Thus Spoke Zarathustra (“Also Sprach Zarathustra”) is often considered Nietzsche’s seminal work. Throughout the 6-7 main works constituting Nietzsche’s main philosophy, he wants to reconsider major parts of our thinking:
- Religion (Nietzsche on Human Purpose)
- Human nature (Nietzsche’s Will to Power)
The third area, which is what Thus Spoke Zarathustra concerns, is Good/Evil. This is why Zarathustra/Zoroaster is chosen as the main character — he is the Persian prophet who first articulated the concept of good and evil. Nietzsche’s aim with Thus Spoke Zarathustra is to have it serve as an extension of Zarathustra’s work (like Socrates/Plato and Paul/Jesus).
The beginning of the book has Zarathustra at the top of a mountain — when he turned 30 year old, he spent 10 years at the top of a mountain in a cave to understand the world better to contemplate things. Through this, Zarathustra has become wise, to the extent that his knowledge has begun to become a burden to him. Thus, Zarathustra hikes down the mountain and spread his wisdom to the people who live at the base of the mountain. In the village, Zarathustra begins to spread his gospel to a group of people who have gathered to see a tight rope walker. He declares that mankind’s goal is to create the Ubermensch; something better than humans. All men must be prepared to will their own destruction to bring the Ubermensch into being. Zarathustra is mocked and laughed at by the villagers. The rest of the book details Zarathustra’s thoughts, struggles, and visions; many parallels to Christian faith are drawn and then refuted, and other themes like the Ubermensch and the will to power are explored. Even the concept of eternal recurrence is touched upon, although not very seriously.