Human, All Too Human (1878) is often considered the start of Friedrich Nietzsche’s mature period. A complex work that explores many themes to which Nietzsche later returned, it marks a significant departure from his previous thinking. Here Nietzsche breaks with his early allegiance to Schopenhauer and Wagner, and establishes the overall framework of his later philosophy. In contrast to his previous disdain for science, now Nietzsche views science as key to undercutting traditional metaphysics. This he sees as a crucial step in the emergence of free spirits who will be the avant-garde of culture.

In summing up the crucial change of perspective expressed in Human, All Too Human, Nietzsche used the following words in his later work Ecce Homo:

"Human, All Too Human is a memorial of a crisis…. [W]ith this book I liberated myself from that in my nature which did not belong to me. Idealism does not belong to me…realities were altogether lacking in my knowledge, and the ‘idealities’ were worth damn all! A downright burning thirst seized hold of me: thenceforward I pursued in fact nothing other than physiology, medicine, and natural science."

This is an essential work for anyone who wishes to understand Nietzsche’s incisive critique of such diverse aspects of Western culture and values as the idea of good and evil, the roles of women and children in society, and the concept of power and the state.

弗里德里希·尼采（Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900），19世纪德国哲学家，唯意志论和生命哲学主要代表之一，被认为是世界最伟大的思想家之一。

早年在波恩大学和莱比锡大学学习，获博士学位。不到25岁就被聘为瑞士巴塞尔大学的古典语文学副教授，并在一年以后成为正教授。一生著述颇丰，如《悲剧的诞生》、《查拉图斯特拉如是说》、《善恶的彼岸》、《强力意志》等，对20世纪的思想界产生重大影响。1889年初，在意大利的都灵街头摔倒，就此精神错乱，于11年后在德国的魏玛去世。