The Truth About Friedrich Nietzsche Philosophy
God is Dead: The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche
God is dead, God remains dead, and we have killed him. How comfort our with murders of all murders.
Those who maintain a fair connection with the practice of philosophy know who said these words. A man who has proudly denied the existence of God or the Creator. Even Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, intensely followed this philosopher. Not just Oppenheimer, from Sigmund Freud to Noam Chomsky, this man's reference has come up repeatedly in everyone's words. Shakespeare's tragedy, Franz Kafka's story characters, or Dostoevsky's novel subjects — where is his existence not present?
When someone discusses him, the most unresolved questions that arise are: Did this man really deny the existence of God? Why is the world still divided into various factions over this person's bizarre theories about the turmoil of real life? Why has the complexity of his words still entangled everyone tightly? Why, even after hundreds of years have passed, have his invented concepts like Value of Affirmation, Superhuman, Will to Power — these terms still keep philosophy students and teachers busy? Why is this man called "The Man Who Killed God"?
Who Was Friedrich Nietzsche?
The person about whom today's entire article of News Monster is about is none other than the famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche — the life story of a self-declared atheist. It's worth mentioning that atheism is not being given priority here; rather, priority is being given to a philosopher's ideology.
Early Life and Influences
It is said, "A man is known by the company he keeps." In plain Bengali, it means bad company ruins you. Nietzsche's first life companion's name was William Richard Wagner. At a very young age, he became acquainted with the work of the famous German composer William Richard Wagner. You can surely understand his extensive interest in literature and music. Later, Nietzsche went to a boarding school. At the boarding school, he became acquainted with Theology (Study of Religion) and Philosophy. And there, he would occasionally surprise teachers by asking strange questions in class.
The Influence of Schopenhauer
At this time, another companion entered his life — German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. Nietzsche was very deeply influenced by Schopenhauer's Godless Worldview, Value of Art, and Philosophy of Pessimism. Difficult words, right? Before that, it's worth mentioning that philosopher Schopenhauer was a follower of one of the world's greatest philosophers, Immanuel Kant's Transcendental Idealism. The core idea of this Idealism was that our knowledge about the world is essentially equal to our own experience. That is, we define the world through everything we see in life. Beyond that, we don't have much idea about the world.
Let's return to Schopenhauer. The core idea of Schopenhauer's philosophy was that humans can never be fully satisfied, because there is only one reason — human desires are endless. When one desire is fulfilled, another desire appears. This concept also aligns with Buddhism, where it is said that human desire is the root cause of human misery. Schopenhauer advised people to live life by practicing self-denial and canceling desires.
The Birth of Tragedy
And these two people completely shook Nietzsche's thought process. As a result, Nietzsche wrote a book called "Birth of Tragedy." In this book, Nietzsche essentially brought out the characteristics of society and humans nakedly through the analysis of Greek mythology. In the Apollonian versus Dionysian doctrine, the coexistence of order versus chaos emerged — how art and tragedy influence a person's self, how the sufferings and troubles of lived life further enhance a person's thought process, and how artists create a bridge between disorder and order — all these were discussed in the book.
This book created a tremendous stir among readers. After hearing that the world is essentially a messy place, many people sat up and took notice. Nietzsche became the center of discussion and criticism.
University Life and Friendship with Wagner
While discussions and criticisms were ongoing, Nietzsche went to Leipzig University for his studies. There he met his first life inspiration, composer Wagner. Although considering their ages, there was no possibility of friendship between Wagner and Nietzsche, yet through philosophy, a close friendship developed between Nietzsche and Wagner. There were conflicts between them, arguments too, but Nietzsche liked Wagner very much as a friend. Although later, Nietzsche distanced himself from his two early life icons, Schopenhauer and Wagner.
Human, All Too Human
And then he wrote his second book, "Human, All Too Human." In this book, he said quite a few explosive things. Nietzsche claimed that Greek religion was teaching people the wrong lessons. Nietzsche also brought up Immanuel Kant's Transcendental Idealism in this book. In "Human, All Too Human," he said that one should not follow social or state laws blindly; rather, a person must find their own moral values themselves. Blindly following anything else will bring no benefit.
