Random Friedrich Nietzsche Podcasts

Of The Twilight of the Idols, Nietzsche says in Ecce Homo: “If anyone should desire to obtain a rapid sketch of how everything before my time was standing on its head, he should begin reading me in this book. That which is called ‘Idols’ on the title-page is simply the old truth that has been believed in hitherto. In plain English, The Twilight of the Idols means that the old truth is on its last legs.” Certain it is that, for a rapid survey of the whole of Nietzsche’s doctrine, no book, save perhaps the section entitled “Of Old and New Tables” in Thus Spake Zarathustra, could be of more real value than The Twilight of the Idols. Here Nietzsche is quite at his best. He is ripe for the marvellous feat of the transvaluation of all values. Nowhere is his language – that marvellous weapon which in his hand became at once so supple and so murderous – more forcible and more condensed. Nowhere are his thoughts more profound. But all this does not by any means imply that this book is the easiest of Nietzsche’s works. On the contrary, I very much fear that unless the reader is well prepared, not only in Nietzscheism, but also in the habit of grappling with uncommon and elusive problems, a good deal of the contents of this work will tend rather to confuse than to enlighten him in regard to what Nietzsche actually wishes to make clear in these pages. (Excerpt from A. Ludovici’s Preface)

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The Joyful Wisdom (later translated as The Gay Science), written in 1882, just before Zarathustra, is rightly judged to be one of Nietzsche’s best books. Here the essentially grave and masculine face of the poet-philosopher is seen to light up and suddenly break into a delightful smile. The warmth and kindness that beam from his features will astonish those hasty psychologists who have never divined that behind the destroyer is the creator, and behind the blasphemer the lover of life. In the retrospective valuation of his work which appears in Ecce Homo the author himself observes with truth that the fourth book, “Sanctus Januarius,” deserves especial attention: “The whole book is a gift from the Saint, and the introductory verses express my gratitude for the most wonderful month of January that I have ever spent.” Book fifth “We Fearless Ones”, the Appendix “Songs of Prince Free-as-a-Bird,” and the Preface, were added to the second edition in 1887.

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Beyond Good and Evil, by Friedrich Nietzsche A searing indictment of concepts like “truth” and “language” Beyond Good and Evil, by Friedrich Nietzsche is a deeply thought provoking book that forms one of the keystones of modern thought and politics. In this book, Nietzsche takes the position that our subservience to fixed perspectives that are forced on us by our language and our ideals make us incapable of perceiving reality. He propounds the theory that ideals are not fixed but change over time, often dramatically, and end up becoming the exact opposite of what they originally were. For instance an abstraction like “good” could mean anything depending on who is using it. Wars have been fought, people have been silenced, disease and destruction have been let loose based on what is considered “good” by certain countries and people in power. Hence, the meaning and interpretation of words really depend on the will that chooses to manipulate them. The will in turn is subject to a shifting and eternally changing viewpoint, based on the power and status of those who operate it. Nietzsche then goes on to propose a new way of thinking that goes beyond such concepts like “good” and “evil.” These and other such concepts are a bold and revolutionary way of looking at the way human beings reflect, act and justify their actions. We begin to see the world not in terms of just linear, black and white or binary terms but as a more complex, multidimensional entity, where sometimes contradictory concepts seem to coexist. Beyond Good and Evil is divided into nine chapters with an epilogue entitled “Aftersong – From the High Mountains” a long narrative poem in which the narrator calls upon his friends to join him on the mountain top. However, when his friends arrive, they don’t recognize him. He has become hard and aggressive after living for so long in such inhospitable terrains. They begin to leave one by one and the narrator waits for new friends to arrive, as he realizes that concepts like friendship can never be fixed or eternal. Friedrich Nietzsche was born in the old Prussian province of Saxony. His father died when Nietzsche was a child and he was brought up by his mother and her family. He attended a private school with famous contemporaries like Wagner, Krug and Pinder. His interest in music and languages was encouraged by his mother and he joined the Schulpforta where he studied several languages and got a firm grounding in poetry and music. He went on to study theology and philosophy and later joined the Prussian army. He was injured in the war and after leaving the army, began to work as a professor in Basel, Switzerland. From this time on, he was plagued by ill-health and with financial and emotional support from his friends, began to devote time to writing and compiling his thoughts on philosophy. He suffered a mental breakdown and finally died of multiple illnesses in 1900. Many great Western philosophers like Heidegger, Foucault and Sartre owe a great deal to Nietzsche other writers like Shaw and Yeats based many of their imaginative writings on his thoughts. Freud was another pioneer who was heavily influenced by Nietzsche’s concepts. Beyond Good and Evil is indeed a great addition to your collection of philosophical books. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

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