The Philosophy of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Quote taken from Die frohliche Wissenschaft (The Gay Science) -


Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market-place, and cried incessantly: "I am looking for God! I am looking for God!"

As many of those who did not believe in God were standing together there, he excited considerable laughter. Have you lost him, then? said one. Did he lose his way like a child? said another. Or is he hiding? Is he afraid of us? Has he gone on a voyage? or emigrated? Thus they shouted and laughed. The madman sprang into their midst and pierced them with his glances.

"Where has God gone?" he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him - you and I. We are his murderers. But how have we done this? How were we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What did we do when we unchained the earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving now? Away from all suns? Are we not perpetually falling? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there any up or down left? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is it not more and more night coming on all the time? Must not lanterns be lit in the morning? Do we not hear anything yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we not smell anything yet of God's decomposition? Gods too decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, murderers of all murderers, console ourselves? That which was the holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet possessed has bled to death under our knives. Who will wipe this blood off us? With what water could we purify ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we need to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we not ourselves become gods simply to be worthy of it? There has never been a greater deed; and whosoever shall be born after us - for the sake of this deed he shall be part of a higher history than all history hitherto."

Here the madman fell silent and again regarded his listeners; and they too were silent and stared at him in astonishment. At last he threw his lantern to the ground, and it broke and went out. "I have come too early," he said then; "my time has not come yet. The tremendous event is still on its way, still travelling - it has not yet reached the ears of men. Lightning and thunder require time, the light of the stars requires time, deeds require time even after they are done, before they can be seen and heard. This deed is still more distant from them than the distant stars - and yet they have done it themselves."

It has been further related that on that same day the madman entered divers churches and there sang a requiem. Led out and quietened, he is said to have retorted each time: "what are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchres of God?"



Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher and psychologist.

He is best known for his thoughts and writings on morality, politics, and religion (Christianity specifically). He is probably most famous for his quote "God is dead" in Die fröhliche Wissenschaft (The Gay Science) and Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra).

*Read the quote above*

Der Wille zur Macht (The Will to Power) played an important role in Nietzsche's theories on morality, and the true goal of all living creatures. Happiness originates from anything that provides Man with power. Anything that is weak is considered "bad".

Nietzsche believed that Christianity may have been a religion designed within the Roman Empire by the Apostle Paul as a silent form of revenge against the Romans for the destruction of Jerusalem (a "psychological warfare weapon"). In this way, the Empire would be ruled by the Church through certain methods of "brainwashing". Not to mention, since Christianity had pity for the poor and the weak, this was the most harmful as

 

I look at Nietzsche as the representation of what existence without God would truly be like. If atheists were to be truly honest with themselves and the world around them, the product of nihilism is existentialism.

Nietzsche was the only atheist who was honest with the consequences of unbelief. He openly embraced them. His conception of the "superman" was, in my opinion, foundational for Nazism. Hitler studied Nietzsche.

His philosophy is opposed to the commonly held position of "Reform Darwinists" who look at cooperation and not competition as man's salvation.

That said, Nietzsche was pure evil. He said basically that might made right regardless of the fact that might doesn't equate goodness. This was also instrumental in the philosophy behind the Nazi movement.

I also heard he was a pedophile. Piece of work.

<[-]> Saber

 

His conception of the "superman" was, in my opinion, foundational for Nazism. Hitler studied Nietzsche.

That doesn't mean he understood him.

 

I look at Nietzsche as the representation of what existence without God would truly be like. If atheists were to be truly honest with themselves and the world around them, the product of nihilism is existentialism.

Nietzsche was the only atheist who was honest with the consequences of unbelief. He openly embraced them. His conception of the "superman" was, in my opinion, foundational for Nazism. Hitler studied Nietzsche.

His philosophy is opposed to the commonly held position of "Reform Darwinists" who look at cooperation and not competition as man's salvation.

That said, Nietzsche was pure evil. He said basically that might made right regardless of the fact that might doesn't equate goodness. This was also instrumental in the philosophy behind the Nazi movement.

I also heard he was a pedophile. Piece of work.

I've never heard anything to the effect that Neitche was a Pedophile. I've read his works and upon your statement did a quick google search. I found one page, hypothesizing. That was it.

Neitzche did, however, go insane in the latter stages of his life and I believe was eventually committed.

