The Portable Nietzsche (Portable Library)

This one- volume anthology contains much of the most important writing of Nietzsche, the full text of ' Thus Spake Zarathustra', 'Twilight of the Idols', 'The AntiChrist','Nietzsche contra Wagner'. It also contains selections from his other books, notes and letters. In his introduction Kaufmann surveys the life and work of Nietzsche and makes an effort to place him historically. For Kaufmann Nietzsche is the spiritual father of much of modern analytic and existensial philosophy. He is one of the first thinkers to as Kaufmann sees it bring about the seperation of religious faith from philosphy. He is the thinker whose work was distorted by his sister and misused by the Nazis. For Kaufman Nietzsche is a fundamentally apolitical figure whose fundamental emphasis is on the development of the individual. And the heros of Nietzsche according to Kaufmann are great figures of mind and passion. Thus Kaufmann perhaps not completely successfully seeks to whitewash Nietzsche of negative effects of the ' superman' concept and of the ' beyond good and evil' celebration of a morality which conceivably could be taken, and was, to justify the most evil and cruel of human actions. Nietzsche is one of the most brilliant of all philosophical writers, and the epigramatic aphoristical and paradoxical character of his writing makes it often seem more a form of poetry than of philosophy. Kaufmann traces the stylistic stages of his development from the essay form of 'The Birth of Tragedy'to the aphoristic form of 'Human, All-too Human and then on to the rhapsody, satire and epigram of Zarathustra, and the brilliant sarcasm of ' The Wagner Case'. He compiled notes for 'The Will to Power' which he never wrote, and on the same day in hislatter years finished ' The Antichrist' on what Kaufmann calls a 'high pitched note of rhetoric ' and wrote in relative calm the preface for ' The Twilight of Idols.' Reading Neitzsche is at once a startling, surprising exciting disturbing and in some way confusing and confounding experience. He is often so brilliant and so unexpected that one wonders how he could possibly have written what he has. At the same time is thought is often contemptible and insulting as in his aphorisms on women. The great underlying themes of Nietzche, eternal recurrence, the going beyond good and evil, the coming of the Superman, the supposed death of God, the revaluation of values all it seems to me are problematic and in some cases wrong. This is perhaps only my way of seeing it, but I value Nietzsche more as brilliant literary artist than I do as thinker. My own judgment is that Nietzsche's extreme condemnation of Christian values, his concern for an elite few and contempt for the many are completely wrongheaded. Thus the pleasure I take in reading Nietzsche even under Kaufmann's expert guidance is a guilty and difficult one. His literary greatness is unassailable and there is much to be said in favor of his humane attitudes and courage ( especially in re

This tremendous volume is what gave me confidence that philosophy was not only accessible to me, but more than just academic abstraction. Critics who say that Nietzsche is "obvious" often miss the fact that his thinking was once considered blasphemous & unheard of. In an era that he felt was bogged down in nostalgia & blandness driven by mindless veneration, Nietzsche felt compelled to state what he thought people were denying. If you don't get this, then you won't see how he is still relevant today in a similar era of chronic rehashing of old values whose uselessness is forgotten or hidden by the varnishing given them in a post-global world. In fact, part of Nietzsche's challenge to thinking man is that the "obvious" without critical faculties hides untapped potential. It is only your attitude that is "obvious". This is the crux of his idea of the "reoccurring theme": do you use nostalgia as reflection? Restoration? Irrelevance? Do you go beyond it? Or do you sit idly fawning & worshipping it like a permanent acolyte; never going beyond the instruction manual? An early insight & major clue is given at the VERY BEGINING of this book in a "Letter To His Sister". In a reply to a comment she made about truth being "obvious", his answer condenses to a statement that NOTHING is "obvious" until someone WORKS IT OUT first in the course of human history. Nietzsche even had the foresight to see that his concise style would be often quoted without being truly understood, and he frequently says so in many writings included here. This is why this volume is so indispensible (i.e. you might flatter yourself that you KNOW Nietzsche, but you probably don't unless you've poured over him for awhile and had a "re-evaluation of all values" with his works). Ironically, he wanted it that way because he realized that the subtle is more often than not lost within style. Fortunately, he was a writer of BOTH great style AND substance; his style goes down easy while his substance is difficult, and this is the great misunderstanding of reading Nietzsche. Tragically, Nietzsche's statement ,God is dead, is easily quoted out of context by anyone wishing to re-establish blind belief in unquestioned authority by ripping him apart as simply an apologist for uncontrolled libertinism. Nothing is further from the truth, because the original, full statement (here quoted in its pre-Zarathustra form in the tale of "The Madman" as well) is "God is dead. WE HAVE KILLED HIM YOU & I..." It is a broadside to the quote from the Bible saying "God is love": we are capable of killing love, we can crush people's spirits & guilt, AFTER THE FACT, as preached by religion, is too late to undo memory. "Forgive & forget?" If forgiving takes forgetting, we will all wind up as amnesiacs... Fortunately, Walter Kaufmann is an excellent translator and guide. Much of his annotation in this book is as priceless as the philosopher himself. This is an essential volume of philosophy, an

Nietzsche stands as one of my favourite philosophers, and thinkers, alongside David Hume, and others. What makes "The Portable Nietzsche" so great, is in part accredited to Kaufmann's excellent translations, especially in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". He captures the eloquence of Nietzsche's message and creates a smooth transition from German to English. If you are at all interested in Nietzsche, or would like to become more aquainted with his works I highly recommend this book. I must also agree with other reviewers that "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" must be read several times, though I suggest the first read to be casual, and to add scrutiny and critical thinking with each successive read.Unlike a great deal of philosophers who appear stodgy, Nietzsche infuses his work with passion and fervour. His words are thought provoking, and in my case, life altering in a positive way. I don't know what else to say, other than this;If you have had the urge to know more about Nietzsche and his works, continue on with it. I consider The Portable Nietzsche more of a manual of life than a collection of theories. For the most part, Nietzsche is the voice of common sense, but he would rather have you decide for yourself, I believe. Nietzsche is not for the faint of heart, however, and is shrouded in controversy over various topics, including, but not limited to religion, sexism and others.In my opinion, the open minded reap the most benefit from Nietzsche's words.