A nice explanation of a great thinkers thought

books:

	• What Nietzsche Really Said Robert C. Solomon, Kathleen M. Higgins Schocken, 2001 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 33 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

Finally we can stop the madness...

For years pop philosophical and, in some cases, academic understandings of Nietzsche have been grossly malformed. Nietzsches often hyperbolic vernacular has been abused by the worst of morons. One could site Hitler here if need be. We see this most frequently with postmodernists, nihilists and other chain-smoking, black-wearing parent haters who love statements like "god is dead" or frat boys Facebook quotes peppered with "that which does not kill us makes us stronger".
Previous scholars such as R.J. Hollingdale, Heidegger and Walter Kaufmann held very solid grasps on Neitzsches thought but none of them have sought to clear his name the way the authors of "What Nietzsche REALLY said" do. This book articulately delivers an abstract of Nietzsches philosophy while building a strong defense against the aforementioned morons. I recommend this book to anyone who seeks to understand Nietzsche. It is the most concise, intelligent defense of an extremely misunderstood philosopher that I have ever seen. Hopefully the authors will be successful in clearing his name so that he can once again be taken seriously by people, especially Christians, who need him more than ever.

for more information click here

A nice explanation of a great thinkers thought

I wish that I would have read, "What Nietzsche Really Said," before diving right into his main works, because the book helps debunk many of the myths that are held against the great Swiss philosopher (notice how I do not relate him to Germany as so many do, he hated the decadent Germans of his time), outlines his books, his theory of ethics, his ideas on truth (perspectivism) and gives a top ten list of the people Nietzsche celebrated and despised. The authors Solomon and Higgins are terrific in relating the esoteric information into simple form and this book would make a nice little reference guide for those studying the polemical philosopher.

for more information click here

Nietzsche Distilled and Made Accessible

Nietzsche is undoubtedly the most enigmatic, confusing, and ambiguous philosopher of all time. For most of us, we want answers, not more confusion. Fortunately, we have two very able individuals who have studied, analyzed, and understood Nietzsche, at least in a way that makes his insights accessible. They are Robert Solomon and Walter Kaufman. Solomon, an analytic philosopher by training and disposition, has unraveled much of Nietzsche in an articulate, coherent, and powerful way. The consequence is pregnant with riches of existential insight. His clarity and precision, the hallmarks of analytic philosophy, are everywhere evident.

Nietzsche's style and manner, so foreign to most of us, is his purpose. While Nietzsche has a handful of strong beliefs, his overriding belief is that of liberation from the imprisonment of our Western inheritance. Hostile to received Traditions, Nietzsche is determined to find alternative perspectives, but he's not about to become the very thing that he deplores, another dogmatist. Hence, rather than compelling arguments, a coherent world view, a grand metaphysic, an endorsement of slave morality, or other dogmatic claims, Nietzsche's scheme of liberation is to tear down the inherited frameworks, and give direction, but few prescriptions, to the alternatives. Solomon provides a fresh, clear, and coherent distillation of that project.

The project is inherently dangerous, and has been misused and abused by many, most notably Hitler. Nietzsche is partly responsible, because his deconstruction is more obvious than his reconstruction. But the new paradigm that Nietzsche intended had little to do with Hitler's agenda and misappropriation. Solomon is able to give us a "truer" Nietzsche, with a number of caveats, provisional claims, and a lot of tentativeness. But these "reservations" and "provisional perspectives" are themselves at the core of Nietzsche's existentialist thought. Rather than create a new metaphysic out of whole cloth, Nietzsche is content with providing the tools for us to work them out for ourselves. And yes, that's risky.