Neitzche's link with the Nazis is one of resistance: he was good friends with Vagner, who was very much a proto-Nazi, and Neitzche's sister was a complete convert of the cause. Nietzche himself rejected the Nazis and felt thier vilification of Jews to be the wrong reaction, and that the Jewish people should be commended for changing the world. He also got very angry with his sister for using Neitzche's words to legitimize Naziism.

The Nazis loved Neitzche. Neitzche thought they were idiots. That's not a resounding rebuke pro-Neitzche people would like to hear, but it's better then Winston Churchill himself, who once praised Facism once upon a time.

Now, what Neitzche said was that the ancient world of the Greeks and the Romans was very different from the world that Christianity introduced: it was a world of "Good and Bad" rather than "Good and Evil". That is, not precisely that might made right, but if you had ability and used it, then that was right. There's a lot of Neitzche philosophy once could see in Capitalism and yes, American values. You play, and you play to win. If you lose, well that's too bad but that's your problem.

Nietzche's view was that the Jewish people (and had he the research of later years, he's see this actually originates in Zorostratism) developed a new morality which then took over the world because it appeals to those without ability: that is, those who lose, or as he called it "the resentement of the weak." In the "Geneology of Good and Evil" Neitzchemade the following argument by comparing winners and losers to birds of prey (Winners) and Lambs (Losers):

That lambs dislike great birds of prey does not seem strange: only it gives no grounds for reproaching these birds of Prey for bearing off little lambs. And if the lambs say to themselves: "these birds of prey are evil; and whoever is least like a bird of prey, but rather its opposite, a lamb -- would he not be good?" there is no reason to find fault with this institution of an ideal, except perhaps that the birds of prey might view it a little ironically and say "we don't dislike them at all, these good little lambs; we even love them: there is nothing more tasty than tender lamb."

...

no wonder if the submerged, darkly glowering emotions of vengefulness and hatred [in the weak, or the lambs] exploit thier belief for thier own ends and in fact maintain no belief no more ardently than the belief that the strong man is free to be weak and the bird of prey to be a lamb -- for thus they gain the right to make the bird of prey accountable for being a bird of prey.

When the oppressed, downtrodden, outraged exhort one another with the vengeful cunning of impotence: "Let us be different from the evil, namely good! And he is good who does not outrage, who harms nobody, who does not attack, who does not requite, who leaves revenge to God, who keeps himself hidden..." - this, listened t

 

Kudos to Philosoper1701 for his efforts on this thread, mark II.

Nietzsche is a fascinating thinker. I think Zarathrustra reads as an amazing piece of insight into his mind and workings; though I wonder - did his relentless pursuit of understanding drive him to madness?

E_S

 

though I wonder - did his relentless pursuit of understanding drive him to madness?

Probably. But why? Why are many great thinkers also emotionally troubled?

 

Nietzsche was the only atheist who was honest with the consequences of unbelief.

Y'know, an extremely little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. But go ahead and make silly generalizations, it's your right.


That said, Nietzsche was pure evil. He said basically that might made right regardless of the fact that might doesn't equate goodness. This was also instrumental in the philosophy behind the Nazi movement.

As opposed to say, certain Christians who say might makes right (i.e. God is all powerful and thus, can do no wrong). And I'm sure the Nazis got no support from Christians who labelled Jews "Christ-killers."

I also heard he was a pedophile. Piece of work.

Yep, everyone knows only atheists can be pedophiles


With that out of the way: Ayn Rand cribbed her only interesting ideas from Nietzsche-- discuss.

 

though I wonder - did his relentless pursuit of understanding drive him to madness?

Possibly, when at the end of all he might have realized there was nothing to understand, and the world was as Shakespeare wrote for Macbeth "A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".

 

That which does not kill me, makes me stronger.

That's about all I really know about the guy and only because I saw Conan the Barbarian.

BTW, I am quite honest with myself and yet I'm not a pedophile nor a nihilist. Thank you.

 

Wow, you are one with words.

You completely distorted what I said and did not even attempt to conceal it. "Yep, everyone knows only atheists can be pedophiles." Did I say that? Did you know I did not say or even imply that? Probably.

As for God being a "cosmic-Saddam Hussein" as Anthony Flew so bluntly put it and you alluded to with your God comments, we forget God gives and takes life daily. It is called birth and death. We don't call death murder.

