(1844-1900)
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, (Oct. 15, 1844, Aug. 25, 1900) was a German philosopher who, together with Soren Kierkegaard, shares the distinction of being a precursor of modern Existentialism. He studied classics at the universities of Bonn and Leipzig, receiving his doctorate from the latter in 1869. Because he had already published some philological articles, he was offered the chair of classical philology at the University of Basel in Switzerland before the doctorate was officially conferred on him.
In his first book, The Birth of Tragedy (1872), Nietzsche presented a theory of Greek drama and of the foundations of art that has had profound effects on both literary theory and philosophy. In this book he introduced his famous distinction between the rational, or Apollonian, element in human nature and the passionate, or Dionysian, element, as depicted in the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus. When the two principles are blended, humanity achieves a momentary harmony with the Primordial Mystery. This work, like his later ones, shows the strong influence of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, as well as Nietzsche's affinity for the music of his close friend Richard Wagner. What Nietzsche presented in this work was a pagan mythology for those who could accept neither the traditional values of Christianity nor those of Social Darwinism.
After resigning from his teaching position because of ill health, Nietzsche lived in Switzerland, Italy, and Germany for the next two decades, writing extensively. In Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883-85), his most celebrated book, he introduced in eloquent poetic prose the concepts of the "death of God", the "overman", and the will to power. Vigorously attacking Christianity and democracy as moralities for the "weak herd," he argued for the "natural aristocracy" of the superman who, driven by the "will to power", celebrates life on earth rather than sanctifying it for some heavenly reward. Such a heroic man of merit has the courage to "live dangerously", live away from the "herd", and thus rise above the masses, developing his natural capacity for the creative use of passion and opening himself up for his true potential.
Although these ideas were distorted by the Nazis in order to justify their conception of the master race, to regard Nietzsche's philosophy as a prototype of nazism is wrong. His criticism of the mediocrity and smugness of German culture led to a disintegration of his friendship with Richard Wagner as well as to a disassociation from his beloved Germany. To correct any misconceptions concerning the overman, Nietzsche published Beyond Good and Evil (1886) and On the Genealogy of Morals (1887).
Nietzsche became increasingly deranged in his later years. In 1889 he suffered a severe breakdown, from which he never recovered. His later writings are particularly strident; although more forceful than his earlier essays and books, they retain clear continuity with his earlier ideas. In the collection of essays published posthumously under the title The Will to Power (1901), Nietzsche further developed his ideas of the overman and the will to power, asserting that humans must learn to live without their gods or any other metaphysical consolations.
Nietzsche believed that the individual was very important and that individuality should not be defined, because definitions would place limits on it. His conviciton was that the individual is capable of developing into something better than what we now think of as the individual. This person than becomes an "overman" or "superman".
Nietzsche contrasted the overman with what he called "the herd"-all those average people who like to stick together and think and act alike. By resisting herd mentality, Nietzsche hoped to pave the way for the overman-hoped to bring about new possibilitied for living.
Nietzsche was highly criticized for his attitude towards mortality; he felt that rigid ideas of "good" and "evil" are just herdlike ideas that lead to a safe, quiet and boring existence. Emotions like pitty and remorse detract from leading an exciting, fulfilling life. According to Nietzsche, we need to look past the ideas of "good" and "evil" if we want to realilze our potential for living. We need to make our own values and disregard the feeling of the herd. as an individual, you live by your own values and terms. The way to live for yourself is by exerting control over situations and succeeding in them so that you make yourself happy. The things that make you happpy are not determined by what other people thing, solely by you.
The Perspective of Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilheim Nietzsche
Another Nietzsche Page
� 1997
Background Copyright Shamyn Whitehawk, 1998
Get your own Free Home Page