The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche

The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche

Although dour in appearance and formidable in reputation, Friedrich Nietzsche was an ardent practitioner of the art of poetry -- called in 12th-century Provencal -the gay science.- This volume, which Nietzsche referred to as -the most personal of all my books, - features the largest collection of his poetry that he ever chose to publish. It also offers an extensive and sophisticated treatment of the philosophical themes and views most central to his thinking, as well as the ideas that proved most influential to later philosophers.
Dating from the era when Nietzsche was at the peak of his intellectual powers, most of this book was written just before Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and the rest of it five years later, after Beyond Good and Evil. Zarathustra makes his first appearance in these pages, along with the author's well-known proclamation of the death of God -- a concept to which much of the book is devoted -- and his doctrine of the eternal recurrence. Readers will find this volume a wellspring for some of Nietzsche's most sustained and thought-provoking discussions of art and morality, knowledge and truth, the intellectual conscience, and the origin of logic.

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm: - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), German classical scholar, philosopher, and critic of culture, who became one of the most influential of all modern thinkers. His attempts to unmask the motives that underlie traditional Western religion, morality, and philosophy deeply affected generations of theologians, philosophers, psychologists, poets, novelists, and playwrights. He thought through the consequences of the triumph of the Enlightenment's secularism, expressed in his observation that God is dead, in a way that determined the agenda for many of Europe's most-celebrated intellectuals after his death. He was an ardent foe of nationalism, anti-Semitism, and power politics. 
 Nietzsche once wrote that some men are born posthumously, and that is certainly true in his case. The history of philosophy, theology, and psychology since the early 20th century is unintelligible without him. Nietzsche's great influence is due not only to his originality but also to the fact that he was one of the German language's most-brilliant prose writers.

SKU	GOR001441764
ISBN 13	9780394719856
ISBN 10	0394719859
Title	The Gay Science
Author	Friedrich Nietzsche
Condition	Well read
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	1974-01-12
Number of pages	416
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	This is a used book. We do our best to provide good quality books for you to read, but there is no escaping the fact that it has been owned and read by someone else previously. Therefore it will show signs of wear and may be an ex library book