Gay Science
by Friedrich Nietzsche, Dennis Sweet, Thomas Common · first published 2009
58% recommend42% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Accessible entry point to Nietzsche, easier than Zarathustra, with his big ideas and the famous God is dead aphorism. Suits readers who want thought-provoking aphorisms to dip into a few at a time.
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…logic & languages (hello programmers) these two books are romantic pulp - you know you shouldn't be reading them, they are so hopelessly impractical, lofty & philosophical. -Friedrich Nietzsche - The Gay Science - because it will infuriate people who are adverse to the sort of thinking you see in the humanities and they deserve to be enraged by this book. If you have an ethical system, think you can tell good…
on “Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s Eight Books Everyone Should Read” ↗The Gay Science is another great Nietzsche book. Pick up The Birth of Tragedy if you get a chance though, Nietzche's early views on history and science are also worth reading and considering.
on “Nietzsche – The Dionysian Impulse (2009)” ↗The Gay Science - Nietzsche - Age 16 I and Thou - Martin Buber - Age 18 Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand - Age 17
on “If you could give a book to your younger self, what would it be?” ↗Don't start with Thus Spoke Zarathustra. It's all parables told in an old testament style that's hard to comprehend without already knowing what Nietzsche is about. I read The Gay Science first, and I thought it was a good starting point. It covers his big ideas and has the famous "God is dead" aphorism in it.
on “How to Be a Stoic” ↗…and finding joy in little things ( intellectual endeavours, earthly pleasures, art, sunsets, you name it ). If it can help, a reading that helped me when I was deep in depression in my 20's was the The Gay Science, by Nietzsche. Don't read it in one go. Keep it with you, and read a few aphorisms every day. Some three liners aphorisms from Nietzsche made more impact in my life than everything else I read combined.…
on “Why I Quit Being a Therapist [video]” ↗…Upanishads - Eknath Easwaran translation Season in Hell - Arthur Rimbaud Modern Man in Search of a Soul - Carl Jung Abandoned Fragments - Franz Kafka Philosophical Grammar - Ludwig Wittgenstein The Gay Science - Friedrich Nietzsche Hapworth 16, 1924 - JD Salinger The Dream Machine - M. Mitchell Waldrop
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗Nietzsche has a great bit on these people. The Gay Science #359.
on “In College and Hiding from Scary Ideas” ↗…novel Kalvan of Otherwhen Non-fiction: - An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (Hume) - the surviving words and works of Epicurus, and Diogenes the Cynic - Freakonomics (Levitt, Dubner) - The Gay Science (Nietzsche) - The Jefferson Bible (Christ, Jefferson (ed.)) - The Devil's Dictionary (Bierce) - Brain Droppings (George Carlin) - anything by P. J. O'Rourke - anything by Dave Barry
on “Ask YC: favorite books” ↗Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake (first part of the Gormenghast trilogy), because of the wonderful flowing prose. The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche, because once I truly understood the full text of aphorism 125 (The Madman, with the famous line 'God is dead'), I felt liberated. It's an extremely powerful aphorism and 'God is…
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗A decent summary, but I'd still suggest anyone who relates to this answer to read Nietzsche (specifically, The Gay Science and probably Beyond Good and Evil).
on “The meaning of life is to populate the universe” ↗"Will to Power" by Friedrich Nietzsche, who you'll probably love if you like Rand. Read The Gay Science first. Will to Power is a posthumous publication of, essentially, Nietzsche's notes. It's not clear he ever meant to publish it and it doesn't really present a cogent statement of his beliefs. I do think…
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗I agree completely with The Gay Science, although I may have wished for an accompaniment. But really, Atlas Shrugged? Nietzsche and Ayn Rand just aren't even playing the same game.
on “If you could give a book to your younger self, what would it be?” ↗Nietzsche and Philosophy it is. I'm quite partial to Friedrich, particularly The Gay Science -- had a huge impact on me.
on “_why is a role, not a person” ↗I think The Gay Science, Beyond Good and Evil, and A Genealogy of Morality are very readable and thought-provoking without going into esoteric ism or experimental style like Thus Spake Zarathustra. I prefer the Kaufman translations,…
on “There’s No Such Thing as Free Will” ↗…anything involving money and he considered work itself, and particularly the haste and business "capitalist elite" types have, as ugly. In general, he does not fit into modern categories of thought. The Gay Science is a great and accessible read - I recommend the Kaufmann translation, personally. It contains Nietzsche's views on a lot of subjects. I would also add that he makes clear his preferences are just that,…
on “Friedrich Nietzsche: The truth is terrible” ↗