Friedrich Nietzsche

Chapter 1: Nietzsche's Life Story

Chapter 2: Influences on Nietzsche's Thinking

"There are many misunderstandings about who Nietzsche was and the nature of his ideas. In ‘Who the Hell is Nietzsche’ Oliver Dixon challenges the myth of Nietzsche as a ‘prophet of doom’ unpacking his life-affirming philosophy. Dixon reflects the richness of Nietzsche’s multidisciplinary approach to philosophical problems and demonstrates the nuanced interpretations of Nietzsche in an undaunting and accessible style. This helps the reader to understand why the philosopher has been cited by figures of varying political shades as a key influence, from anarchists to conservatives to fascists.  

In unpacking the pivotal events in Nietzsche’s life in the first chapter, Dixon signals the factors that led to his philosophy that is both confrontational with 19th-century German society whilst at the same time very much being a product of it. With great insight, Dixon also looks to the present and how Nietzsche’s ideas continue to find relevance in our modern world. As well as reminding us to think more critically about how our value systems are constructed, Nietzsche promotes a scepticism towards the notion of absolute truth and the ideas that there is one morality and only one path to living a fulfilled life.  

If you’re looking to understand who Nietzsche was, the prime elements of his philosophy, and what he might have to say about our current predicament, then this is an excellent place to start."

Benedict O'Connell | Philosophy teacher and tutor 

"At the start of Who the Hell is Friedrich Nietzsche? Oliver Dixon makes a very reasonable point: there are probably as many interpretations of Nietzsche as there are Nietzsche readers.  Dixon’s unenviable task was to take all of these views and make something that doesn’t just fairly represent Nietzsche’s ideas, but also manages to do that for an audience with no significant background in philosophy.  That task was completed brilliantly.

For anyone who has heard the name Nietzsche and doesn’t know much about him, this book is perfect.  The story of his somewhat unfortunate life is laid out, with future links to his philosophy and the ideas of the time being foreshadowed throughout.  By the time the intellectual history of idealism, positivism and the rise of liberalism are explained, we can see where Nietzsche fits in and precisely why he feels alienated.  Once his own ideas start to be fleshed out, we are well aware of the world in which such ideas could appear and why they would flourish in their own peculiar way.

Dixon’s choice of key ideas are well selected.  As mentioned above, each Nietzsche scholar will put their own inflection on his work, picking and choosing the greatest hits (for example, Brian Leiter will often dismiss the importance of Zarathustra as a serious work and pays more attention to his perspectivism than Dixon does).  However, this doesn’t matter.  The point is to give people a window into the ideas that Nietzsche is famous for. For the layman, that’s enough.  If they wish to go and explore and even question whether the interpretation is correct, then all the better!

Dixon’s chapters cover the Death of God, the Ubermensch and the Will to Power.  Just as you can know Einstein and know he has a theory of relativity and still you don’t know what that means, if anyone knows anything about Nietzsche, it will be these things.  Dixon walks the reader through these concepts with clarity and precision so that a good ground can be established for the reader.  There are even numerous references to modern culture to give context (our post-truth world and the rise of Trump, as well as films and TV shows that people will know) as well as moments addressing the misinterpretations of Nietzsche’s work and the myths that follow.  What I did like about the busting of the “Nietzsche was a Nazi” myth was that this didn’t descend into some sort of defence of him as some sort of liberal or anarchist in the way some do.  It’s still very clear that he had political and social views that we would still find problematic today.  Having read a lot of beginners guides to Nietzsche, this was refreshing!

Anyone who already knows about Nietzsche in detail is likely to be the kind of person who wants to put their own spin on him and would argue that the basics don’t do him justice.  I would say that’s fair enough.  Nietzsche may even applaud that to a degree!  However, this is a readable and entertaining book that gives a sneak peak into the world of a potentially fragile man with robust ideas and will get minds questioning their own deeply held values- and for the better!  Each chapter ends with a series of asides about how Nietzsche’s ideas can be seen in our world today, either manifested in works of art or as a lens through which to understand what is unfolding before us.  As numerous sections of the book point out, it is hard to grasp the post-truth world without thinking about power, truth and morality.  As I started reading this the day Biden was inaugurated and finished it the morning after, some of those ideas really resonated and reminded me why I love Nietzsche’s ideas so much.  Thank you, Oliver Dixon, for getting me thinking about Nietzsche all over again.  I imagine this book will push even more people to go that bit further, and potentially beyond good and evil."

Benjamin Jones | Philosophy teacher