Chat GPT recommended this book as part of my philosophy section. Frank tries to explain some Nietzschean teachings in it. I was excited for this book since I liked the Beyond Good and Evil book I just read by Nietzsche.
Sadly, I was disappointed. I did some background research and found that Mr. Scalambrino published this book in 2015 and has been teaching Nietzsche in universities since 2004. It seems like he might be from my home state of Ohio.
The problem is that Frank is a devout Catholic and is not shy about it through his teachings and many Bible verses in the book. I myself, being an atheist/agnostic, found this disturbing and forced. Nietzsche is known for his atheistic views in his writing, including saying “God is Dead” many times. Frank uses obscure Bible verses and other religious writings to interpret this to mean Jesus died on the cross and to infer Catholic beliefs from this and other Nietzsche verses. I think this is highly forced and, as Frank would say, “Looking for corners in a round room.”
Even though I didn’t like the first quarter of the book, I insisted on reading all of it. It is good to read things you don’t agree with to understand different perspectives. Even though I never came around to his religious interpretations, there were some good ideas/quotes I liked from the book:
- “Heaven has given us laughter as a counterweight against the many troubles of life.” – Kant
- “You are not a human being having a spiritual experience; you are a spiritual being having a human experience.” – Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
- The idea that every experience we have is a piece of art, either painted by nature or created by our soul’s interpretation of the senses. Every moment we are either viewing or creating art. This idea hit me because even God-awful experiences can be beautiful pieces of art.
- Anyone who knows my story knows that during the past few years I have been betrayed and deceived by those I cared for and trusted the most. I have become very despondent about people and life, trusting in general.
The following quote by Mother Teresa gave me comfort:
“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered—forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives—be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies—succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you—be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight—create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous—be happy anyway. The good you do today will often be forgotten—do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough—give your best anyway.
I would not recommend this book; I give it 2 out of 5 stars..
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