God, if He exists, is the Author, Maker, and Sustainer of life. He is sovereign over life and thus has not only the ability but right to create and take it as he wishes and for his purposes. Are you the Architect of life?

True Christians would be more than a little unwilling to implicate Jews for the crimes of the Pharisees and Sanhederians. In fact, it is common knowledge that Judeo-Christian belief views Jews and Israel as Yawheh's people.

Go ahead and make silly generalizations . . . I wasn't making an arbitrary claim at all. Well-known Christian apologist and scholar Ravi Zacharias touched upon this point himself. How existentialism represented atheism.

We should mark a clear distinction between the types of atheism. I am not talking about humanism but, rather, nihilism. Humanism leaves room for meaningfulness despite no God, whereas nihilism embraces meaninglessness.

We are alone, death is inevitable, and life is absurd. These are the natural conclusions to be drawn from doubting anything above what we can see.

"If man has been kicked up out of that which is only impersonal by chance, then those things that make him man - hope of purpose and significance, love, motions of morality and raitonality, beauty and verbal communication - are ultimately unfulfillable and meaningless." - Francis Shaeffer in The God Who Is There

Nietzsche did not deny this.

Humanists do. Their self-delusions that man's achievements, compassion, and hope can be traced back to selfish needs which is self-refuting. They say selflessness serves selfishness which leaves us with a confusing and dead world.

<[-]> Saber

 

I'm not the only one here who's got a way with words.


As for God being a "cosmic-Saddam Hussein" as Anthony Flew so bluntly put it and you alluded to with your God comments, we forget God gives and takes life daily. It is called birth and death. We don't call death murder.

We do when someone kills another, "taking life" you call it.

God, if He exists, is the Author, Maker, and Sustainer of life. He is sovereign over life and thus has not only the ability but right to create and take it as he wishes and for his purposes. Are you the Architect of life?

In other words, just like the big, bad Nietzsche, you're saying might does make right. But in answer to your question: Well, I imagine I could have kids. Does that give me absolute dominion over them? I know many religious people would say it's murder even to terminate a pregnancy, though we could call the parents authors, makers, and sustainers of it.

True Christians would be more than a little unwilling to implicate Jews for the crimes of the Pharisees and Sanhederians. In fact, it is common knowledge that Judeo-Christian belief views Jews and Israel as Yawheh's people.

Oh, and what's a "true Christian"? Whatever you say one is apparently, just like you claim Nietszche and the Nazis are "true atheists" and everyone else is a silly humanist who doesn't really count. If you find something that doesn't fit inside your preconceived box you ignore it.

 

You want to see who has a way with words? Me. If you two keep acting like children, I'll ban you both and make witty comments doing it. Best of both worlds. Back to the issues, not the people or Ender gets his ban saber out. Lil' Tommy, what happens when Ender gets his ban saber out?

"People get hurt?"

That's right, Lil' Tommy. People get hurt.

E+S

 

The problem is that you are anthropromorphizing God. You're attributing human qualities to a being altogether inhuman. The difference between might makes right and the sovereignty of God are those perpetrating the acts.

In history men like Nero, Ghenghis Khan, Adolf Hitler, and Joseph Stalin have attempted to play God. Everything belongs to God, even what you work for because he gives you the breath and strength to labor.

What you get when you have men who set themselves up like gods are monsters.

I'll demonstrate a point from an exchange from Lee Strobel's book The Case for Faith:

Strobel: "God ordered the execution of every Egyptian firstborn; he flooded the world and killed untold thousands of people; he told the Israelites: 'Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them, put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.' That sounds more like a violent and brutal God than a loving one. How can people be expected to worship Him if He orders innocent children to be slaughtered?"

Norm Geisler: "This shows that God's character is absolutely holy, and that he has got to punish sin and rebellion. He's a righteous judge; that's undeniably part of who He is. But, second, His character is also merciful. Listen: if anyone wants to escape, He will let them."

Geisler continued to expound upon the thoroughly rotten nation of the Amalekites and how it was their intention to obliterate Israel. The Amalekites were not some peaceful and coexisting nation that God smited out of rage.

Judgment is God's alone. The more you come to realize your own inadequacy, the more enlightened you'll become to the sovereignty of God. Until you give up and cede that you or any other human is not all-powerful.

