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Basic Writings of Nietzsche (Modern Library Classics) by [Friedrich Nietzsche, Walter Kaufmann]

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Friedrich Nietzsche

Walter Kaufmann

Basic Writings of Nietzsche (Modern Library Classics) Kindle Edition

by Friedrich Nietzsche (Author), Walter Kaufmann (Editor, Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

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Introduction by Peter Gay
Translated and edited by Walter Kaufmann
Commentary by Martin Heidegger, Albert Camus, and Gilles Deleuze

One hundred years after his death, Friedrich Nietzsche remains the most influential philosopher of the modern era. Basic Writings of Nietzsche gathers the complete texts of five of Nietzsche’s most important works, from his first book to his last: The Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals, The Case of Wagner, and Ecce Homo. Edited and translated by the great Nietzsche scholar Walter Kaufmann, this volume also features seventy-five aphorisms, selections from Nietzsche’s correspondence, and variants from drafts for Ecce Homo. It is a definitive guide to the full range of Nietzsche’s thought.

Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide

Print length

1015 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Modern Library
Publication date

February 23, 2011
File size

1349 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nietzsche is one of the few philosophers since Plato whom large numbers of intelligent people read for pleasure."
--Walter Kaufmann

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Amazon.com Review

A collection of Walter Kauffman's masterful translations of five of Nietzsche's greatest works: The Birth of Tragedy, which forever changed assumptions about Greek culture and the nature of tragedy; Beyond Good and Evil, as comprehensive an overview of Nietzsche's thought as the delightfully aphoristic Thus Spake Zarathustra, but stated with considerably greater clarity; On the Geneaology of Morals, his major work on ethics; The Case of Wagner, a surprisingly witty piece written after Nietzsche's break with Richard Wagner; and Ecce Homo, Nietzsche's passionate and beautiful analysis of his life and work. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Peter Gay is Sterling Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University and the former director of the Center for Writers and Scholars at the New York Public Library. His works include The Enlightenment: The Science of Freedom and Modernism: The Lure of Heresy. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Attempt at a Self-Criticism

Whatever may be at the bottom of this questionable book, it must have been an exceptionally significant and fascinating question, and deeply personal at that: the time in which it was written, in spite of which it was written, bears witness to that—the exciting time of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71. As the thunder of the battle of Wörth was rolling over Europe, the muser and riddle-friend who was to be the father of this book sat somewhere in an Alpine nook, very bemused and beriddled, hence very concerned and yet unconcerned, and wrote down his thoughts about the Greeks—the core of the strange and almost inaccessible book to which this belated preface (or postscript) shall now be added. A few weeks later—and he himself was to be found under the walls of Metz, still wedded to the question marks that he had placed after the alleged “cheerfulness” of the Greeks and of Greek art. Eventually, in that month of profoundest suspense when the peace treaty was being debated at Versailles, he, too, attained peace with himself and, slowly convalescing from an illness contracted at the front, completed the final draft of The Birth of Tragedy out of the Spirit of Music.— Out of music? Music and tragedy? Greeks and the music of tragedy? Greeks and the art form of pessimism? The best turned out, most beautiful, most envied type of humanity to date, those most apt to seduce us to life, the Greeks—how now? They of all people should have needed tragedy? Even more—art? For what—Greek art?

