Nietzsche's ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra'
A Critical Guide

Leading scholars discuss the ideas in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, showing why it is one of Nietzsche's most important philosophical works.

Keith Ansell-Pearson (Edited by), Paul S. Loeb (Edited by)

9781108490849, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 June 2022

280 pages
23.6 x 15.6 x 2 cm, 0.56 kg

'In Ecce Homo, Nietzsche writes that Thus Spoke Zarathustra is the 'greatest gift' humanity has ever received-the 'most elevated book' with a 'voice that spans over millennia.' Despite this, anglophone Nietzsche scholars have been somewhat reluctant to engage with the work he took to be his true masterpiece. So we should thank Keith Ansell-Pearson and Paul Loeb for putting together this intriguing collection of essays entirely dedicated to Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Their volume advances the debate on several fronts. On the one hand, it approaches the thought of eternal recurrence-central not only to Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but to Nietzsche's thought as such-from new angles. On the other hand, and perhaps more surprisingly, it shows that Thus Spoke Zarathustra is also an essential work when it comes to aspects of Nietzsche's thought such as his views on naturalism, moral psychology, pessimism, the will to power, and the meaning of philosophy itself.' Mattia Riccardi, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Porto

Nietzsche regarded Thus Spoke Zarathustra as his most important philosophical contribution because it proposes solutions to the problems and questions he poses in his later books – for example, his cure for the human disposition to vengefulness and his creation of new values as the antidote to nihilism. It is also the only place where he elaborates his concepts of the superhuman and the eternal recurrence of the same. In this Critical Guide, an international group of distinguished scholars analyze the philosophical ideas in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, discussing a range of topics that include literary parody as philosophical critique, philosophy as a way of life, the meaning of human life, philosophical naturalism, fatalism, radical flux, human passions and virtues, great politics, transhumanism, and ecological conscience. The volume will be invaluable for philosophers, scholars and students interested in Nietzsche's thought.

Introduction Keith Ansell-Pearson and Paul S. Loeb
1. Laugher as Weapon: Parody and satire in thus spoke Zarathustra Benedetta Zavatta
2. Philosophy as a way of life in thus spoke Zarathustra Keith Ansell-Pearson and Marta Faustino
3. What makes the affirmation of life difficult? Paul Katsafanas
4. Zarathustra's response to Schopenhauer Christopher Janaway
5. Nietzsche's naturalism and thus spoke Zarathustra Matthew Meyer
6. Nietzsche's solution to the philosophical problem of change Paul S. Loeb
7. Zarathustra's moral psychology Neil Sinhababu
8. Zarathustra's great contempt Scott Jenkins
9. The great politics of thus spoke Zarathustra Paul Franco
10. Nietzsche on the re-naturalization of humanity in thus spoke Zarathustra Kaitlyn Creasy
11. Joyful transhumanism: Love and eternal recurrence in Nietzsche's Zarathustra Gabriel Zamosc
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Popular philosophy [HPX], Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology [HPJ], Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900 [HPCD], Philosophy [HP]