The hyper-rationalism inherited from Socrates's logocentrism, the "slave" morality inherited from Judeo-Christian nihilism, and the denial of our "animal" natures by the whole of Western philosophy are just a few of Nietzsche's targets. Such a logocentric, slavish, and dispassionate perspective is utterly false. To demonstrate the error, Nietzsche frequently finds resources in the pre-Socratics, where free inquiry still occurred, and where dogmatism is less evident. And one of Nietzsche's schemes is the use of the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus as tools for reconciliation. Apollo represents the strong, forceful, rational, and brave; Dionysus represents the carefree, receptive, emotive, and joyful. Unlike nearly all of Western Tradition, which sets Apollo over Dionysus, Nietzsche desires their reunification in an integral self.

Despite Solomon's masterful and persuasive overview, in a surprisingly short space, further synopsis here is not feasible. Suffice it for my purposes to hail this work as a great achievement, worthy of wide readership, and a life-affirming alternative to the West's nihilistic and impoverished "Man." Many, if not most, of Nietzsche's new perspectives on the integral life of "becoming who one is," rather than conforming to malformed conception of Humanity from Western nihilism, is truly liberating. Also, I'm more convinced than ever that direct acquaintance with Nietzsche is still improbable, at least for me, and I suspect for many. That makes Solomon's contribution even more valuable. In addition to Solomon and Kaufman, Rollo May (esp.) and Eric Fromm offer great insight from the psychological tradition.

In the wadi of nihilism and despair of the present day, despite our technological achievements to placate us, we are right to want a wholly different perspective about the most pressing questions about life itself. Our inherited Traditions have failed because they are fundamentally wrong. Fortunately, we can still reconnect with our true selves and make our lives meaningful and joyous once again. Nietzsche's seminal ideas can be of immense help, and Solomon's and Kaufman's, Fromm's, and May's insights from Nietzsche's treasury of wisdom are now accessible to those of us who cannot abide his confusion, enigma, and ambiguity. Highly recommended.

for more information click here

Very good overview

This is a good overview and introduction to Nietzsche, although the writing is sometimes a bit repetitive. But the book is pitched at the right level for someone who knows little or nothing about Nietzsche, but who would like to know more before delving into the original texts. There are a number of books around that analyze Nietzsche's work, but they tend to be advanced studies written for other Nietzsche experts, promoting some particular view or approach. Here you'll find a valuable chapter entitled "Faced with a Book by Nietzsche," that gives short synopses of each of his works, and in the order in which they were published. That latter is important, because Nietzsche's ideas developed and changed somewhat from one book to another; to make sense of those variations you need to know where in the stream you are dipping your toe. The chapters on God and morality are also quite good, and the glossary of favorite images at the back is well worth having around. The authors are also careful to warn the reader that "The Will to Power" is not really a book by Nietzsche, but rather a selection and arrangement by others of jottings from his notebooks, material that he did not choose to publish; those notes are sometimes interesting to Nietzsche scholars for the light they may throw on the things he did publish, but other uses are much harder to justify.

Solomon has a later book, 'Living With Nietzsche,' that overlaps a good deal with this one. This is the better written and more useful of the two. If you are looking to follow this one with a somewhat more advanced analysis, I'd recommend Brian Leiter's 'Nietzsche on Morality,' which is excellent.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

What Nietzsche Really Said gives us a lucid overview -- both informative and entertaining -- of perhaps the most widely read and least understood philosopher in history.

Friedrich Nietzsche's aggressive independence, flamboyance, sarcasm, and celebration of strength have struck responsive chords in contemporary culture. More people than ever are reading and discussing his writings. But Nietzsche's ideas are often overshadowed by the myths and rumors that surround his sex life, his politics, and his sanity. In this lively and comprehensive analysis, Nietzsche scholars Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins get to the heart of Nietzsche's philosophy, from his ideas on "the will to power" to his attack on religion and morality and his infamous Übermensch (superman).

What Nietzsche Really Said offers both guidelines and insights for reading and understanding this controversial thinker. Written with sophistication and wit, this book provides an excellent summary of the life and work of one of history's most provocative philosophers.

From the Hardcover edition.

for more information click here