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Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits, Revised Edition

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In order to give form to his Overman, Nietzsche had to call to account many human failings and weaknesses, and then reveal their baseness to the world. Nietzsche identified so much that had to be rejected in human life and affairs, (and so much that constituted greatness), which is the reason for the sheer scope of "Human, All Too Human". In 638 short aphorisms it covers politics, warfare, ascetics, morals, art, poetry, marriage, crime & punishment, the soul, and the gamut of human feeling, emotion, motive, instinct, will to power, habit and need.

In Human, All Too Human", Nietzsche outlines the basis of his later, more focused works. It is distinguished from these by its lack of arrogance, lack of aggression and its lack of real direction. Chapters are harnessed together by titles such as "A Look At The State", "Man Alone With Himself", "Signs Of Higher And Lower Culture", Man In Society", and "Woman And Child".

The book was written just after Nietzsche gave up his professors chair at Basel in Switzerland, and around the time of his break from his erstwhile father-figure, Richard Wagner. Nietzsche had now lost the shackles of youth and employment and was at his most free-spirited and this book is testimony to that fact: "Human, All Too Human" is dedicated to deliciously-malicious free-spirits everywhere.

Less intense than some of his later work, this book evokes a walk in the mountains enjoying pleasant conversation with one of the most penetrating and enlightened minds in history. Less intense perhaps, but no less compelling or unsettling.

There are two readily available translations of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Human All Too Human". The first is a reprint from some unknown earlier translation, and there is no clear statement of who it is who did the translation. Had the translation been done by Walter Kaufmann or R. J. Hollingsdale, it would probably have been prominantly advertised. As it is, it is probably reprinted from the old, original translation, most of which Kaufmann and Hollingsdale have improved. But neither translated this book. The volume announces that it contains Parts One and Two, but this may be a slight misnomer. Part 2 of the volume is "Assorted Opinions and Maxims" and "The Wanderer and His Shadow". This may have been how these works were originally published in German, but if a commentator is referring to "Human All Too Human", they are referring only to Part One. One serious drawback of this edition is the unnamed editors have removed Nietzsche's paragraph numbers. For a work which will be cited in scholarly works, this borders on being unforgivable. There are several German and English editions of Nietzsche's works, all with different paginations; however, the paragraph numbering will be constant across all editions. This is why classical works such as Plato's dialogues have paragraph and line numbers, so texts can be found regarless of translator or if one is looking at the original Greek. Another absence which reduces the value of this edition is that there are no footnotes. Nietzsche never footnoted his references, so one has no clue, when he refers to an expression by Keats or Horace, where that expression may have come.

The second edition (this one), a new translation by Mariaon Faber and Stephen Lehmann, with introductory notes and an introduction by Arthur Danto, is far superior, if what you want is the work entitled "Human All Too Human". It has all the original paragraph numbers and Ms. Faber has added plenty of footnotes to indicate the source of Nietzsche's references, even when they are obscure, as when he refers to a "Homeric laugh", she comes up with one reference in The Iliad and two references in The Odyssey. There is an especially important footnote at the beginning, showing a quote from Descartes (in both English and French) which Nietzsche had in a German edition of the book. The English edition cited above has nothing of that. The most important difference may be that Faber's edition translates all the items Nietzsche cites in French, Latin, Greek, or what have you. Nietzsche did not translate them into German, and the unnamed translator did not bother to translate them into English. It too me hours to track down the source of a quote from Horace in Latin. Faber has it right there, as plain as day.

On the basis of a cursory look, the two translations are very similar. The main difference I could see is that Faber points out where Nietzsche invents words (an ever so easy practice in German, which so commonly makes up compound words at the drop of a hat.) If all you want is "Human All Too Human", and especially if you need it for some research, do yourself a big favor and get Faber's University of Nebraska Press edition.

Friedriech Nietzsche lends some profound insights to the human psyche. His "will to power" idea is very compelling indeed. I liked this book much better than "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". In "All Too Human", Nietzsche is more direct, less thick and more clear. His ability to know the human soul makes this work almost as much an outstanding work of psychology as it is an outstanding work of philosophy. Sometimes, it is almost scarry how much Nietzsche probes into the dark reccesses of the human mind. Certainly Nietzsche's psychological ideas are as valid as Freud and Jung's rather far-out notions.

In some ways, Nietzsche's ideas are close to William James' theory of "habit". In other ways, he is close to Alfred Adler's "striving for superiority".

It is power at the base of all things: power over nature; over others; over even ourselves. I don't know if I agree but it gives a person a lot to think about.

This book is written in the form of 638 commentaries on various subjects. Some commentaries are in the form of one sentence; others are up to a few pages. These commentaries can be read in sequence or in random order.

I would say that this book is a useful addition to anyone's psychology library.

I am a yogi from an educated family, and my parents gave me this book when I was 12. Nietzsche's presentation is typically unsystematic and he was a pioneer ensuring that we could view philosophical beliefs in a non-linear manner. The dichotomy of his unstructured book organization and his clarity and precision of thought create a tension that can break through many Western Black/White, Right/Wrong thought patterns to see deeper truths. When he says "our humanity is to be overcome" - some have used this to justify eugenics, nationalism, and seeing others as "less than." If you read his entire thoughts (get the book!), it is more about overcoming the fragmented aspects of the self that weaken us, so we can be stronger and more pure. This is a spiritual thought from the man heralded as atheistic. Dig deep, and you will find that Nietzsche is beautiful. Yoga community friends - Neitzsche did not justify atrocities. He challenged us to grow and become better than our base qualities. He paved the way for Deserida's gloriously independent thoughts, and was an inspiration for the pop philosopher Ayn Rand's radical worship of the individual over "the masses" (which can be viewed as "cultural conditioning" in our times. This text is applicable to our lives today as the Tao Te Ching. For a completely different perspective (for balance of thought) read about Jainism as well. Then find your truth. Deep wisdom is timeless.