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/lit/ - Literature

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22601477 No.22601477 [Reply] [Original]

Do philsophical texts become easier as you read more of them?

I thought I was a smart boy but I'm reading The Birth of Tragedy and it's kicking my ass.

>> No.22601508

>>22601477
it loses something when you read translations

>> No.22601514

>>22601477
Nah, Nietzsche writes like shit. And I read it in its original language

>> No.22601566

>>22601477
You're expected to have read everything he read because of

>muh intertextuality

>> No.22601573

>>22601477
Yes. I recommend starting somewhere else maybe human all too human, or twilight of idols.

>> No.22601597

>>22601477
Kind of? But there's no reason to respect a philosopher's ideas if they don't know how to write a normal sentence. If their wording is too vainly overcomplicated for you, then just try to suck the bullshit out and put into your own words before trying to read it. Yes this means a lot of philosophical works can't just be listened to. Yes, this means the translator matters a lot.

>> No.22601663

>>22601597
>gets filtered
>wah it’s the authors fault
You’re just going to have to accept that reading philosophy is tough and takes actual work, not everything is some easily digestible self-help slop you fucking disgusting pleb.

>> No.22601683

>>22601477
>Do philsophical texts become easier as you read more of them?
yes, so long as there is progress each time you re-read them. if you're going round in circles then you're going round in circles.

stupid question

>> No.22603080

The birth of tragedy is (imo) his hardest, because it actually requires you to have a lot more knowledge about the Greek plays that he's talking about, otherwise you end up vacantly reading 100 pages about Greek tragedy and playwrights without really understanding much. In his other books he tends to directly reference the philosophers that he talks about (especially Schopenhauer) or he just makes brief references that don't require much more than common knowledge.

>> No.22603231

>>22601477
I feel you, anon. I felt the same way about The Birth of Tragedy. If it really is kicking your ass, try reading one his easier works, like Genealogy of Morals. Btw, to answer your question, it does get easier.

>> No.22603254
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22603254

>>22601477
I feel you bro, I'm still at the introduction. Hahahaha. Although in my case it's mostly about having no prior knowledge to concepts and anecdotes discussed. Maybe we should start with Plato after all.

>> No.22603257

>>22603080
Yeah, this guy got it right, I had little knowledge of Ancient greek tragedy and drama.

>> No.22603260
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22603260

>>22601477
>There are anons itt that aren’t familiar with Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, Plato, Archilochus, and Homer

>> No.22603262
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22603262

>>22601477
>Do philsophical texts become easier as you read more of them
Generally yes, but The Birth of Tragedy is especially obtuse because it's a juvenile (i.e. poorly written) work and for an audience firmly entrenched in the milieu of 19th century German art criticism. I would highly recommend secondary for the work, as it's actually a very interesting idea, just poorly presented.

>> No.22603267

>>22603260
we all have to start somewhere

>> No.22603305

>>22601477
I generally think so but I still find it helpful to slow down and take my time. Out of curiosity, do any of you anons take notes in a notebook or journal as you read philosophy? I like to highlight/underline things in the book, but I haven’t gotten down to actually taking notes in a separate book

>> No.22603769

>>22601477
The short answer is yes. The actual answer is it depends. If you made birth of tragedy your first philosophy book then yeah it might do that since Nietzsche loves to pull references, and in addition to pulling references he may do this with an attempt to explain his thinking, he may do this as a joke, or he may just do it for poetic wordplay. That aside it does contain some themes he doesn't really address elsewhere, but nothing that would prohibit you from reading his other works. If you are more lit minded then Zarathustra is a good read, Genealogy of Morality and Beyond Good and Evil are also good options if you just want to get the core Nietzsche and not worry about the rest. If you start with the Greeks then a significant number of philosophical texts will automatically come easier to you.