I want to start reading Nietzsche. Where should I start?

[Nietzsche]

Nice to see that Nietzsche agrees with me

Before I read any more Nietzsche I'll be re-reading Tanner.

Funny, I overlooked your post about Tanner.

After Tanner's book, Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist by Walter Arnold Kaufmann is a good book I hear. I haven't gotten around to it, but Kauffmann is a master on the subject. It's more in depth than Tanner, i'm sure, since it's a 532 page book.

Really, to TRULY understand Nietzsche, it's best to understand his predecessors, Kant, Hegel, and especially Schopenhauer. Of course, to get Schopenhauer, you need to read Kant.

http://www.amazon.com/German-Philoso...5581383&sr=1-1

or the other edition

http://www.amazon.com/German-Philoso...itle_popover_1

this has Tanner's book on Nietzsche as well as the Very Short Introduction books for Hegel, Schopenhauer, and Kant ( which can be purchased seperately ) but I recommend getting them all together in that.

[mal4mac]

After Tanner's book, Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist by Walter Arnold Kaufmann is a good book I hear. I haven't gotten around to it, but Kauffmann is a master on the subject. It's more in depth than Tanner, i'm sure, since it's a 532 page book.

I found it a good read, if in need of a good editor. It could be half the length without losing much. On reading Kaufmann's translations I found a lot of repetition of what was in the biography - he provides a lot of (useful) notes with his translations.

So I would recommend reading Tanner first, then just read Nietzsche - a mix of translations by Kaufmann and Hollingdale. Then (five years later?) read Tanner again, and if you need more read Kaufmann's biography. But you would be better reading Schopenhauer, Kant, Plato, Shakespeare...

In "Confessions" Magee recommends reading *one* book by "a professor" about the philosopher you intend to read, to set the scene and to get you over the humps in the road. But your reading should be devoted to the authors themselves - why read a (almost certainly) second rate mind when you could be reading a (almost certainly) first rate mind? (Answer: only if your/my third rate mind is drowning

Buying the "joint edition" of the very short introductions to German philosophers is a great idea. I've read them all and thought they were all at least good (Kant) and mostly superb. Magee is really good on Kant.

Another good one is "ETHICS A Very Short Introduction" by Simon Blackburn - he has good and bad things to say about Nietzsche's ethical system:

“Nietzsche indeed tried to ‘deconstruct’ the benevolent emotions, railing against them as weak or slavish or life denying, but the attempt is unconvincing and unpleasant, a kind of Hemingway machismo that regards decent human sympathy as unmanly.” p.47

I agreed with Blackburn before, and even more after, reading Nietzsche. So if Blackburn's comments resonate with you, don't expect Nietzsche to 'give you all the answers'. Expect some major disagreements.

[spookymulder93]

I got the Portable Nietzsche. I've been reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Every section in this book is full of quotes. A lot of the things he says in here I agree with, except for the stuff about women.

"Man is something that must be overcome."

[mal4mac]

I've heard so much about how controversial he was that I've decided I'd like to find out first hand why. I want to start with something that's accessible and won't go entirely over my head lol.

A book that stresses his most controversial statement, and is very accessible:

The Death of God and the Meaning of Life. Julian Young. Routledge. 2003

I'm reading it at the moment and it is very good on Nietzsche's views on these matters.