Life after the Slave Revolt

For my tutorial this week, we read Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil. I've read it before, but as anyone who has ever read a Nietzsche book knows, it is impossible, literally impossible to completely figure out what Nietzsche means in his books, and as a result he is well worth rereading. I like Nietzsche--he amuses me. This isn't the best starting place for Nietzsche--I think The Genealogy of Morals is much more comprehensible for a first book (it is the one I assign in my Western Civilization class). But, this book has a wide array of topics--and a middle section full of short pithy aphorisms, which is the best part of the book. You could spend a long time ruminating about his aphorisms, which is the point of the section.

As for his philosophy, what I really like about Nietzsche is that he faces squarely what the world would be like if there was no God. In this sense, I think he is completely correct--either there is a God or Nietzsche is right. If there were no God, then the moral code we all use would be strange and would seem calculated to help weak, inferior people rise to the top while suppressing the naturally strong and noble.

And, I suppose I should also admit that Nietzsche is fun to talk about with Mount Holyoke students because his views on women are...well, nobody ever called Nietzsche a feminist. Consider:
"Comparing man and woman on the whole, one may say: woman would not have the genius for finery if she did not have an instinct for a secondary role."
or
"Where neither love nor hatred is in the game, a woman's game is mediocre."

But, Nietzsche is fun for other reasons too, so ending on a different note:
"In the end one loves one's desire and not what is desired"
and
"The familiarity of those who are superior embitters because it may not be returned.--"
and
"A matter that becomes clear ceases to concern us.--What was on the mind of that god who counseled: 'Know thyself!' Did he mean: 'Cease to concern yourself! Become objective!'--And Socrates?--And 'scientific men'?--"