Beyond Good And Evil: Week 1

An introduction to Nietzsche's Beyond Good And Evil

Dear micro-philosopher,

Welcome to the wonderful and terrifying world of 19th century Europe.

This was a world in which the horrors of mass industrialization led to violent and widespread revolts in 1848, a world in which Beethoven wrote the Ninth Symphony, and in which Italy and Germany became the unified nations we know them as today.

This was the world that Friedrich Nietzsche was born into, and also the world that he died in (1844-1900).

Nietzsche’s life was completely contained by the 19th century, and he understood the significance of his own age perhaps more deeply than anyone.

Nietzsche’s philosophy is an embodiment of his historical self-awareness and it serves as both a warning to future humans, as well as a reason for hope.

What he has handed down to us is not only relevant to contemporary life, but urgent.

Nietzsche believed that the future of humanity, the human spirit, and everything that gives our lives meaning is being fundamentally threatened in the modern world.

If you agree…