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"Fired with a fearless iconoclasm which surpassed the wildest dreams of contemporary free thought" - The New York Times
Friedrich Nietzsche is one of the most influential thinkers of the past 150 years and The Genealogy of Morals (1887) is his most important work on ethics and politics. The book which raises profoundly disquieting issues about the violence of both ethics and interpretation.
Elucidating and expanding on the aphorisms of Beyond Good and Evil and signalling a return to the essay form, Nietzsche considers the development of ideas of 'good' and 'evil'; explores notions of guilt and bad conscience; and discusses ascetic ideals and the purpose of the philosopher.
A polemical contribution to moral and political theory, The Genealogy of Morals offers a critique of moral values and traces the historical evolution of concepts such as guilt, conscience, responsibility, law and justice.
About the author
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, born on October 15, 1844, in Röcken, Prussia, was a German philosopher and classical philologist whose ideas profoundly influenced modern intellectual history. At 24, he became the youngest individual to hold the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel in Switzerland. However, due to persistent health issues, he resigned in 1879 and dedicated the next decade to his philosophical writings.Nietzsche's work is characterized by a radical critique of traditional values and a deep exploration of human existence. He introduced influential concepts such as the "will to power," the "Übermensch," and the proclamation that "God is dead," challenging the foundations of religion, morality, and culture. His distinctive style, marked by aphorisms and irony, set his writings apart from those of his contemporaries.In 1889, Nietzsche suffered a mental collapse, leading to a complete loss of his cognitive faculties, likely due to vascular dementia. He spent his remaining years under the care of his mother and later his sister, Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, until his death on August 25, 1900, in Weimar, Germany. Posthumously, his sister edited and published his works, sometimes controversially, influencing the interpretation and reception of his philosophy.
