On the Genealogy of Morality: A Polemic

Description

On the Genealogy of Morality contains some of Nietzsche's most disturbing ideas and images: eg the 'slave revolt' in morality, which he claims began with the Jews and has now triumphed, and the 'blond beast' that must erupt, which he claims to find behind all civilisation. It is therefore a major source for understanding why 'Nietzschean' ideas are controversial. Further, it is one of Nietzsche's most important books, a work of his maturity that shows him at the height of his powers both as a thinker and as an artist in the presentation of ideas.

Friedrich Nietzsche; Translated by Maudemarie Clark and Alan J Swensen

Hackett's On the Genealogy of Morality (we now have even the correct title!) may very well change the entire climate for reading Nietzsche in English--especially if read in conjunction with their equally splendid Twilight of the Idols. . . . Competing translations of Nietzsche's late, utterly influential masterpieces have often made them a chore, rather than a delight, to read; and their introductions generally obscure, rather than illuminate, the texts' situations. Clark and Swensen (and Polt and Strong) have made the Genealogy and Twilight accessible and exhilarating--while leaving them, as they are, enigmatic and problematic. Finally, readers of Nietzsche in English can--begin!--William Arctander O'Brien, University of California, San Diego This unique collaboration of an internationally renowned Nietzsche commentator and a scholar of German language and literature has yielded the finest existing edition of Nietzsche's book in English. The translation itself strikes an intelligent balance between fidelity to the German and readability in English. It is especially welcome for bringing an historically and philosophically sensitive appreciation of Nietzsche to bear on translation issues. (The decision to translate Mitleid consistently as 'compassion,' instead of 'pity'--thus emphasizing for the English-language reader Nietzsche's opposition to Schopenhauer's moral philosophy--is but one of many examples.) The Introduction is the most philosophically substantial guide to the Genealogy in any edition, and will be of value to both student and specialist. Most remarkable of all are the notes on the text: the wealth of biographical, historical, philosophical, and literary detail makes the volume the most informative and reader-friendly edition of Nietzsche's work to date. The notes will also prove fascinating for the scholar, as the editors have tracked down the numerous contemporary scholarly sources on which Nietzsche relied in writing the Genealogy.--Brian Leiter, University of Texas at Austin This is an excellent translation. The copious and detailed endnotes will make it easy for a beginner to grasp Nietzsche's thought--Fred Clark, Colorado State University