Untimely Reflections: Bilingual English & German Edition

Friedrich Nietzsche

Newcomb Livraria Press

About this ebook

A new 2023 translation into American English with introduction, translated from the original manuscript of Nietzsche's 1876 Unzeitgemäße Betrachtungen. This edition is bilingual- the original text is included in the back as reference material behind the English translation. This is volume 2 in The Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche from Newcomb Livraria Press. This chronological, systematic set of Nietzsche's works is the first ever bilingual complete major works of Nietzsche published in English & the original German. Untimely Reflections is a collection of four essays written by Friedrich Nietzsche between 1873 and 1876. The essays are a critique of contemporary culture, society, and science, and Nietzsche argues that the "modern" way of thinking is inherently flawed. In the first essay, "David Strauss: The Confessor and the Writer," Nietzsche criticizes the way in which Strauss uses historical facts to support his own personal beliefs, describing it as a "falsification of history." In the second essay, "On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life," Nietzsche argues that "history should be a means to an end" and that individuals should not be enslaved to the past. In the third essay, "Schopenhauer as Educator," Nietzsche praises the philosopher Schopenhauer's ideas and his emphasis on self-overcoming. The fourth essay, "Richard Wagner in Bayreuth," is a critique of the composer Richard Wagner and his approach to art and politics. Nietzsche writes, "Wagner's art is not the expression of a higher rank of man, but the symptom of a lower." Overall, "Untimely reflections" is a collection of essays in which Nietzsche critiques contemporary culture, society, and science, and argues that the "modern" way of thinking is inherently flawed.

About the author

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a German philosopher, cultural critic, and poet whose work left a profound imprint on modern intellectual history. Born on October 15, 1844, in Röcken, Prussia, Nietzsche was raised in a household steeped in religious tradition, which he would later come to question and critique. He demonstrated exceptional intellectual capabilities from a young age and went on to study classical philology at the University of Bonn and later at the University of Leipzig. Nietzsche's early career as a philologist was marked by his appointment as a professor at the University of Basel at the remarkably young age of 24. However, his burgeoning interest in philosophy soon overshadowed his philological work. His initial philosophical influences included Arthur Schopenhauer and Richard Wagner, although he would later distance himself from both. Nietzsche's philosophical journey is characterized by a profound skepticism of traditional values and moral systems, leading him to question foundational concepts of truth, morality, religion, and the nature of existence.