As a songwriter and lead vocalist of one of my favorite bands once put it: ". . . In order for one to find God you have to come to a point where you are willing to relinquish authority over your own life. Maybe this is really not the same thing as rock bottom. Whatever. The Bible teaches that faith is the free gift of God, and that it can't be manufactured."

Well, I would assume a true Christian is someone who not only prescribes the teachings of Jehovah from the Old Testament but the character of Jesus from the New Testament. Jesus certainly didn't support bigotry and hate.

I do not believe it is smug of me to explain what a true Christian is if it simply someone who should be "Christ-like" according to the or

 

Judgment is God's alone. The more you come to realize your own inadequacy, the more enlightened you'll become to the sovereignty of God. Until you give up and cede that you or any other human is not all-powerful.

In other words, might still makes right, but there's this one guy who's really damn mighty, so you'd better not cross him.

As far as all real atheists being followers of Nietzsche, that is largely my own opinion. I meant that if atheists were to follow the ramifications of unbelief to their logical ends, the worldview of Nietzsche would be the end.

You have a right to your opinion but keep in mind there are a lot of atheists and they do have tendencies to try to follow logically from that view. Many of them do not, in fact, love Nietzsche.

It contrasts the hope of salvation through Christ with the bleakness of uncertainty, purpose against meaninglessness, a loving Maker against indifferent nature, and the peace of the trust in Christ's promise with an Earthly struggle.

I think it's a mistake to assume that because someone doesn't subscribe to a very particular set of religious beliefs that they can find no worth or meaning in life. A religious person can try to imagine being atheist, but even then they're bound by their beliefs... it's different when it's, pardon the pun, your honest to God view of things.

 

Mace
but there's this one guy who's really damn mighty, so you'd better not cross him.

You're really attaching human ideas to what is, in essence, a cosmic force(God).

God isn't a guy or a gal. God is beyond that.

 

God isn't a guy or a gal. God is beyond that.

I'm curious, if god is beyond being a man or a woman, or even acting like one. Why then is god vengeful? Why does god punish people? These are the actions of a human and human-like thinking. If god is beyond all of that then why even do those things? I find it funny that people attribute these qualities to their deity of choice, but then when someone calls them on it they're like, "No, no, god is not like that at all." I just have to laugh at those contradictions.

 

I've never been a fan of Nietzsche - I'm Aristotelian to the core, and teleology is pretty much contradictory to nihilism. I teach his critic of ethics in my Introduction to Philosophy class, simply because I think he raises a compelling question ("Why let others determine your moral sense?"), but beyond that, I'm not into his take on the world.

 

You're really attaching human ideas to what is, in essence, a cosmic force(God).

God isn't a guy or a gal. God is beyond that.

In addition to what FID said, I'll point out that plenty of religious texts/people anthropomorphize God. Why not call God It instead of He?

 

Zarathustra would interject and query if we had heard ought of God Being Dead?

E_S

 

Ah, Nietzsche, what an ego! He really thought that only the most intelligent would read and contemplate his apohorisms, thus stumbling on the turths he was hinting it. It never crossed his mind that some Bavarian painter would take it all at face value!

Re: God is Dead

On this Nietzsche was right, for if the notion of God or morality that flows from a notion of God mattered, the world would be considerably different, thus by humanity's penchant for doing each other over, God is proven dead.

Re: Genealogy of Morals

A later work, Nietzsche went a bit overboard in his praising of aristocracy, for he forgot that the aristos don't really like any area where they haven't already rigged the deck and God forbid the target should actually escape! In nature of course the predators don't whinge and curse about the prey not playing fair, they're too hungry and need another target to do so. I found the master figure to be anything but a role model. Still, as Gonk pointed out, the point is morality is constructed, even if the expression is lousy. Certainly GoM is one of the works that the Nazis must have loved for it fit their ideas so well!

Despite that, my view of Nietzsche in regard to the Nazis, or to anyone else appropriating his work is that, for a supposed realist, he was very naive.

JB

 

I've never been a fan of his argument that only monumental actions ought to be remembered (in his critique of the antiquarian perspective on history) - it seems to fail to realize that works of genius (e.g., Goethe) are not created ex nihilo, but rather are dependent upon earlier efforts and attempts. Understanding how a work of genius is produced is just as important as studying the work itself.

 

Not a huge Nietzsche guy, but I do respect him more than enough to take offence at the mention of Hr Lee Strobel in this thread.