Just for shits and giggles, I picked up Thus Spoke Zarathustra. I've not read much philosophy before (only Plato' Republic) so I thought I'd expand my mind a bit.

But this book is...a little difficult. I'm persevering. I know Nietzsche was supposed to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic but Zarathustra is so hard to comprehend.

I'm still in the first book, and Nietzsche's proselytizing on familial love, neighbourly love and friendship and it all seems pretty frothy-mouthed to me.

Maybe it's the cold logicalist in me. I enjoy Nietzsche's energetic writing style, but none of it makes sense to my poor left-sided brain!

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everything's shit, and getting worse.

Please please please...the guy's called "Nietzsche".
I wouldn't normally say something as he does has a very difficult name, but the thread *is* about him after all.

Oh, and I am told Nietzsche has some very deep things to say. I just never got to them because this pretentious frothing - and frothing it is - put me off reading.

I did try Zarathustra, but never got into it.

In Ecce Homo, I got treated to an entire paragraph about his bowel movements and then one about the size of his wang. Honestly. How important can one man consider himself?

Well, one of his books is called, "Why I Am So Wise." Egomaniac, he was.

I know! That is sooo funny! And the next one is called "Why I write such brilliant books" or something of that sort (only read it in German).

That has got to be ironic...hasn't it?

Real Zarathustrianism (or to be technical, Zoroastrianism) is much more interesting than anything written by Neitzsche. Thats just my opinion.

Although, if you look at these works another way it is almost like he takes himself apart in an almost playful sort of way. The energy of his writing is addictivce, that is for sure. And some of his concepts: amor fati, the eternal reoccurrance, the Apollonian and the Dionysian among others are very interesting to me.

His Ecce Homo and Thus Spoke Zarathustra are strange and weird, yes. But very interesting. That and has some very good quotes.

I remember reading some of his work in high school Philosophy and thinking that compared to the other people we were studying his was a much more active rigorous voice and language ... like poetry gone wrong in a weird and exciting way, The others ... were rather dry and didactic by comparison. It could be that Nietzsche dealt with a lot of themes that interested me at the time (and still does to an extent).

There are probably others who can articulate what he says much more efficiently, and without the women-bashing part, But his writing was interesting. That's for sure.

Nietzsche is my favorite philosopher. his prose can be difficult...but the ideas he expresses are extremely thought-provoking. and he includes some beautiful poetry in Also Sprach Zarathustra.
i'd include some...but i'd have to translate it first...because i have all his books in German.
however, since one of my jobs is being a translator...i just don't feel like devoting any free time to it at the moment.

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Mythos/girl

Yes I do like Nietszche's style. The introduction gave examples from The Gay Science too, and it seemed very insightful! Except for the women bashing, yeah

Mythos, do I have your MSN?

That Nietzsche is a tricky beggar, as this short clip illustrates.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=79vdlEcWxvM

quote:

Originally posted by Dark Mark:

Mythos, do I have your MSN?

No, actually. But it's on the IM list. Hold on ...

ETA: There. Done.