You will guess where the big question mark concerning the value of existence had thus been raised. Is pessimism necessarily a sign of decline, decay, degeneration, weary and weak instincts—as it once was in India and now is, to all appearances, among us, “modern” men and Europeans? Is there a pessimism of strength? An intellectual predilection for the hard, gruesome, evil, problematic aspect of existence, prompted by well-being, by overflowing health, by the fullness of existence? Is it perhaps possible to suffer precisely from overfullness? The sharp-eyed courage that tempts and attempts, that craves the frightful as the enemy, the worthy enemy, against whom one can test one’s strength? From whom one can learn what it means “to be frightened”? What is the significance of the tragic myth among the Greeks of the best, the strongest, the most courageous period? And the tremendous phenomenon of the Dionysian—and, born from it, tragedy— what might they signify?— And again: that of which tragedy died, the Socratism of morality, the dialectics, frugality, and cheerfulness of the theoretical man—how now? might not this very Socratism be a sign of decline, of weariness, of infection, of the anarchical dissolution of the instincts? And the “Greek cheerfulness” of the later Greeks—merely the afterglow of the sunset? The Epicureans’ resolve against pessimism—a mere precaution of the afflicted? And science itself, our science—indeed, what is the significance of all science, viewed as a symptom of life? For what—worse yet, whence—all science? How now? Is the resolve to be so scientific about everything perhaps a kind of fear of, an escape from, pessimism? A subtle last resort against—truth? And, morally speaking, a sort of cowardice and falseness? Amorally speaking, a ruse? O Socrates, Socrates, was that perhaps your secret? O enigmatic ironist, was that perhaps your—irony?

2

What I then got hold of, something frightful and dangerous, a problem with horns but not necessarily a bull, in any case a new problem—today I should say that it was the problem of science itself, science considered for the first time as problematic, as questionable. But the book in which my youthful courage and suspicion found an outlet—what an impossible book had to result from a task so uncongenial to youth! Constructed from a lot of immature, overgreen personal experiences, all of them close to the limits of communication, presented in the context of art—for the problem of science cannot be recognized in the context of science—a book perhaps for artists who also have an analytic and retrospective penchant (in other words, an exceptional type of artist for whom one might have to look far and wide and really would not care to look); a book full of psychological innovations and artists’ secrets, with an artists’ metaphysics in the background; a youthful work full of the intrepid mood of youth, the moodiness of youth, independent, defiantly self-reliant even where it seems to bow before an authority and personal reverence; in sum, a first book, also in every bad sense of that label. In spite of the problem which seems congenial to old age, the book is marked by every defect of youth, with its “length in excess” and its “storm and stress.” On the other hand, considering its success (especially with the great artist to whom it addressed itself as in a dialogue, Richard Wagner), it is a proven book, I mean one that in any case satisfied “the best minds of the time.”1 In view of that, it really ought to be treated with some consideration and taciturnity. Still, I do not want to suppress entirely how disagreeable it now seems to me, how strange it appears now, after sixteen years—before a much older, a hundred times more demanding, but by no means colder eye which has not become a stranger to the task which this audacious book dared to tackle for the first time: to look at science in the perspective of the artist, but at art in that of life.

3

To say it once more: today I find it an impossible book: I consider it badly written, ponderous, embarrassing, image-mad and image-confused, sentimental, in places saccharine to the point of effeminacy, uneven in tempo, without the will to logical cleanliness, very convinced and therefore disdainful of proof, mistrustful even of the propriety of proof, a book for initiates, “music” for those dedicated to music, those who are closely related to begin with on the basis of common and rare aesthetic experiences, “music” meant as a sign of recognition for close relatives in artibus2—an arrogant and rhapsodic book that sought to exclude right from the beginning the profanum vulgus3 of “the educated” even more than “the mass” or “folk.” Still, the effect of the book proved and proves that it had a knack for seeking out fellow-rhapsodizers and for luring them on to new secret paths and dancing places. What found expression here was anyway—this was admitted with as much curiosity as antipathy—a strange voice, the disciple of a still “unknown God,” one who concealed himself for the time being under the scholar’s hood, under the gravity and dialectical ill humor of the German, even under the bad manners of the Wagnerian. Here was a spirit with strange, still nameless needs, a memory bursting with questions, experiences, concealed things after which the name of Dionysus was added as one more question mark. What spoke here—as was admitted, not without suspicion—was something like a mystical, almost maenadic soul that stammered with difficulty, a feat of the will, as in a strange tongue, almost undecided whether it should communicate or conceal itself. It should have sung, this “new soul”—and not spoken!4 What I had to say then—too bad that I did not dare say it as a poet: perhaps I had the ability. Or at least as a philologist: after all, even today practically everything in this field remains to be discovered and dug up by philologists! Above all, the problem that there is a problem here—and that the Greeks, as long as we lack an answer to the question “what is Dionysian?” remain as totally uncomprehended and unimaginable as ever. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Inside Flap

