Product Description

`What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.' Always provocative, the Friedrich Nietzsche of Beyond Good and Evil (1886) is at once sceptical psychologist and philosopher-seer, passionately unmasking European society with his piercing insights and uncanny prescience. This masterpiece of his maturity considers quintessential Nietzschean topics such as the origins and nature of Judeo-Christian morality; the end of philosophical dogmatism and beginning of perspectivism; the questionable virtues of science and scholarship; liberal democracy, nationalism, and women's emancipation. Written in his most masterful style, full of irreverence and brio, Nietzsche dissects self-deluding human behaviour, bankrupt intellectual traditions, and the symptoms of social decadence, while at the same time advancing an extra-moral wisdom to be shared by those kindred soul who think 'beyond good and evil'. This new translation of Beyond Good and Evil provides readers with a true classic of modernity that sums up those forces and counterforces in nineteenth-century Western Civilisation that to an astonishing degree have also determined and continue to inform the course of our own century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1333 in Books
• Published on: 1998-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

About the Author
Marion Faber is Professor of German at Swathmore College, Pennsylvania. Robert C. Holub is Professor and Chair of the Department of German, University of California at Berkeley.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating insights
This is a fascinating book, a crucial theme of which is the support for a grown-up way of existance that has sadly been overshadowed by that of lesser minds. Another thread running through the book is the idea of the 'will to power' as the key to understanding our lives. Along the way, we also get opinions on the woman's relation to the kitchen; what it means to be a recluse; flashing criticism of the English and academics; criticism of Kant and other philosophers; a brilliant investigation of the 'master' morality, and just about anything else you could possibly imagine. Nietzsche's use of language is masterful in its creativity, colour, allure and entertainment value. His insights are profound and always accurate (perhaps with the exception of when he is talking about music). This really is a wondeful book.

Go with the Cambridge version
Our college accidentally bought the Penguin version of BGE, and as a student of languages I can tell you that the translation quality is very poor. Some passages seem to lose their meaning entirely for lack of a feeling for the overall text on the part of the translator. Eventually I gave up on the Penguin copy and went for the Cambridge one - the difference was immense. I would definitely recommend the Cambridge copy.

In terms of the text itself, BGE is one of the most important books ever written, and one of the most fun.

Best place to start with Nietzsche
Many start with the better-known "Thus spoke Zarathoustra" but this book is a clearer and more accessible exposition of Nietzsche's mature philosophy. The book is organized under chapter headings dealing with the main areas Nietzsche was concerned with : philosophy and philosophers, religion, art, the genealogy of morals etc. as well as various brilliant aphorisms. Above all, do not believe the bitter reviews of those who were probably looking for a manual of traditional or religious morality - Nietzsche's aim was precisely to attack these and replace them with something better. But beyond his polemical aspect, Nietzsche is an ESSENTIAL philosopher for our self-understanding because he reintroduced the body into the western philosophical tradition, thus reversing the idealistic tradition which started with Plato. Thus he is of the highest importance whether or not one agrees with all of his conclusions. This is the best and clearest introduction to his thought.