Twilight of the Idols [Paperback]

This book is one of the greatest, most controversial and in some aspects unacceptable polemic texts of all times. It is a declaration of war against those who `have attempted to make mankind moral by through and trough immoral means' (the theologians and the philosophers of reason).
It had a mighty influence on certain political movements, philosophers (Carl Schmitt) and writers (`l'art pour l'art') all over the world.

Against Christianity (`the greatest misfortune of humanity so far')
The Christian morality is anti-natural, because it is against the body, the senses, the instincts. It is a revolt against life, a negation of the will to live, the very poison of life.
Christianity is the metaphysics of the hangman, the theologian, who infects innocence with guilt, who created the `free will', an artifice to give the priests the right to punish. It exploits the weakness of the dying for a rape of the conscience.
It stands or falls with faith in God. But, `is man merely a mistake of God's? Or God merely a mistake of man's?'

Against reason
The morality of reason (rationality at any price) suppresses the dark appetite, the instincts, the unconscious.
The world doesn't form a unity, a `spirit' (Hegel), so that nobody is held responsible any longer.

His credo, his heroes
What we need is freedom at all costs, the will to assume responsibility for oneself, the will to live with the manly instincts which delight in war and victory. To be one who spits `on the contemptible type of well-being dreamed of by Christians, cows, females, Englishmen and other democrats. To be one who is prepared to sacrifice human beings for one's own cause(!)
The free man is a warrior.' His heroes are Julius Caesar and Napoleon.

Influence
The Nazis adopted his racist and eugenic views: if one wants slaves, then one is a fool to educate them to be masters. One should push down degenerating life for the right to be born (forced abortion), to live (forced euthanasia) and to procreate (forced castration).
Carl Schmitt founded his theory of nation building on Nietzsche precept that `the new Reich needs enemies, in opposition alone does it become necessary.'
`L'art pour l'art' `means "The devil take morality! Rather no purpose at all than a moral purpose!'

Unacceptable
Nietzsche was a fundamental anti-democrat. For him, the world is naturally made an ensemble of a few masters and a herd of slaves. For him, `Equal rights' policies are an essential feature of decline. His eugenic propositions are a slap in the face of mankind.
His admiration of war is, today more than ever, an insult of humanity. His heroes, Napoleon and Julius Caesar, were two war criminals.
His misogyny is abject: `the agony of women giving birth must be there eternally'.

With his exceptional polemic talent (`Seneca, the toreador of virtue'; `Lobeck, a worm dried up between books'), Nietzsche wrote a formidable blasphemous text which influenced world's history. It has to be read `critically'.

This starts off with some almost funny (something even vaguely resembling humor is not something you expect to see in a Nietzsche book) observations from Nietzsche and goes from there into his critiques of Socrates. He later goes into critiques and observations about other philosophers, as well as critiquing Germans and Germany. This book has plenty of what I normally like and dislike about Nietzsche. Dislike, sometimes reading his work is about as exciting as watching paint dry and he comes off personality wise as way too anal retentive, dogmatic to his own worldview and humorless. He reminds me of the current wave of militant atheists. Dogmatic atheism is the trendy new system created religion in case you haven't noticed.

What I like about Nietzsche, the creed of self improvement and the anti-Christianity stuff, is here in abundance. Like in most of his work between pages of boredom you get instances of brilliance such as the following from Twilight of the Idols when talking about what Christianity did to the great "Teutonic Blonde Beast"
he say Christianity made him "sick, miserable, filled with ill-will towards himself, full of hatred for the impulses towards life, full of suspicion of all that was still strong and happy". In other words he lost his healthy Pagan Odinic worldview and became a psychological and spiritual Jew.

In this book, Nietzsche is concerned with bringing about the end of those idols that have the "feet of clay." Much has grown hollow in the light of modern discoveries, and the old idols must fall. We are not to worry too much about what shall replace them, because Nietzsche's hammer is impatient to speak. And new values need room before they can flourish, so it is out with traditional (mis)conceptions for Nietzsche.

This book is an interesting insight into Nietzsche's, if not the human, psyche. He reveals the insecurity that must stalk those who fancy to be significant people (are you really the ideal/person you represent to be, or just an actor?) This book is also the origin of the famous "what does not destroy me, makes me stronger" maxim. It's a terse and impressive statement, but it is clearly not always true. You may not come out stronger out an illness or a psychologically traumatic experience. Nietzsche overvalues hardness and overestimates the power of the subconsiouss to motivate our actions. As a short and insightful book, however, this is still a great read.

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