Walking the Tightrope

Many of the more contemporary translators of The Gay Science prefer to use Nietzsche’s other intended title for the work, The Joyous Science . This is in some measure due to how the word “gay” is now commonly accepted in western culture, as homosexual. Regardless of which word you use, however, part of Nietzsche’s intent was to contrast the title against Thomas Carlyle’s famous phrase (at the time) in classifying economics as " The Dismal Science " . This in and of itself can be seen as rather humorous and I’m sure Fritz chuckled at his parody. Rudiger Safranski offers another interesting glimpse by a prominent Nietzsche scholar into The Gay Science . His perspectives integrate Nietzsche’s thought with his private life, thus reinforcing the important distinction that Nietzsche’s rational thinking was actually applied to his manner or style of Being. (Nietzsche doesn’t use the word “being,” that’s my projection.) “He composed it in a state of bliss. Weeks would pass that we...