One hundred years after his death, Friedrich Nietzsche remains the most influential philosopher of the modern era. Basic Writings of Nietzsche gathers the complete texts of five of Nietzsche's most important works, from his first book to his last: The Birth of Tragedy; Beyond Good and Evil; On the Genealogy of Morals; The Case of Wagner; and Ecce Homo. Edited and translated by the great Nietzsche scholar Walter Kaufmann, this volume provides a definitive guide to the full range of Nietzsche's thought.
Included also are seventy-five aphorisms, selections from Nietzsche's correspondence, and variants from drafts for Ecce Homo.

"From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

"Nietzsche is one of the few philosophers since Plato whom large numbers of intelligent people read for pleasure."
--Walter Kaufmann --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004KABEBU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Modern Library (February 23, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 23, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1349 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 1015 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #110,543 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #11 in Individual Philosophers (Kindle Store)
- #20 in Existentialism
- #21 in Modern Philosophy (Kindle Store)

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548 ratings

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Erin

This book gives you 4 copies and full translations of Nietzsche by Walter Kaufmann.

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

Walter Kaufmann gives the best translation. This book gives you 4 full translations on Nietzsche books. They are The Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo. I would also recommend that you pick up "The Portable Nietzsche." That book contains 3 more translation by Kaufmann. Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra. (TSZ is arguably his best book.) The only three copies that are missing from these two books are Human, All Too Human, The Antichrist, and The Will to Power. ( The Will to Power Nietzsche didn't finish. So it's more about product of his sister who pieced it together.)

27 people found this helpful

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Joshua Leeger

A great compact edition

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

I have several different translations of several of Nietzsche's books, and Kaufmann's is still the best overall. I've quoted below from the product descriptions of this book and The Portable Nietzsche. Together, the two offer many of Nietzsche's works in two compact volumes.

"This book contains the complete texts of The Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals, The Case of Wagner, and Ecce Homo. Edited and translated by the great Nietzsche scholar Walter Kaufmann, this volume also features seventy-five aphorisms, selections from Nietzsche’s correspondence, and variants from drafts for Ecce Homo."

There is another compendium of Kaufmann's translations called "The Portable Nietzsche," which "contains the complete texts of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Twighlight of the Idols, The Antichrist, and Nietzsche contra Wagner. It has additional selections from Human, All to Human; The Dawn; Beyond Good and Evil; Toward a Genealogy of Morals; Ecce Homo; and other works Letters and Notes."

67 people found this helpful

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Line

Whose Morals and Values Do You Follow?

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2017

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The best introduction Nietzsche available. I would recommend starting with "Genealogy of Morals" then read "Beyond Good and Evil."

Jordan Peterson places Nietzsche as a 1 in a billion man. He places his mind in the stratosphere of human intelligence.

"Genealogy" actually changed my life. This isn't an exaggeration. You can listen to people talk about Nietzsche's idea, but it's not until you actually read the words yourself the ideas truly come to life.

The mindset shift I experienced isn't unique to me. Many people's lives have been changed by the mind warp of the words inside this book.

When you put the book down, and really think about the ideas and apply them to society as a whole, you might just realize how society really works. What civilization is meant to do for us, or against us. Whose morals do you follow?

Sometimes it's best when more questions come to you instead of answers.

I still haven't finished all the works in the "Basic Writings" but I recommend starting with the two above. I will be reading Zarathustra next.

(And Walter Kaufman remains the numero uno in translations).

18 people found this helpful

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Kyle

Well written, poor quality of materials.

