Recommend a Nietzsche book

[eulerfan]

When I want to tackle a difficult author, I go with his easiest work first.

When I decided to read The Brothers Karamazov, I picked up Crime and Punishment and read that first.

When I decided to read Gravity's Rainbow, first thing I did was buy The Crying of Lot 49. Then I got V.

I don't even want to go into how many books I read to prepare myself for Ulysses.

So, if you want to go my way, I think Ecce H0m0 is the one to choose. I just think it's his easiest read and he's pretty funny in it. But my sense of humor is pretty twisted. I think Henry Miller is hilarious.

This made me think of my favorite quote of his. I think I'll change my sig.

P.S. The name is probably familiar to you because of a song. You know that song they played whenever you saw the monolith in 2001 a space Odessy? dum dum BA DAAAA!! bum bum bum bum bum bum. dum dum BA DAAAA!!!

It's called Also Sprach Zarathustra.

[OneStrike]

That's a fair point, eulerfan. I was pulling for Genealogy of Morals for two main reasons. Firstly it's from the latter half of his career, as is Ecce ****, and I think Nietzsche is one of those philosophers/authors who actually did progress in improving both his style and the perspicuity of his thinking over the course of his academic career.

Secondly, I think it deals with an issue that not only has a fascination that's a fresh today as it was when written, but which lends itself to Nietzsche's strengths. He's at his best, IMO, when he's on the attack and ripping through what he sees as the conceits of past and present ideologues.

Ecce **** is a great book, and it's important for anyone who wants to get a good understanding of Nietzsche and his work, but it's so intensely personal in a lot of ways that I think a more typical work written in a less introspective manner provides a better general overview of his thought and style.

[OneStrike]

Oh, and I don't know if you've read Genealogy of Morals, but IMO it's as easy-going if not more so than Ecce ****.

[Ray Pina]

I think the important question you have to ask yourself Ironfist is what are you looking to get out of Nietzsche?

I was a Philo major in college and got big into him at one point, as well as Hume, Decarte, ect. But all I found were word arguments and cliches, such things like one could never put their foot into the same river twice. No duh!

I can't get into books anymore where a man is trying to pass on his view and model of the world and man's place in it -- unless they are extremely excpetional.

I have always been partial to eastern philo -- especially Taoism -- which sticks to a singular mentality: your place right here and now.

But all roads I guess.

Things change. Hopefully you are changing, growing, day by day. Western philosophy in some sense is less open then science, which seeks new answers. With philo it still comes down to HOW DO YOU perceive the world. That's your world.

Enjoy though, it beats the hell out of American Idle and Survivor VI: the quest for oxygen on the moon.

[KC Elbows]

Fred Nietzsche did a great book on the history of canned meat. It was called "Thus Spoke the Extruda". Great book.

Someone shoot me. I'm trolling philosophy threads.

[eulerfan]

AHHH, I have read it.

However, to be fair, I started with Ecce ****, myself. I may have attributed the ease of Genealogy to my familiarity with his writing style when it was, in fact, an easier read than Ecce.

I talked to a bunch of people about where to start and most suggested Ecce but I think that was because my intention was to read his oeuvre. It was a while ago but I think the intention was to read a more personal work, to understand the psyche before getting into the philosophy.

So, Genealogy it is, then. Good show.

[Chang Style Novice]

Philosophy is for losers. Fine Arts is where it's at! to understand existence, what you must do is stare unblinkingly at this until it all becomes clear. Of course, it will take longer than if you could view it from every angle in person, but it'll still be a better use of your time than silly ol' reading Nietzche.

This may help, too.

edit -

Omigod, she's read Pynchon! Girl, you are too tempting for words...

[quiet man]

Ecce **** (censored)? H0m0?
So, basically, when Pontius Pilate said those words to Jesus Christ, he was actually saying: "Behold the ****sexual"?
I think this auto-censor is playing some silly games on us...

I knew Latin was dirty!

[quiet man]

Omigod, she's read Pynchon! Girl, you are too tempting for words...

CSN, I agree with you 100%. Any woman who reads Thomas Pynchon deserves a giant plus in my book ...

Delivered by W.A.S.T.E.(tm)

[fa_jing]

I praise, I do not reproach, [nihilism's] arrival. I believe it is one of the greatest crises, a moment of the deepest self-reflection of humanity. Whether man recovers from it, whether he becomes master of this crisis, is a question of his strength. It is possible. . . . (Complete Works Vol. 13)

[eulerfan]

Originally posted by Chang Style Novice

Omigod, she's read Pynchon! Girl, you are too tempting for words...

Oh yeah, I love the weirdness.

You like Pynchon? You should try an author named William T. Vollman. "You Bright and Risen Angels"
It's a pretty cool book but not one I would recommend to many.

[Chang Style Novice]

it's on the list, then. Right now I'm just doing a little light reading and trying to finish LotR before the next movie comes out.

I'm super impressed that you've read Joyce. That's outta my league so far. The toughest sob I've made it through a novel by is Faulkner, and I wasn't able to finish Absalom! Absalom! even though I was enjoying it.

[guohuen]

Beware the Nietzche! Makes young people (not jung) smoke skinny cigarettes, dress in black and express fatalistic views.

[fa_jing]

Guohen - actually, it was Sartre and the Left-bank crowd in Paris that popularized that look. Nietzsche neither drank nor smoked.

[eulerfan]

I don't really like Faulkner. Flannery O'Connor, on the other hand....

Actually, if you'd prefer something easier at the moment, I have another suggestion.

This is sort of hard to explain. You know how people who are hard core about music LOVE King Crimson. People who aren't pretty serious about music don't really like them that much.

But there are bands that are much more mainstream, more palatable, easier to appreciate who were heavily influenced by them. Like Primus.

There is a sci-fi author named Neal Stephenson who is the Primus to Pynchon's King Crimson.

His web site is pretty funny:
http://www.well.com/user/neal/

Put Don Delillo on your list, too.

And.......

Somebody shut me up.