Nietzsche: A Critical Life (Paperback)

by Ronald Hayman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Although still mistakenly vilified as a precursor of Nazism by some (most recently by J. P. Stern), Nietzsche is presently recognized by English-speaking commentators as a major modern philosopher, something French and German writers have known for a long time. The problem now is to disentangle Nietzsche's idiosyncratic philosophy from the central fact of his life: his gradual slide into madness. Hayman, whose previous books on Beckett, Artaud, and de Sade are evidence of his concern with the theater, is convinced that the two cannot be completely separated. Sticking to a straight chronological approach, he argues that the truths contained in Nietzsche's writings - which, for Hayman, have to do with the autonomy of the individual as a moral actor - originated in Nietzsche's reflection on his mental and physical state. A brilliant child, Nietzsche was drawn to aesthetic pursuits - music and poetry - but turned to classical philology as one form of self-discipline (philology being demanding and methodical). Appointed a professor at Basel when he was only 24, he had already begun to suffer from chronic headaches and stomach disorders, and to seek treatment. Hayman carefully reconstructs Nietzsche's simultaneous struggles with his mental and physical health, and with his warring desires for scholarly discipline and aesthetic expression-all of which revolved for a time around his relations with Richard Wagner. Hayman gives some lip-service to the father-figure interpretation of Nietzsche's attachment to the composer, but the eventual break between them comes across here as the first major step in Nietzsche's own development of a philosophical style which directly incorporates the expressive elements of artistic creation; coming to be himself, the philosopher-as-artist, Nietzsche moved away from the artist-as-philosopher Wagner. As Nietzsche's madness grew - Hayman doubts that it was syphilitic in origin - his reflections on sickness and health, abnormality and normalcy, coupled with a ruthlessly direct style, gave rise to the distinctively Nietzschian philosophy of will. Hayman thus manages to devote primary attention to the biography without completely relativizing the philosophy, even if his penchant for linking madness to truth is overdone. Less discursive, and more truly biographical, than Kaufman's well-known study of Nietzsche; and an excellent introduction to a fascinating figure. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (September 30, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140062742
• ISBN-13: 978-0140062748
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,074,692 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best biographies of Nietzsche I've read., May 18, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Nietzsche: A Critical Life (Hardcover)

This biography is the most accurate and indeed, critical. It dealves into the life and thought of one of the greatest thinkers in Western Europe. Anyone who wishes to have a good introduction into Friedrich Nietzsche should read this book...by all means, read it!!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best biographies of the philosophers, August 29, 2001

By	Mr. Egregious - See all my reviews

This is a great, however brief, look into the life of one of the world's greatest minds. Hayman opens with a fleeting glance at Nietzsche's genealogy before diving into the seemingly bright life of the future philosopher. He cites Nietzsche's pendulum-esque nationalistic devotion prior to his near-death collapse from a horse. He then charts Nietzsche's intellectual progress from the life-altering secondhand bookstore find of Schopenhauer to the later critique of previous idols Wagner, Kant, and Renee. Hayman, however repetitiously (though nonetheless factually), outlines Nietzsche's incessant battle with illness throughout his life. The key to this text is that is does not attempt a definitive stance at the perpetual enigma as to the cause of Nietzsche's demise, but rather outlines possibilities starting from birth until his death. For those unfamiliar with the German titles of Nietzsche's works, it will require a bit of page flipping to the appendix until one grows accustomed to Hayman's methodology. Also, all passages from the philosopher's works are translated by Hayman that, in some cases, are clearer and more concise than the renounced Kaufmann readings. My only complaint is that Hayman didn't spend more pages in his great explication of the philosopher's life. I rate this alongside Monk's biography of Wittgenstein.