Compared to the other Nietzsche books I have read - Will to Power (fragmentary and repetitious) and Birth of Tragedy (obscure but rather conventional), the Gay Science is a refreshing blast of fresh mountain air. As part of the middle period of the authors works, it is written in Nietzsche’s iconoclastic and aphoristic style. What is unusual about the book is the lightheartedness and humour with is contained in the prose and poetry.

This book contains ideas and many turns of phrase that recur in his next book Thus Spake Zarathustra. In some ways the key ideas of Zarathustra are already expressed in The Gay Science but I don’t feel it is repetitive because, although Nietzsche distrusts systemization of philosophy, the narrative story is a weak system. Some ideas are again restated in Twilight of the Idols but that book seems to be intended as an overview and written in a highly condensed style to the point of the ideas being crush under their own weight. Things are expressed more expansively in The Gay Science and is as good a starting point as I know into Nietzsche.

As usual, it is impossible to summarize the content of the book since it contains many disparate lines of thought. But that perhaps is the message? He claims it is untruthful to rob existence of its ambiguous nature. To provide a final immovable answer, as most ancient philosophy and theology attempts to do, is a flat denial of the ambiguous world. Nietzsche quickly points out that the ambiguous and apparent world is the only world. His explains why he is often misunderstood by others (including Bertrand Russell). I have heard it asked that if he can be misinterpreted, does he share the responsibility of how is works are misused? Interestingly, this argument is also leveled at the Bible, Koran and other holy books as a way of disparaging religion. This argument can be rebutted by considering any and all language can be misinterpreted to support any action, so to assign guilt to an author would be to potentially condemn all writing and speaking (reductio ad absurdum).

“All philosophical idealism has hitherto been something like a disease…” 372

‘One not only wants to be understood when one writes, but also - quite certainly - not to be understood. It is by no means an objection to a book when someone finds it unintelligible: perhaps this might just have been the intention of its author, - perhaps he did not want to be understood by “anyone”.’ 379

The mind boggles. :)

This book is the most pro-science I have read of Nietzsche. He is, as always, an acute observer and discusses the bounds that science may address. He is again skeptical about Darwin’s theory of evolution. Nietzsche’s idea of power and the abundance of power does not seem compatible with his perception of evolution and its “struggle for life”. I think this is Nietzsche’s misinterpretation and he perhaps would have accepted the gene centric view of evolution which was popularized in the book “The Selfish Gene” by Dawkins.

The most famous section is the “God is dead” speech. I won’t reproduce it again since it is already easy to find on the internet. The speech is put into the mouth of a madman - probably Nietzsche’s concept of his own public image or perhaps a foreshadow of himself considering his mental collapse in 1889. Obviously, “God is dead” is not meant literally. One interpretation might be “the concept of God has come to an end”. The madman speaks to the onlookers who were already atheist. Why is it necessary to proclaim the death of God to atheists? The speech is a statement of existential removal of the foundations of civilization and a call for their reestablishment on new footings. When he finishes the speech, the crowd look at him in amazement. The madman realizes the news of God’s death has not yet reached them but is still on its ways to the ears of men. This is probably in reference to the assumptions and ideals that were taken from Christianity were carried into the secular societies of the modern world without being closely examined. The news of the death of God would call them into question as not being timeless and objective.

I love the end of book 4 of The Gay Science (aphorisms 340-342). It is rare that just two pages can contain so many ideas and written in such a vibrant manner.

340 Discusses the death of Socrates and its implication for his philosophy. This has huge significance for the modern world as much of this as been intellectually passed down through St. Augustine and the Catholic Church. Socrates, at his trial for corrupting the youth of Athens, goaded the court into sentencing him to death. Socrates’s last words (according to Plato) were “Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please, don’t forget to pay the debt.”

“For him who has ears, this ludicrous and terrible “last word” implies: “O Crito, life is a long sickness!” “Socrates, Socrates had suffered from life! And he also took his revenge for it…” “We must surpass even the Greeks!” 340

Nietzsche attempts to connect Socrates’s denial and hatred of life to idealism and to equate the two. This connects with the idea of the ambiguous world being the only world. To claim a thing exists “in itself” is to value a non-existent thing above an existent thing. Hence, Nietzsche’s fondness for accusing idealism of nihilism.

Aphorism 341 is the first statement in his writings of the thought of the Eternal Return. This circular view of time again emphasizes the apparent existence on earth as the only existence. It perhaps is simply an inversion of the thought of an afterlife. This ideal is the core idea of Zarathustra and also a theme in the Unbearable Lightness of Being. The “lightness” is perhaps the terror and uncertainty at the lack of external significance of life - considering eventually the universe will suffer heat death and also from the death of God. The novel also discusses the “weight” provided by the Eternal Return (”It must be so! It must be so!”). If each of our actions are to be repeated for eternity, we are almost forced to place a massive but subjective significance on every action we perform. Nietzsche seems to regard the thought of the Eternal Return as a thought experiment and a requirement for the Superman. In the Will to Power his seems to have the intention of arguing for the physical reality of the concept. Eternal Return is a form of Eternalism and Hard Determinism. I hardly need add that Nietzsche argued against “free will”.

Aphorism 342 is simply the first section of Zarathustra’s prologue. I suppose I find self quotation and interconnections of ideas amusing. The Gay Science’s close connection is again confirmed when Zarathustra “quotes” Nietzsche:

When Zarathustra was alone, however, he said to his heart: “Could it be possible! This old saint in the forest hath not yet heard of it, that GOD IS DEAD!” Prologue, Z

Since I was too busy enjoying The Gay Science, I forgot to record interesting quotations. I also lack an electronic copy of the book. I normally would have included more quotations but I hope you can overlook their absence.

Anti Citizen One