As I continue my journey into philosophy, I had to include some Nietzsche. I’ve heard his name referenced a lot when discussing philosophy, so I started with Beyond Good and Evil because it was recommended by AI. A little background: Nietzsche was born in 1844 and attended the best universities of his time. In his later years, he resigned from teaching philosophy at a university to explore and write his own books, living in France, Italy, and Switzerland. He wrote this book in 1886. In 1889, he went insane and died in 1900.
Let’s get into it. He starts his book by questioning other philosophers who came before him, especially the Stoics. Stoics believe you must let nature happen and respond the best you can, acting as a statue in the wind. Nietzsche questions why we humans should fight nature, as we are a part of nature. We should embrace our natural urges. He talks a lot about the difference between free will and the will to power. I won’t lie; some of it was over my head.
He then goes into what are good morals, virtues, and what it means to be noble. He makes a lot of interesting points, which I’ll highlight later. The question of different virtues as to a slave versus master is really interesting. He is talking about powerful versus poor/weak. The “master” virtues include things like being strong and fearless, whereas the “slave” virtues are about being kind and generous.
It applies to today’s ruling classes in many ways. I could even apply it to our American political parties. When he talks about great patriotism to the fatherland, he seems to like German culture a lot. He focuses on it as being superior. This made me laugh, as they are just years away from losing two world wars. Then things start to go off the rails for me. He starts bashing the feminist movement and insists women’s only and greatest purpose is to bear strong children and rear them. He also talks a lot about different cultures, especially the Jews, saying they have the ability to take over Europe. It was an interesting read, and I am looking forward to my next book, which is by an author who explains Nietzsche’s views. As promised, here are some of the points he made that made me think, in no particular order:
- “There is no need to be a martyr for the truth. The truth is strong and powerful enough to defend itself.”
- “One should not go into churches. One wants to breathe pure air.”
- “The truth can be truthful and harmful at the same time. The measure of a man is how much truth he can take in.”
- “One must know how to conserve oneself; the harshest test of independence.”
- “Under conditions of pain, the moral man attains himself.”
- “The great epochs of our lives are the occasions when we gain the courage to rebaptize our evil qualities as our best qualities.”
- “It’s funny God learned Greek when he wanted to become a writer. It is more funny he was not better at it.”
- “One is punished most for one’s virtues.”
- “In revenge and in love, woman is more barbaric than man.”
- “Madness is something rare in individuals—but in groups, parties, peoples, ages—it is the rule.”
- “Honesty can be a very powerful vice.”
- “A great man sees everyone he meets as a means, delay, or hindrance, or as a temporary resting-place.”
- “When one has finished one’s house, one realizes that while doing so, one has learned unawares something one absolutely had to know before one began to build.”
This was a short book but took a little longer to read because I had to keep putting the book down to think about what I just read. If you are looking to find meaning in life, but don’t expect to find it, this is a good book for you. 4 out of 5 stars.
Larry is a Dark Web Legend!!!!! Rooting for you bud!!! His brother is living in his shadow