Beyond good and evil
by Friedrich Nietzsche · first published 2009
41% recommend56% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short, aphoristic entry point to Nietzsche's thought that readers say reshaped how they see morality, good and evil, and the drive behind seeking knowledge; suits philosophy students and rereaders alike.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…name two books that were 'eye-opening' for me AND are good philosophy and another that is just 'good philosophy.' J. S. Mill's On Liberty. Read it. It's short. It's poignant. Don't not read this book. Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche is required reading. if you like it, check out the viking collection of works by him and read his wikipedia page. You'll get a sense of what else you'd like to read from these two sources.…
on “Ask HN: Best Philosophical Books?” ↗Pfffff you really asked the impossible question here. Best I can do is scan through the books on the shelves next to me: * Beyond good and evil: Nietzsche * The Temple of the Golden Pavilion: Yukio Mishima * Steppenwolf: Hermann Hese * Library of babel: Borges * The Brain: David Eagleman * The Magical Mountain: Thomas Mann * The Dark Tower:…
on “Ask HN: What are some must read books?” ↗…I had a lot of "sit down with a good book and a good drink" reading time, but I've gotten some in during the winters at each end. I think best overall was one of the ones I read way early in the year, Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche. I had been saving The Pale King by David Foster Wallace for an "in case of emergency break glass" book because I couldn't bear to finish all his writing and I just had to break the glass…
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗When I was 17 years old I read "Beyond Good and Evil", by Nietzsche. ( http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4363 ) That book truly changed the way I lived and the way I thought.
on “See Randomness” ↗I'd love to send Douglas a copy of Beyond Good and Evil. http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Good-Evil-Friedrich-Nietzsche/d...
on “The Software shall be used for Good, not Evil” ↗…of society plays in producing uncritical thought. For more clarity here I would read Nietzsche's "Untimely Meditation" on 'cultural philistinism' - "David Strauss: the confessor and the writer", and "Beyond Good and Evil" namely the section "Peoples and Fatherlands" for an idea of his approach to critique of mainstream culture in his time.
on “Anti-Education by Nietzsche, and why mainstream culture does our best thinking” ↗Beyond Good and Evil, by Nietzsche. A short history of nearly everything, by Bill Bryson.
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche. No single book has changed my view of reality, specifically ethical reality, more.
on “Ask HN: What books have most influenced the way you see the world?” ↗…you were courageous, for example, you were "good" -- if you were a coward, you were "bad." That standard (the good/evil dichotomy) has always existed -- but don't take my word for it, read Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil.
on “The good guy/bad guy myth” ↗…potential to affect one's life than a pop-science book, at least in my experience. Some of my favorites: - Moby Dick. Probably the single greatest work of American literature, in my opinion of course. - Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche. An excellent primer to his thought. Any of his books are worth reading, though. - The Ego and Its Own, Stirner. An under-appreciated philosopher who can really shake up your foundations.…
on “Books that have affected you and your life the most” ↗Nietzsche describes the problem beautifully in Beyond Good and Evil: "However independent of each other [philosophers] might feel themselves to be, with their critical or systematic wills, something inside of them drives them on, something leads them into a particular…
on “The magic of generating new ideas” ↗…because both said they did, and praised Nietzche for presenting it. Nietzsche was highly derisive of nationalism and the examples he would deride were actually those of German nationalism. You can read Beyond Good and Evil to see that. What you're talking about is actually highly ironic considering that Nietzsche actually predicts some sort of Hitler-like figure coming to power due to how weak-minded and herd-like Europeans…
…people in history than confrontations resulting from conflicting sets of moral values). Escape hatch from here? Nietzsche actually saw that coming, dont just stay at nihilism/absurdism but maybe read „beyond good and evil“... :)
on “Moral Competence” ↗Beyond Good and Evil - Nietzsche Ashtavakra Gita - Ashtavakra The Prophet - Gibran
on “Ask HN: Best Philosophical Books?” ↗It depends if you want to be knowledgeable "about" philosophy and knowledge or if you want to apply it to you life. * K.Popper (in both cases;): _Open society and its ennemies_ http://www.archive.org/stream/opensocietyandit033120mbp#page... for "Ars Vitae" (applicable to one's life) * Plato: _Gorgias_ * Marc Aurélius: _Meditations_ * Friedrich Nietzsche: _Beyond good & evil_ I agree with oth
on “Ask HN: Best Philosophical Books?” ↗