About Friedrich Nietzsche and Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher and writer who started his career as a classical philologist and turned to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, at age 24, he was appointed Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Basel. Plagued by health problems for most of his life, he resigned from the university in 1879. He afterward lived as an independent writer, spending much of his life in relative solitude and financial insecurity while moving between Switzerland, Italy, and southern France in search of climates that might alleviate his condition, and in the following decade, he completed much of his core writing. In 1889, aged 44, he suffered a mental breakdown and thereafter a complete loss of his mental faculties, with paralysis and vascular dementia, living his remaining 11 years under the care of his family until his death. His works and his philosophy have fostered not only extensive scholarship but also much popular interest. His work centered on individual achievement and subjective reality, and he strongly criticized traditional values, particularly those rooted in organized religion. Nietzsche’s ideas challenged the idea of absolute truth, instead focusing on how individuals can create meaning in their lives to overcome nihilism.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a philosophical novel written by Friedrich Nietzsche between 1883 and 1885, that introduces key concepts like the “death of God,” the Übermensch (Overman), and the will to power through the allegorical figure of Zarathustra. It is a poetic and narrative work that critiques traditional morality, particularly Christian values, and calls for humanity to overcome itself and create new values. The book is considered a masterpiece and a foundational text in Western literature, blending story, sermon, and philosophy.
本书以诗体散文写成,熔酒神的狂醉与日神的清醒于一炉,提出了几个核心概念:
超人(Übermensch):人是必须被超越的。超人是地球的意义,是人类进化的下阶段目标,是创造出属于自己价值的强者。
上帝已死(God is dead / Gott ist tot):代表传统的基督宗教道德、超感性世界的绝对真理基础已经崩塌,人类进入虚无主义危机。
权力意志(Wille zur Macht):人类生命本能的核心驱动力,是不断增强、超越自我的创造性冲动。
永恒轮回/永恒归返(Ewige Wiederkunft):这是尼采哲学中最深奥的思想,即生命以同样的形式无穷尽地重复下去。只有能承受这一观念的人才是真正热爱生命者。
作品特点与文学价值
诗体哲学:采用格言、寓言、散文诗等文学手法,充满符号和隐喻。
先知叙事:假借古代波斯拜火教始祖查拉图斯特拉(瑣羅亞斯德)之名,进行下山布道、宣扬未来启示。
精神的反叛:横扫了基督教造成的奴性道德,谱写了自由的人性赞歌。
纸质书ISBN-13: 979-8-88689-031-0
eBook ISBN-13: 979-8-88689-032-7
在Barnes & Noble购买竹和松出版的尼采的《查拉图斯特拉如是说》英文版THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA
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