Friedrich Nietzsche - Thus Spoke Zarathustra
06.07.2023
Also reading this to prepare for my interview. First 35 pages for the introduction, my head hurts.
PART ONE
06.07.2023
Zarathustra wants to be man again
in context of going back down to be amongst other people... hrm. Interesting in context of what I'm trying to investigate in terms of defining humanity.
... do you want to be the ebb of this giant tide, and return to the animals other than overcome man?
I am making this dude cage fight Agamben.
Boy is he obsessed with downfall. Hrrm.
I almost like his discourse about the Ultimate Man but why did he have to throw in that bit abour rich/poor and ruling/obeying. My brother you can people who want different things and disagree with each other and in general Strive outside of dipshit ass power dynamics. Moreover striving for power over someone Is also a perversion of striving as power for its own sake is empty. "Create your own values" but if you value being above others those values are still dependent on something outside yourself and worse not something you can connect yourself with. Of course in the end any value relies on something outside oneself which I don't think is necessarily in conflict with self-creation. But one has to recognize the sources of oneself and one's values (and recognize oneself in them) in order not to be alienated from them (and therefore from oneself). Other than that I do think this Ultimate Man is an interesting critique of "End of History" thought and totalizing humanism. Of course in my ideal world there is no class conflict, gender is abolished, etc. but this also does not necessitate the Oneness of End of History concepts. (And of course I don't think a complete abolition of power structures is possible, but I do believe in always struggling against them instead of giving up...). In fact I think any imposed, fated oneness is no real connection. Love must be a choice to connect oneself with another. I've gotten way off topic here.
The man looked up distrustfully. “If thou speakest the truth,” said he, “I lose nothing when I lose my life. I am not much more than an animal which hath been taught to dance by blows and scanty fare.”
“Not at all,” said Zarathustra, “thou hast made danger thy calling; therein there is nothing contemptible. Now thou perishest by thy calling: therefore will I bury thee with mine own hands.”
When Zarathustra had said this the dying one did not reply further; but he moved his hand as if he sought the hand of Zarathustra in gratitude.
^ me tbh
alright what's this Zarathustra is a corpse thing all about
Zarathustra shall not speak to the people but to companions!
real and gets at what I was going on about above re: connection tbh!
To the lone-dwellers will I sing my song, and to the twain-dwellers; and unto him who hath still ears for the unheard, will I make the heart heavy with my happiness.
^ I do like this. Also what I want to do.
The three transformations is a banger. Also the despisers of the body. Real as hell. Reading and writing is kind of a banger too yayyyy writing insane shit yayyyy love!!!
Don't get the warrior chapter at all though. What the hell did he mean by this.
Actually his new idol chapter about the state is a total absolute banger so now I don't know what that part about ruling and obeying and about warriors finding nobility in obeying is AT ALL supposed to be about. But his tirarde about people who desire state/economic power goes hard as hell.
Nietzsche is currently hanging cringe misogyny moments. Grow up. Though also his comparison of woman to animals... very useful for what I need to speak about for my anthropogenesis/posthumanism topic.
07.07.2023
Wanted to finish Part One last night but got way too tired. Anyways...
Values did man only assign to things in order to maintain himself—he created only the significance of things, a human significance! Therefore, calleth he himself “man,” that is, the valuator.
real and true perhaps; relates to my concept of autoanthropogenesis. Don't know what the hell he is going on about later with "the love that wants to rule and the love that wants to obey" though.
Nietzsche misogyny CHAPTER I'm digging this old fuck and bringing him back to life just so I can kick his siphylitic ass back into the dirt!!!
Finished part one. Interesting enough. But what is the Superman as "a people"? How does that work in contrast to the peoplehood of the Ultimate Man? If he does not explain more what the hell he means here...
PART TWO
07.07.2023
All that is intransitory—that is but an image!
love him or hate him, he's spitinng straight FACTS^ transitoriness enjoyers ONLY
mf is so inscrutable writing about pity ngl. But he's onto something saying man is an animal who feels shame.
Never yet hath there been a Superman. Naked have I seen both of them, the greatest man and the smallest man:—
All-too-similar are they still to each other. Verily, even the greatest found I—all-too-human!
hmmmmmm
actually been thinking about it and there's something quite fascinating in Nietzsche's drive towards the future combined with his hate for the intransitory
I DO WISH THAT HE WOULD SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT BREEDING
I do loathe the tarantula chapter. One can reach heights without dominating others. There is something to be said for interactivity in which differences are not erased, in which people both complement and oppose each other—but it is my belief that only the weak-willed (hah!) take from this a wish to dominate, for they cannot bear to exist with and among others, perhaps out of a fear of losing themselves (such as what Nietzsche wrote of regarding neighbors) to the others. But not so! Interaction and even opposition sharpens one! To say, however, that this must be a basis for domination is folly, even towards oneself—for you have denied yourself being beyond yourself!
Verily, ever are we drawn aloft—that is, to the realm of the clouds: on these do we set our gaudy puppets, and then call them Gods and Supermen:—
Are not they light enough for those chairs!—all these Gods and Supermen?
paragraphs that make you go hmm... the superman is fake too!
I do get the thing against revenge but am still a bit baffled about turning "it was" into "I willed it thus!" Why the need?
The obsession with nakedness/clothedness in the many prudence (why did he have to call it that?) chapter is actually quite interesting in combination with Agamben's The Open and also the whole "surgery is sex" thing from Crimes of the Future... Much to think about!
shut the fuck up about commanding I will desecrate your grave
PART THREE
07.07.2023
eternal recurrence is a bit silly in my opinion!
I do like his tirade against submission.
I do agree that Where one can no longer love, there should one—PASS BY!
To do otherwise is simply a waste of time! Why should I bother myself about what I cannot love!!!
A testing and a questioning hath been all my travelling:—and verily, one must also LEARN to answer such questioning! That, however,—is my taste:
—Neither a good nor a bad taste, but MY taste, of which I have no longer either shame or secrecy.
“This—is now MY way,—where is yours?” Thus did I answer those who asked me “the way.” For THE way—it doth not exist!
SAY THIS‼‼
To be honest his thing of saying how qualities of good and evil are created greatly overlaps with what I mean when I say that humanity (as a quality?) is created. Actually yeah I can fucking cook with this actually.
He keeps starting interesting thoughts about diverse paths, overcoming yourself, not submitting, etc. and then sharting out that some people should obey. Worry about yourself man!! Be unbothered. moisturized. happy. in your lane. focused. flourishing.
There are on the earth many good inventions, some useful, some pleasant: for their sake is the earth to be loved.
True!!!
Eternal recurrence is really silly.
08.07.2023
I forgot to take notes on it yesterday but his forget about reward/punishment thing is so real honestly.
PART FOUR
08.07.2023
Now who the fuck is the higher man. Did the Overman suddenly get another name.
I LOVE THE LEECH MAN.
Whoever extolleth him as a God of love, doth not think highly enough of love itself. Did not that God want also to be judge? But the loving one loveth irrespective of reward and requital.
REAL!!! I am going to incorporate reward/punishment into my conception of anthropogenesis. The human is the self-domesticated species, and domestication is reward and punishment.
I like the cow guy! Fuck disgust.
I am a beast within enjoyer 😎
So in Part One he went on about three transformations and how it is good to become like a child, but now when his guests are worshipping the donkey they are also childish in a bad way...? But perhaps not entirely bad?
Well, that was a book.