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The Will to Power: The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche cover art

The Will to Power: The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche

Written by: The Great Courses, Kathleen M. Higgins, Robert C. Solomon
Narrated by: Kathleen M. Higgins, Robert C. Solomon
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Publisher's Summary

Who was Friedrich Nietzsche? This lonely and chronically ill, yet passionate, daring, and complex man is perhaps the most mysterious and least understood of all contemporary philosophers. Why are his brilliant insights so relevant for today? How did he become the most misinterpreted and unfairly maligned intellectual figure of the last two centuries?

To provide shape to Nietzsche's thought, each of these 24 lectures focuses on specific ideas that preoccupied Nietzsche while tracing the profound themes that give meaning to his work. You'll get a chance to put Nietzsche's life and work in a larger historical and philosophical context. You'll explore the controversial philosopher's subtle, complex critique of both religious belief and Greek rationalism.

You'll also spend a wealth of time focusing on Nietzsche's famous writing style, which deftly combines the majesty of the prophet, the force of the Homeric warrior, and the lyricism of the poet - but which nonetheless is rife with inconsistencies, exaggerations, and personal attacks. And you'll get a better understanding of Nietzsche's complaints and criticisms of the intellectual currents of his time: Christian moralism, evolution, socialism, democracy, and nationalism.

As you make your way through these lectures, you'll discover that Nietzsche, even at his most polemical and offensive, exudes an unmistakable enthusiasm and love of life. In fact, you'll see that his exhortation to learn to love and accept one's own life, to make it better by becoming who one really is, forms the project that is the true core of his work.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1999 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1999 The Great Courses

What listeners say about The Will to Power: The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche

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The Will To Truth!

This was a very good introduction into Nietzsche philosophy.Both of the narrators did a good job at keeping the content engaging. Definitely wet my appetite for for further investigation. Highly recommended!

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Fantastic and quite instructive

This is a great review of Nietzsche's life, writing and other philosophers that influenced his thinking.

The performance by both Kathy and Bob (as they call themselves) is equally engaging and superb.

I learned a great deal from this easy to comprehend review and analysis of one of the greatest philosophers of the recent past.

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A fantastic overview, loved every minute

Robert Solomon and Kathleen Higgins are wonderful intellectuals - you can feel the passion they have for this topic, and they both seem to talk to you as an individual who they're trying to convince, rather than a lecturer telling you what to think. Great for anyone just dipping their toes in philosophy or anyone already familiar with Nietzsche.

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Perfect For Newer Philosophy Fans

I bought a couple Nietzsche books in the past; but this was way more digestable.

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A Will to Listen

This book seems like a good intro in everything Nietzsche. First book I read on him and I found the instructors did a good job giving the essence of him in a way I could understand.

I also liked the format of 30 min lectures. It allows for each lecture to convey one topic about Nietzsche/his philosophy without overwhelming you.

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Great listening in the car.

Excellent explanations, an engaging exploration of Nietzsche. Robert and Kathleen are articulate thinkers that are pleasant to listen to.

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an armchair intellectual's view

Great overview and it has given me a good foundation to Nietzsche's life and writings. It is their interpretation, but for me it seems thorough enough I can rely on it for my understanding. By having two presenters it helps round that out a bit as well.
The only complaint I had about the performance seems petty but I did find it distracting at times. The female presenter had a click sound at the end of a sentence. I suspect it is hardly noticeable in person but I think being audio only, it was more apparent. Maybe it could have been fixed in post or still could be for future. Not a deal breaker by any means just a shame as she gives a good balance to the topic.

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It’s a lecture

Great for while doing dishes or laundry. There is no better time to have an existential crisis.

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The Will to Nietzsche

Course was a beautiful summary of Nietzsche's misunderstood philosophy. Despite not agreeing with some of the interpretations presented, the lecturers simplified much of Nietzsche's sometimes abstract and often contradictory writings.

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not very captivating.

the speakers clearly had knowledge of the subject matter. but the overall tone is not very captivating. also the chapters only skim very macro ideas. never gets deeper into detail. I never got a sense of rationalization of view points.

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