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The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom)

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The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom)

By: Friedrich Nietzsche
Narrated by: Michael Lunts
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About this listen

The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom) is one of Nietzsche's greatest books. His wonderfully fertile mind roams over mankind, his thoughts, his emotions, his behaviour and his weaknesses with remarkable clarity, with insight - but also with humour!

In this work are 383 separate paragraphs, some short, some long, but all singular observations - the epitome of his famous aphoristic style. 'Morality is the herd instinct in the individual.' 'The world is overfull of beautiful things, but it is nevertheless poor, very poor, in beautiful moments.' Being intellectual, he declares, is not equivalent to 'taking things seriously': why not laugh while thinking!

When should one be an Epicurean and when a Stoic? Nietzsche may be best known for Thus Spoke Zarathustra (The Gay Science was published in 1882, a year before Zarathustra, and actually contains its opening paragraph!) but with its potpourri of comments, some wild, some sharp, some rather odd, it is totally different in tone. The Gay Science represents the Friedrich Nietzsche one would want to meet.

All of the 77 poems included by Nietzsche in The Gay Science have been placed at the end of the main text, to be enjoyed by dedicated Nietzscheans.

The aphorisms and poems are persuasively read by Michael Lunts.

Public Domain (P)2016 Ukemi Productions Ltd Buddhism Eastern Movements Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts Philosophy World Morality Middle Ages Taoism
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Compared to Beyond Good and Evil, this lacked the same level of purpose and coherence. There are brilliant insights, particularly around religion and vaccumes when this faith vanishes; the need for individuals to create their own meaning; the dangers of falling into the religion of science. The issue is the rest is fanciful, sporadic, poetic quips about this and that. Perhaps a another author's translation of the ideas would be a more effective way to receive them.

Lacked coherence, but some brilliant insights.

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Nietzsche dives into the collective human subconscious, removes the basic ideas of human experience and rewrites them with elegance and flare.

Although his writing style is a little poetic and difficult to grasp at first, his insights into society and human behaviour are still relevant today.

I initially found the narrator a little irritating but soon realised he was perfect for the style and time period in which the book was written.

This is a book you’ll want to read twice!

Fantastic book

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well, good for musing and opening your mind to new avenues of thought. not bad.

Not Gay. Not Science. Not Half Bad.

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