It is politically incorrect to admire Nietzsche, for obvious reasons made even more obvious by the following characterization of him in the respectable Webster’s Biographical Dictionary (1963). [This is the complete characterization. What precedes it are the basic facts of Nietzsche’s life; what follows it are his Werke]:
"He denounced all religion and championed the “morals of masters,” the doctrine of perfectibility of man through forcible self-assertion and glorification of the superman or overman (Übermensch). His theories are regarded as influencing the German attitude in the World War and in the Third Reich (1933)."
He is wickedly caricatured in the hilarious British comedy A Fish Called Wanda, and, generally speaking, there seems to be no one who would dare say a single good word about him.
Before I proceed with my fireworks of good words about him, let me offer just the briefest of refutations to Nietzsche’s criticism, in Webster’s Biographical Dictionary. Yes, he denounces religion for its hypocrisy. Yes, he prefers master morality to slave morality, but, as I discussed this somewhere else, master does not characterize a superior race, but mostly a superior character. Yes, he was admired by the Nazis, but so was Richard Wagner, admired all over the world for his genius. As for exerting an "influence," the Nazi ideology, like any other ideology, claimed its affinity to a number of philosophies, in order to establish its intellectual legitimacy. But all ideologies manipulate philosophies, and it is idiotic to make any philosophy responsible for any ideology.
This opening entry of the My Friend Nietzsche section makes the title speak for my own general attitude to Nietzsche. This could have been turned into a resplendent Apologia, but what can I say, even in a thousand consecutive words, better than what I have already said by now, in a million words scattered throughout all sections of my book? Perhaps, the latter is the best tribute to my friend Nietzsche that can be paid, and so be it!
But one caveat above all must be added here. I am not a champion of the “Nietzsche doctrine,” so to speak, concerning the superiority of the animal-like Superman, devoid of human sympathy toward the suffering of others; concerning the contemptible nature of Christianity, invented by a “holy epileptic,” as a “gospel of a completely ignoble species of man”; concerning his distinction between a man and a woman: “man shall be trained for war and woman for the recreation of the warrior, all else is folly.” Needless to say, in matters of "doctrine" I disagree with Nietzsche far more often than I agree with him.
It is not for his doctrines that I love Nietzsche, but for his superlative intellectual challenge, his incredible courage, his freedom of thought, his fascinating insights into the nature of men and things. In all of these qualities, he rises far above the most, and is inferior to none of the few greatest geniuses of all time. I love Nietzsche because he stands outside time and place, follows no political or personal agenda, cares nothing about authority, speaks his mind without holding anything back, and is, in every way imaginable, a kindred spirit, no matter what he says. This is what I expect from a perfect friend, and Nietzsche is such a friend. He energizes my mental faculties, and pushes me to think, and to think hard. For all this, I am infinitely grateful to him, and will be so grateful forever…
It’s obvious of course that should I attempt to bring into this section all my Nietzsche comments spread over some twenty other sections, this one will become too bloated and disproportionate in size to the rest and this is something that I have no intention of doing. Therefore, this section includes only a part of my Nietzsche-centered essays, and with this understanding let us proceed to other things.
After a number of general Nietzsche entries, I shall proceed with my comments on various Nietzsche texts. These will be organized in the manner which I first adopted in my Sources & Comments folder, which boils down to following the proper course of the Nietzsches Werke in their chronological order, as represented in my entry How Random Are Nietzsche’s Titles? where they are listed in the Appendix. Within each work, the place of each comment is coordinated with the relative places of the passages to which they belong. This simple procedure makes short shrift of any thematic coherence, but for the purpose of the latter I already have my thematic sections anyway...
"He denounced all religion and championed the “morals of masters,” the doctrine of perfectibility of man through forcible self-assertion and glorification of the superman or overman (Übermensch). His theories are regarded as influencing the German attitude in the World War and in the Third Reich (1933)."
He is wickedly caricatured in the hilarious British comedy A Fish Called Wanda, and, generally speaking, there seems to be no one who would dare say a single good word about him.
Before I proceed with my fireworks of good words about him, let me offer just the briefest of refutations to Nietzsche’s criticism, in Webster’s Biographical Dictionary. Yes, he denounces religion for its hypocrisy. Yes, he prefers master morality to slave morality, but, as I discussed this somewhere else, master does not characterize a superior race, but mostly a superior character. Yes, he was admired by the Nazis, but so was Richard Wagner, admired all over the world for his genius. As for exerting an "influence," the Nazi ideology, like any other ideology, claimed its affinity to a number of philosophies, in order to establish its intellectual legitimacy. But all ideologies manipulate philosophies, and it is idiotic to make any philosophy responsible for any ideology.
This opening entry of the My Friend Nietzsche section makes the title speak for my own general attitude to Nietzsche. This could have been turned into a resplendent Apologia, but what can I say, even in a thousand consecutive words, better than what I have already said by now, in a million words scattered throughout all sections of my book? Perhaps, the latter is the best tribute to my friend Nietzsche that can be paid, and so be it!
But one caveat above all must be added here. I am not a champion of the “Nietzsche doctrine,” so to speak, concerning the superiority of the animal-like Superman, devoid of human sympathy toward the suffering of others; concerning the contemptible nature of Christianity, invented by a “holy epileptic,” as a “gospel of a completely ignoble species of man”; concerning his distinction between a man and a woman: “man shall be trained for war and woman for the recreation of the warrior, all else is folly.” Needless to say, in matters of "doctrine" I disagree with Nietzsche far more often than I agree with him.
It is not for his doctrines that I love Nietzsche, but for his superlative intellectual challenge, his incredible courage, his freedom of thought, his fascinating insights into the nature of men and things. In all of these qualities, he rises far above the most, and is inferior to none of the few greatest geniuses of all time. I love Nietzsche because he stands outside time and place, follows no political or personal agenda, cares nothing about authority, speaks his mind without holding anything back, and is, in every way imaginable, a kindred spirit, no matter what he says. This is what I expect from a perfect friend, and Nietzsche is such a friend. He energizes my mental faculties, and pushes me to think, and to think hard. For all this, I am infinitely grateful to him, and will be so grateful forever…
It’s obvious of course that should I attempt to bring into this section all my Nietzsche comments spread over some twenty other sections, this one will become too bloated and disproportionate in size to the rest and this is something that I have no intention of doing. Therefore, this section includes only a part of my Nietzsche-centered essays, and with this understanding let us proceed to other things.
After a number of general Nietzsche entries, I shall proceed with my comments on various Nietzsche texts. These will be organized in the manner which I first adopted in my Sources & Comments folder, which boils down to following the proper course of the Nietzsches Werke in their chronological order, as represented in my entry How Random Are Nietzsche’s Titles? where they are listed in the Appendix. Within each work, the place of each comment is coordinated with the relative places of the passages to which they belong. This simple procedure makes short shrift of any thematic coherence, but for the purpose of the latter I already have my thematic sections anyway...
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