Quand il commence ‘Ainsi parlait Zarathoustra’, Nietzsche a déjà une importante oeuvre critique derrière lui. Ce travail d’examen des valeurs culturelles ne constitue cependant qu’un aspect de sa mission de philosophe. Il sait aussi qu’une oeuvre affirmative doit suivre. Ainsi naît la figure de Zarathoustra, double grandiose de son auteur, porte-parole des vertus qu’il entend exalter. Livre « à part », comme son auteur le nomma lui-même. Livre où apparaissent pour la première fois des thèmes comme la volonté de puissance ou le surhomme. Ces idées, diversement comprises, et quelquefois à contresens, comptent au nombre de celles qui ont le plus fortement marqué la pensée de notre siècle.
About the author
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher of the late 19th century who challenged the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. He was interested in the enhancement of individual and cultural health, and believed in life, creativity, power, and the realities of the world we live in, rather than those situated in a world beyond. Central to his philosophy is the idea of ‘life-affirmation, ‘ which involves an honest questioning of all doctrines that drain life’s expansive energies, however socially prevalent those views might be.
Often referred to as one of the first existentialist philosophers along with Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Nietzsche’s revitalizing philosophy has inspired leading figures in all walks of cultural life, including dancers, poets, novelists, painters, psychologists, philosophers, sociologists and social revolutionaries.