very intriguing ideas. there’s no way anyone can agree with everything nietzsche says, but he would despise it if anyone did.

basically, the first half of the book (twilight of the idols) is a critique of all major philosophers up to and during his time. meh. he really shows his philology roots in this half, but some of it was lost on me since i wasn’t familiar with everyone he was talking about.

the second half is the real meat of the book, the antichrist. nietzsche basically argues that christianity embraces all that is weak, sickly, ‘decadent’, etc. and has forcefully attacked what he refers to as ‘noble’ values (strength, the inevitability of an upper caste, greed, pride, etc.). Actually, he pins the downfall of Rome right on Christianity.

he attacks martyrdom, the idea of complete equality, the inhibition of scientific inquiry, the corruption of the church, paul the apostle, pity and charity (except by the very highest eschelons of society), and so on and so forth.

to get a greater sense of these theories and his expectations of greatness in individuals, i strongly recommend reading “Thus Spake Zarathustra” or any text outlining his theory of the ‘obermensch’, ‘overman’, ‘superman’. he may be rough, but at his core he is extremely optimistic…he says YES to life (lol)

his ethics are far different from most people you will meet, but he did believe that everyone should devise their own complete system of ethics, morals, beliefs and so on…relying none whatsoever on pre-chewed ideas from your church or school. he tackles tough ideas that many shy away from.

there were points in the book where i openly laughed (he makes great little jokes and is appallingly blunt) and other points when i had to take a break to really digest and think through what i had read. his writing style is extremely clever and thoughtful, which makes him quite easy to read in one sense. i can’t imagine what he reads like in german!

he’s someone who definitely calls them as he sees them (to the point of harshness at times), and leaves no room for vagueness. i enjoyed reading this and will probably move on to read ‘the gay science’, ‘on the geneology of morality’, or ‘beyond good and evil’ at some later time since my husband has his complete works in our library.