably his most noticable strength: his ability as a psychologist and sociologist. He seems to have a good understanding of the types of innate moves people possess and utilize in their respective environments. Probably his understanding of exatcly what that environment is, namely, his sense of objective reality, is what allows him to comment so precisely on human nature. True, he's an indefensibly offensive misogynist and war monger, and that notwhithstanding, many of his observations are still germane in this day and age, which suggests an accute sense of psychology and anthropology on his part; although naturally a bit dated. Of course, I believe that in modern America we tend to discount the utter sagacity of 19th century Europeans in their pragmatism. Perhaps Nietzsche just seems sagacious compared to the discourse of present day America. His comments on hegemony, or how the ruling class manipulates the masses into cooperation are great. Nietzsche's love of science and his comments on the silliness of self-proclaimed objective types is excellent too. The opening aphorism of Book Two, entited "To the Realists-" is a clarion mockery to those so enamoured with logic that they deny, zombie-like, their own humanity and necessary (if not intentional) delusion.Previously I was confused by Nietzsche's style. After hearing some lectures by professor Bob Solomon I came to understand how utterly ironic Nietzsche is trying to be in his writing from the outset. The title of this book, the 'Gay' science is trying to tell us that. Only by not taking Nietzsche seriously, by understanding his intentional irony and sarcasm, can one begin to hear him seriously. For all this book's sturm und drang it is frivolous and insignificant; and what of life isn't? so be gay and carefree my friends (while keeping watch with a jaundiced eye)! hence the nascent, cheerful, crushing existentialism of Nietzsche. Life is a tale told by an idiot signifying nothing, so let's go have a beer and catch some of the performance art of the wise, having ourselves a good laugh over their wardrobes and posturing. In this context, in his clever craftiness and irony, Nietzsche's message congeals to reveal the mind of, if not a mentally deranged person (who of us isn't after all)

This is my favorite work of Nietzsche's. This book, among other things, contains two key announcements that will shape Nietzsche's next work, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra." The first pronouncement is the death of god. Simply put, the god has become unbelievable--that is, belief in god has become too "everyday", it no longer has the vitality that a great myth needs (and remember, Nietzsche thinks that we need myths to survive). This first announcement leads to the second, that of the eternal return. Between these two critical passages, we encounter "the madman", who can be interpreted as depicting the nihilism, or the general weightlessness, created upon the death of god. The people need a new myth, Nietzsche thinks. Thus, he presents the eternal return, the claim that everything happes the same, over and over-- the "heaviest weight". It is important to note that Nietzsche never gives any explanation or support for explaining the reality of the eternal return, in fact, he introduces it by way of an imaginary demon. Ironically, as Nietzsche was so critical of previous philosophers as merely being "expressions of personal prejudices", his treatment of the eternal return, namely, his claim that it is, at first, the most terrifying thought (and also the source of the greatest joy later in Zarathustra), is probably just the expression of his own poor health, etc. Sorry, Nietzsche, but for people living comfortable lives (and not just naive followers of dogma or unarticulated hedonists), the eternal return really isn't a "heavy thought" at all--especially since it is just a thought. Regardless, in addition to these primary declarations, "The Gay Science" is full of some of Nietsche's most interesting arguments on morality and truth, although in a less organized form than "Beyond Good and Evil."

Nietzsche's The Gay Science proposes an antidote to the condition of contemporary scholarship. As opposed to what he saw as contemporary scholars' ant-like drudgery in amassing facts, he recommends "the gay science," a kind of scholarship that would be lighthearted and deliberately "superficial--out of profundity" as he claims that the Greeks were. Aware of the murkier aspects of human existence, the ancient Athenians responded by taking aesthetic delight in life and becoming "adorers of forms, tones, of words." In his own era, in which many felt incapable of transforming reality, Nietzsche proposed that this would be the appropriate convalescence for scholars, as it had been for him in his own personal life.In The Gay Science, the infamous statement "God is dead" appears for the first time. The most important mention of this belief comes in the section called "The Madman." The madman in this section appears in the marketplace and makes the announcement "God is dead" to the scientific atheists who have gathered there. After the atheists merely laugh at him, the madman realizes that he has come too early, and he goes around to different towns singing funeral hymns during masses.This parable suggests the inappropriateness of the popular characterization of Nietzsche as the hardened atheist who delights in nothing more than debunking other people's beliefs. Nevertheless, the perspective that Nietzsche proposes throughout The Gay Science is naturalistic and aesthetic, in opposition to traditional religious views. Indeed, many of the work's sections might be considered practical advice for the spiritually sensitive atheist who is concerned lest he or she return to old religious habits out of desperation. Nietzsche proposes as an alternative to religious views that seek life's meaning in an afterlife, an immanent appreciation of this life in aesthetic terms. Ideal, he suggests, is the experience of amor fati (love of fate), in which one loves one's life, with all its flaws, just for what it is.Nietzsche's most complex and controversial image for the satisfaction that one would ideally take in one's earthly life is his doctrine of eternal recurrence. The concept of eternal recurrence seems to suggest that time is cyclical, with the entire sequence of all events recurring over and over again. In Nietzsche's published works, this concept is first suggested in Book Four of The Gay Science entitled "The Greatest Stress."

This book contains the famous description of the madman announcing the Death of God. Obviously Nietzsche sees himself as the madman, sacrificing himself to bring humanity the awful news. What's odd is that Nietzsche was certainly not the first person to proclaim God's death; in fact, as he himself notes elsewhere, many educated people had already become either agnostic or atheistic. None of them, however, found this as earthshaking as Nietzsche. The reason, I think, is that he had an essentially religious nature. The word "spiritual" recurs throught the book. In one remarkable passage he even chastises St. Augustine for being insufficiently spiritual.The Gay Science is a pivitol book for Nietzsche because it is the first in which the tension between the spiritual seeker and the atheist becomes manifest. Gone is the skeptical pose of "Human All Too Human"; instead we have the anguish of a man torn between two conflicting ideals. The tension, while it ravaged Nietzsche, did produce some brilliant ideas and unforgettable prose, even if it did not ultimately lead to a liveable philosophy.

Kaufmann has done another excellent job with his translation of Nietzsche's most complete collection of thoughts. It is here that the famous adage "God is Dead" is first decreed. The Gay Science is a beautiful work of literature, and at the same time, a sort of summation of many of Nietzsche's previous and later books. The Gay Science is a must for anyone interested in Nietzsche's philosophy. And no one translates Nietzsche (or any other German philosopher) better than Walter Kaufmann.