This is one of a series of useful texts on various philosophical topics. These illustrated works are a real joy to read and to look at! The illustrations are a great addition to some, at times, difficult discussions of complex philosophical problems – and always eye-catching and appropriate. I want to list the contents so you can have a notion of the ideas discussed:

Cover 

Title Page 

Copyright

Early Years Schopenhauer: the Denial of Life

The Scholar as Anti-Scholar 

The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music 

Apollo and Dionysus Music, the Origin of Myth Music and Tragedy 

The Triumph of Apolline Philosophy 

The Case of Richard Wagner 

What is History? What is Education? What is Culture? 

A Critique of Metaphysics Kant’s Idealism 

Kant’s Spectacles 

Kantian Morality: You Know it Makes Sense 

Nietzsche’s Style Lightness of Touch 

The Aphorism 

On Readers 

The Price of Knowledge 

The Eternal Return 

Nietzsche and Women 

The Micro-histories of Daily Life 

Is Virtue a Virtue? 

The Power of the Herd 

The Death of God 

Life Without God? 

A Critique of Science 

The Methods of Science 

From Description to Image 

The Psychoanalysis of Knowledge 

Anti-Darwinian Evolution 

The Evolution of Quality Politics: Morality and the State 

The Paradox of Democracy 

Invitation to a Political Party 

Politics: the Prostitution of the Intellect Politics: the Death of Truth 

Thus Spake Zarathustra 

The Oracle Speaks 

On Nihilism 

On Virtuous Hypocrisy 

On Fear 

What is “The Superman”? 

Mastery of the Self 

A Human or Post-Human Future? 

The Will to Power 

Self-Obedience 

The Free Spirit 

The Circle of Time 

A Pessimistic Consolation 

Wagner’s Shadow 

The Germans and the Jews 

Anti-Germany 

Beyond Good and Evil (1885–6) 

The Dishonesty of Philosophy Of Religion 

Of Faith 

Making the Most of Suffering 

On the Natural History of Morals 

The Ruler as Servant 

Evil On Madness 

On Love 

On Truth 

On Morality 

The Master and the Slave 

Noble Ethics 

Slave Ethics 

The Man Apart 

The Genealogy of Morals 

The Ethics of pity 

The Slave Revolt in Ethics 

The Sins of the Fathers 

Slave Ethics: the Inversion of Values 

The Idea of evil 

The Rancour of the Weak 

Two Views of the Enemy 

The Origins of conscience 

The Disease of Consciousness 

The Origin of “Good” 

The Ascetic Ideal 

The Anti-Christ 

Recognition at Last? 

Nietzsche’s Breakdown 

Nietzsche and the Nazis 

The Case for the Defence 

Nietzsche and Psychoanalysis 

Wittgenstein: Linguistic Philosophy 

Heidegger and Nietzsche 

Jean-Paul Sartre: Existentialism 

Le Néant Derrida: Deconstruction 

Foucault: Knowledge and Power 

Foucault’s Micro-Histories 

Nietzsche and Postmodernism (Postmodern) 

Theory Wars 

The Simulacrum Postmodern 

Hyper-reality 

A Postmodern Fable 

Further Reading 

Acknowledgements 

About the Author and Index

As you can see there are many short chapters each complete with excellent illustrations which add to the discussion and provide an occasional laugh as well as insights into the material being discussed. An excellent book for an introduction to existentialism class.

Here is one of the illustrations to give you a sense of how they contribute to the work:

And I am sure you can see what the topic of discussion is at this point! I realize that simply listing the contents is a bit strange, but in this case it seems to this reviewer to be the best way to show you what to expect.

 

Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals continues to be a must-read for the twenty-first century. One of the ideas discussed is captured here:

“… ever since there have been human beings there have also been human herds (family groups, communities, tribes, nations, states, churches), and always very many who obey compared with the very small number of those who command – considering, that is to say, that hitherto nothing has been practised and cultivated among men better or longer than obedience, it is fair to suppose that as a rule a need for it is by now innate as a kind of formal conscience which commands: Thou shalt unconditionally do this, unconditionally not do that, in short ‘Thou shalt’. This need seeks to be satisfied and to fill out its forms with a content: in doing so it grasps about wildly, according to the degree of its strength, impatience and tension, with little discrimination, as a crude appetite, and accepts whatever any commander – parent, teacher, law, class prejudice, public opinion – shouts in its ears.”

An interesting and informative book with the added feature of illustrations.

 

Bob Lane is a Professor Emeritus, Philosophy at Vancouver Island University.

Categories: Philosophical