On the Genealogy of Morals (Oxford World's Classics)

One needs to read any of Nietzsche's works several times before one begins to understand him. Be patient, it is all worth it.

One of the 19th century's greatest authors. This is one of his classics.

Not one of my favorite Nietzsche books about the high priest and relations to will and man and morals.

Very readable translation!

Item was as described and arrived on time.

Good product. Good Price.

I gave this to my coworker and he couldn't stop talking about how great it was!

ok

I want to make the case that this particular edition of The Genealogy of Morals (GOM) is the best place for a newbie to Nietzsche to begin their study of his works, after the usual 'Nietzsche Reader' and/or intro-to-Nietzsche type of efforts. Why?GOM combines two qualities that make it uniquely useful for the apprentice. It is a simply structured work, consisting of three essays - essentially three chapters - on distinct but interrelated topics. And it constitutes one of Nietzsche's most mature works, prior to any suspicion of mental deterioration.Part of the reason for this lies in explicit authorial intent. GOM is purportedly a commentary of Beyond Good and Evil (BGE) which is purportedly a commentary on Thus Spake Zarathustra (TSZ). As a fictional narrative, TSZ sounds great for a starting point. Upon wonky advisement, that's where I started. But its poetic and mythological elements make it unique and highly challenging. And despite its bad boy rep, BGE is a notoriously difficult piece of philosophical writing.As to the content itself, one of the great boons of GOM is that it takes the student beyond the titanic trio of topics - will-to-power, eternal recurrence and the superman - that tend to overshadow the rest of Nietzsche's philosophy for the beginner. Here, in GOM, we get exposure to many of his 'second tier' topics like ressentiment, master/slave morality and perspectivism. In fact, in GOM you gain exposure to many of the tertiary concepts that make up the language-game of Nietzsche's philosophy: pathos of distance, order of rank, herd-instinct, blond beast, subterranean, tartufferie, and intellectual hygiene to name a few.I feel compelled to say something about this particular translation too. It is instantly likeable. Not only has Douglas Smith produced a highly readable translation, it seems fresh, even buoyant, compared to some of the older translations. For the first time I got the impression that Nietzsche had a sense of wry humor and liveliness as a writer - two of his own key virtues I believe! With some translations, he can read like a cross between a highly-strung pedant and Richard Dawkins on a downer. Not so here.Smith has proved a concise-but-meaty Introduction, a select Biography and a handy Chronology. More noteworthy are his Explanatory Notes, which cover not only matters of translation and language, but also provide information of the people, concepts, references, events, quotations, schools and other allusions in the text. I also found it a treat to have an index on one of Nietzsche's works.For me to comment on the content of GOM itself would be superfluous. Two eccentric observations will suffice. With reference to Professor Dawkins above, it interests me that in GOM Nietzsche presents us with some other dichotomies than "Dionysus against the Crucified". Here we have "Rome against Judea" (1:16) and "Plato versus Homer: that is the complete, the real antagonism..." (3:25). Even, dare I name it, the Old Testament versus the New Testament (3:22). No single dichotomy or perspective will ever explain the Neitzschean mind.Also, Nietzsche makes reference to depression a few times in essay three when speaking of the sickly, fatigued nature of those with slave morality (ps. 113, 117). This, along with his frequent references to optimism and pessimism, interest me greatly. I would love it if someone would relate Nietzsche's ideas here to modern notions of mental health and the recent phenomenon of 'positive psychology'. To my ears, Nietzsche often resembles no-one as much as a self-help author rather than any kind of traditional philosopher. Heresy, I know. But good heresy, I hope, in the original sense of the word 'good' anyway...And if you don't get this last sentence, then that's why you need to get this book.

Famously "difficult" book, but well worth putting a bit of time into reading slowly and pondering well. The main benefit will be gained if you don't take the arguments as being pejorative, but instead try looking at ethical questions from a different angle. Highly original approach makes this a classic IMO.

It is a good book about Nietzschean version of morality. It is the original text, good translation, very informative and helpful introduction at the beginning. It is an essential text for everyone interested in ethics or continental philosophy strand.

It's a good edition.

Kudos to Oxford UP for the cover n spine👍👍however what held them from providing good quality text is a mystery for posterity. The notes following each topic are helpful, though.