The Joyful Wisdom, Paperback

This edition of The Joyful Wisdom boasts an authoritative English translation which brings Nietzsche's poetry and thoughts to vivid comprehension.

Initially published in 1882 and also known by its alternate title The Gay Science, the arguments within this book are primarily occupied with the philosophical concept that God has died. It is in this publication that Nietzsche first makes his famous statement that God is dead; a phrase which was to become associated with the philosopher during and after his lifetime. For his own part, Nietzsche identifies these writings as being of an intensely personal nature, the poems within expressing feelings at the core of his being.

Definitively part of the philosopher's middle period, this work encapsulates the praise of science and intellectual prowess which characterised Nietzsche in the early 1880s. A strong alignment with skepticism and a commitment to innovation with the scientific method, are strongly praised by the philosopher.

Despite discussing the nature of power, Nietzsche at this point refrains from casting a comprehensive theory upon it. Crucially however the notion of eternal recurrence - that of the universe and its events repeating endlessly across all time - appears here for the first time. This would later become central to Nietzsche's philosophy.

About the Author:

Friedrich Nietzsche was a nihilist philosopher, critic and poet who wrote several works of philosophy which have proven strongly influential since their initial publication in the late 19th century.

After beginning his academic career as an expert in ancient Greek and Latin, Nietzsche would steadily advance into philosophy, becoming more convinced and sure of his arguments as time went by. Gradually, his writings became more polemical and provocative, criticising earlier philosophers, established institutions such as the Christian church, and its moral tenets in a series of vehement and swiftly paced writings which at times veer into humorous sarcasm.

Nietzsche's final work was The Antichrist, which was completed a short time before a mental breakdown which rendered the scholar incapacitated for the final decade of his life. By the time of his death in 1900 at the age of 55, Nietzsche had assembled a large and devoted following, particularly within academic and scholarly circles, which continues to this day.