Reading NIETZSCHE: Where to Start?

"I want to read Nietzsche, where do I start?" is a question that often comes up. Nietzsche's philosophy is notoriously difficult to interpret and Nietzsche was a prolific writer with a dozen books to his name. If one wants the best possible understanding, where does one start? In what order should you read his books? In this video, we make a few suggestions. Start with Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, or The Genealogy of Morals? What about Twilight of the Idols? Daybreak? Secondary literature? In this video we cover it all.
Of course, this is just some advice. There will be disagreement on this order, and if there should be an "order" at all. But that's okay.

[chaitanyavelamala]

1.on the genealogy of morals
2.beyond good and evil
3.twilight of the idol & the antichrist
4.the gay science
5.thus spoke zarathustra

[nenzlbw]

I’m kind of scared to read Nietzsche’s work. I feel like it will completely change my outlook on life and how I perceive everything.

[aluxifer]

"Step One: Don't start with Thus Spoke Zarathursta"
Me, having just bought Zarathursta: 👁👄👁

[lovingsingleton]

The list given at 4:39

1. The genealogy of morals 2. Beyond good and evil 3. Twilight of the idols and the antichrist 4. The Gay Science 5. Thus spoke Zarathustra

[gracefitzgerald]

I’ve watched and learned for over a year. I’m finally halfway through Beyond Good an Evil, and feel good that I grasp more than I thought. I guess I’m hanging around the right individuals ( yes, my online YouTube buddies). Girls my age(I’m older) it’s not typically their thing.

[williamisley]

In our school's 4-semester course on the Great Ideas, we introduce Nietzsche and then the students read significant portions of 1st the Genealogy of Morals, a bit less of Beyond Good and Evil, and then selected snippets from Nietzsche's works on certain themes. I am glad to see that we started with the right two. It seems to work. Thank you for your excellent videos.

[arryacc]

This video: Don't start with Thus Spoke Zarathustra, it's cryptic and too hard to understand.

My egotistic brain: 😏 I know exactly where to start.

[wintersquash]

I don't think secondary texts are unnecessary or bad, but in "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer J. Adler, he explains that "reading more about an author than reading the author's actual work" is dangerous. What he recommends instead is using the method he outlines in the book to understand the book with only your own mind, elevating your understanding. Thinking for yourself. An answer derived from this effort is worth infinitely more than one given to you by another, even if it takes longer, and is more arduous.

[JakubUberna]

Great advice! I began my exploration of Nietzsche with "Thus Spoke Zarathustra, " but I struggled to grasp certain aspects. This led me to develop my own interpretation of TSZ to fill in the gaps in my understanding. After reading "Ecce Homo, " I realized that I would benefit from starting with some other books.

Already started “The Birth of Tragedy” as my third Nietzsche book. Let’s see where this route is going to take me! Haha

[rosiemiller]

me coming here after purchasing Thus Spoke Zarathustra 😬

[Gruso]

Most philosophy is difficult. But that doesn't mean you cannot do it. You'll struggle to understand most of the work the first time around but don't give up. Take notes and research concepts as you go through the primary works. I think going through secondary texts and biographies can add unnecessary bias. Just read, form your own beliefs, and then look at the secondary texts after.

[WeltgeistYT]

If someone asks "where should I start with Nietzsche?" this is the answer we'd give. Remember, it's just a piece of advice, and there will be disagreement for sure. If you recommend an other order, definitely tell us in the comments! Like & Subscribe if you found the video helpful. It really helps. Thank you!

[vulnerablegrowth]

Fantastic video. I’ve been fascinated by Nietzsche ever since I watched a documentary on him. I’m currently doing a deep dive in his work so that I can better understand how to make it fit into our currently reality and how I can use it to guide my life. Honestly, it feels great that I’ve stumbled upon a similar philosophy to Nietzsche before knowing about him. Feels like I found someone who finally understands me. Hah

But anyways, the reading approach you’ve given is awesome. It’s usually the approach I take, but I also read summaries of the books and then find interpretations/analyses on YouTube before even diving into any text. This step is also useful for deciding whether a book is just fluff, stuff I already know and could be written in a short blog post or if it’s dense like Nietzsche’s books.

[williampetrovic]

While Human All Too Human may not be one of Nietzsche's major books, I found it to be his most easily readable. It's accessibility is great for starters, as it can then ease you into some of his more thought provoking works - which can be more challenging. Human All Too Human is easy to digest in one reading.

[x_gosie]

Fck! This is the thing, I wanted. I’ll buying all of nietzhsche’s books next week. And I don’t know where to start, thank you!❤️

[a.wenger]

I really wish I saw this video 5 years ago haha! What a short cut that would have been!
I worked the opposite direction. I started my first few years being unable to understand _Zarathustra_ or _Beyond Good & Evil_ at all!
Only after failing several attempts at reading either of them through, I resorted instead to online video essays, documentaries, and scholarly articles on Nietzsche for some sort of understanding.
I then read through several university published introductory books, read the _Genealogy_, and then the rest of the corpus from there. (still not done though with this last step)

I always suggested _Dawn of Day_ as the best first book to read, but, looking back on it, I think your right *Weltgeist* . Secondary literature is absolutely paramount for background information, otherwise one *risks* misinterpretation. What makes Nietzsche's philosophy so volatile and dangerous is that he is very easily misinterpreted without context. The consequences of such a misunderstanding have been provably disastrous!

[sastra]

This video is actually well-made and very pleasing to the eyes, thank you so much for the guide to reading Nietzsche, I have been wanting to read Nietzsche since the analyses that people make based on Nietzsche are frequently insightful so I'm interested in reading his works directly, but I was always confused as to where to start. So once again thanks a lot 🙏🙏🙏 I hope you find joy in the things that you do!

[theletterm]

Thank you for the effort of putting this list together! I was just watching your newest video and wondering where I should in case I finally dared to read Nietzsche for myself. I thought about posting a comment asking the question but then wondered whether you had already addressed this topic in a video, and voilà, here I am! Thanks to this recommendation I think I will be picking up On the Genealogy of Morals when I find some time to read it.

[jimc.goodfellas]

Excellent video and advice ..I'd say that's an excellent order to read them in. You definitely want to read a little about him and his ideas first. Also, you're spot on about Kauffman...I prefer his understanding and translations of Nietzsche to all the others. And on a personal level I will recommend the reader allow plenty of time for The Gay Science and Zarathustra, they can be challenging

[xslxvbm]

Your recommendation by Michael Tanner. I have bought this book. For me, it contains a lot of concepts/ ideas, 'isms' and so on, that are completely new to me. His book is very 'wordy' with a lot of it requiring further study. So yes you could read it in one day but potentially spend a lot more days understanding what it is actually saying to you with further research. I feel that it is not a beginner book, far from it, but is a deeply concise, word restricted dissertation style of writing. Tanner is likely sticking to his idea that Nietzsche is aphoristic 'few words, a lot of meaning' and followed suit in his intro book. A far better introductory book would be one which requires no additional research outside of the book (about subjects outside of Nietzsche) to get the 'jist' and an over-viewing understanding. For now, I've given up on reading further and going back to the stoic books, good old Seneca and so on. I might try and read it again one day, or at least find a more dumbed down introduction to start off.