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

I will limit my review to the physical characteristics of the hardcover edition. The writing itself I am enjoying but the quality of the book is quite poor. The cover and binding are made of very cheap materials and they look terrible without the dust cover. The pages are also extremely thin and you can easily see text from the preceding pages, see the photo for an example. In this photo the book is open on my desk, so no light is shining through the back of the page and it is still really translucent. Very disappointed as the book itself if one I am enjoying reading, just wish it was built better.

3 people found this helpful

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Solvein Family

Great for beginners to Nietzsche early works

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2018

Verified Purchase

I would recommend the Basic writings of Nietzsche to both those familiar with his writing and those just starting to become aware of them. I found it to be pleasant format though one would hope for a larger font size but that would have only added to the length of the book.

10 people found this helpful

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Benedict Fronkensteen

If you're looking for an academic review, this is the wrong place. Look up Walter Kaufmann instead.

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2017

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Nietzsche isn't really as gloomy as you might expect someone with his nihilistic reputation to be. He's actually (from what I've read in this work) quite exuberant, all about tearing down the norm and rebuilding it in a new and wondrous form; creativity for its own sake. That being said, in order to get across his ideas, he launches attacks on pretty much every system of beliefs you can imagine, including language itself. Excellent reading if you want to think about thinking, but it will probably make you uncomfortable at one point or another.

14 people found this helpful

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Ernest M. Berube

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2021

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Walter Kaufmann's learnedness of German & English, as well as his deep insight into the mind of this genius, bring light to the path for those trying to summit Mt Nietzsche: tendentiousness is not found in these translations . FWN was too complicated a personality to be trusted to just anyone's interpretation. Kaufmann provides rational discussion to the reader for why he opts for the translations he does. He even reveals how other translations (particularly in the first several decades after FWN's death) were not only misleading, but clouded FWN's writings to such a degree that many still do not understand FWN.

One person found this helpful

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Nathan P. Gilmour

Kaufmann's translations are a wonderful gift to English-speaking students of philosophy

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2013

Verified Purchase

These are the books that I think of first when i think of Nietzsche, and Kaufmann's translations bring them across to my imagination in ways that deepen my respect for a philosopher so often dismissed by people who have not tried him out.

I want to commend especially The Birth of Tragedy, a seminal text in psychological literary criticism; Beyond Good and Evil, possibly the most powerful argument for atheism written to date; and The Genealogy of Morals, a shorter book which I teach to Christian college students to show them that atheists have not always been as dull and illiterate as Richard Dawkins. Just those three texts would be worth more than the cost of this volume, but Behold! One also gets a lively translation of Ecce Homo, the great anti-Augustinian self-promotion book!

If you enjoy an afternoon of bold thinking, this book is for you, friend.

9 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Arpan P.

Extra thin pages

Reviewed in India on May 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

Even though this is a great collection of writings of Nietzsche, this print has very poor quality of pages. Very thin, even utmost care doesn't feel enough.

5 people found this helpful

TheRebelSeeker

Paperback version is poor in quality

Reviewed in India on February 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

Paperback edition is worth no more than 200 Rs, the cover, pages and overall quality feels cheap and pirated. Better go for hardcover and the book will last for years.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Pages quality

Reviewed in India on December 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

The print of the book was so bad,pages so thin and poor quality.One could see the impression of texts printed on the previous page in whole book.Very disappointed ,had to return the book.

3 people found this helpful

Mr. Oliver W. Davies

outstanding companion to zarathustra in the same series...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2011

Verified Purchase

With this and "Thus spake..." you are set for Nietzsche. And what a journey it is! An oft-misunderstood and misrepresented philosopher, who it is both exciting and unnerving to read.

6 people found this helpful

Saif

Not Satisfied

Reviewed in India on August 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

It's a good collection, although it does not include "Thus Spake Zarathustra", but the paper quality is not good at all. I also bought Basic Writings of Kant which had far better page quality. In this one, the paper is too thin and print is visible from the other side.