/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.15337608]

Can this be read as just a stand-alone philosophical novel by someone who hasn't studied Nietzsche, or is it necessary to read his other works/have a general understanding of him prior to reading it?

[Anonymous No.15337619]

start with the greeks

[Anonymous No.15337625]

>>15337608
You should have an solid grasp on his major philosophical works if you want any hope of understanding it beyond surface level

[Anonymous No.15337632]

>>15337608
Yes, just read an essay on it first

[Anonymous No.15337659]

Heidegger recommended postponing reading Nietzsche, and to first study Aristotle for ten to fifteen years

[Anonymous No.15337661]

Yes, it can be read in this way. It is more than sufficiently understandable. I don't advise it though. All value in these fields comes from depth of knowledge and understanding.

[Anonymous No.15337662]

It is advised to never start with Zarathustra if you want to understand any of Nietzsche's thought. And similarly, never start with Nietzsche if you are not familiar with Philosophy.

But the work is cryptic artistic fiction anyway so your virgin experience might be what he had in mind when he wrote it for everyone and for no one. No living man is ever ready to fulfill what he presents. It kind of emulates religious tales and with those everyone interprets what they want to interpret.

[Anonymous No.15337794]

>>15337608
zarathustra was written as a provocation to spark thought. Nietzsche wants you to understand it your way! He tries to get you to redifine language in your own terms. He uses apparant contradictions to break you free of cultural programming, to make you capable of creating your own moral system. One day out of these independet thinkers the übermensch will emerge. Going for a universal understanding is even against nietzsches intention. He wants tension, he wants disagreement. He even wants your own naive interpretation! He wants humanity to fight eachother over it, for he loves his enemies! THUS SPOKE ZARATHUSTRA