Nietzsche's Physical Struggles
He was writing books, discussions were happening about those books, some were making personal attacks, and Nietzsche was responding to all of that, fighting back. Alongside all this, the man was also fighting physical illness. At the age of 23, this philosopher was injured during military service. He had chest pain, which took a long time to heal. At the age of 25, he fell ill again. At the age of 35, he had to resign from his position as a professor at Basel University due to physical illness. He also had eye problems, migraine pain, and constant vomiting issues.
God is Dead
And while suffering from physical problems, at one point he declared, "God is dead." He said that relying on God would gradually become more complex, and eventually, the entire matter of belief in God would collapse. He made this explosive comment at a time when the Enlightenment movement was ongoing in Europe, and one of the key ideas of the movement was that religious texts should not be followed blindly — everything must be analyzed through the lens of science. Whether it's the Bible, the Quran, or any other religious scripture, it should not be blindly believed but analyzed in the light of science. It was essentially a timely thought of blending modern knowledge and science with thousands of years of old religious beliefs.
This was a time when atheism started becoming popular, and after Nietzsche said "God is Dead," many started calling him an atheist. If we look deeply into Nietzsche's words, we will see that he spoke of a reality where God does not exist. His discussion was about what the duties and responsibilities of humans would be in this reality. That is, not out of fear of the Creator or greed for heaven, but out of the urge to be a good person in earthly life — that everyone should be motivated to do good work — that was Nietzsche's thought.
Genealogy of Morals
When he saw that the waters were getting muddied over his writings, he wrote another book to analyze the matter better — "Genealogy of Morals." In this book, first came the discussion of two types of morality: Master Morality and Slave Morality. The difference in morality between those who were in the upper strata of society and those in the lower strata was an important factor in the society of that time — that was the preliminary discussion. Besides, Nietzsche also said that the descriptions of punishment given in the Bible are harmful to a person's mental health. The discussion also covered how the feeling of remorse plays an important role in Christian psychology and how it is not a good thing at all.
Nietzsche believed that the social norms prevalent in society have no proper meaning, and following them to the letter could gradually lead a person toward suicide and depression. This is why Nietzsche thought about and analyzed new, relevant moral values. Although he openly admitted that the values he created were not 100% correct. He also believed that social norms would change with time. He used to say that it is everyone's responsibility to think about social norms.
Value of Affirmation
While discussions about Nietzsche's book were ongoing, he brought another concept — Value of Affirmation. Every day in our lives, we face many emotions, the main ones being happiness, sorrow, and anger. The core idea of Value of Affirmation is that whatever comes in life, whether happiness or anything else, one must accept it. That is, whatever comes in life, none of it can be rejected.
If one accepts this theory of Nietzsche, then there should be no regret about the sorrows and sufferings of life, because these are inseparable parts of human life. Nietzsche said that the pain, trauma, and suffering that the body experiences must also be accepted. Just as we wouldn't understand the importance of being healthy without being sick, it's the same concept here.
This is where a difference between Nietzsche and Christian philosophy can be seen. Where Christian philosophy says to reject these sensory matters of the body, Nietzsche says to welcome them. An important point here is that many call Nietzsche the "Father of Nihilism," but he never promoted nihilism or pessimism at all. Rather, the fact that he told people to enjoy life with everything is proven here.
Übermensch: The Superhuman
Let's return to Nietzsche's real life. After leaving the university, Nietzsche spent some time living a vagabond life in Europe. During this time, love also entered his life. Nietzsche became weak for a person named Lou Salomé. Salomé rejected Nietzsche. He spent quite some time in misery. After that, he brought another concept called Übermensch or Superhuman.
Nietzsche said that those who can say "yes" to everything in all aspects of life are Übermensch or Superhuman. These people are essentially those who have used Nietzsche's Value of Affirmation to the highest degree.
Will to Power
And the strength needed to become an Übermensch, Nietzsche referred to as "Will to Power." He said that those who have more Will to Power will dominate others; they will be able to properly enjoy life. This was Nietzsche's opinion. Many refer to Will to Power as one of Nietzsche's most controversial philosophies. Many also say that through this philosophy, those with slightly less willpower have been belittled. Many also believe that Nazi Germany and Totalitarian States originated from this concept. Although history says that Hitler was not much of a fan of Nietzsche's philosophy. Therefore, the argument that Nazi Germany was developed using Nietzsche's philosophy or that Hitler became a ruler originating from Nietzsche's philosophy doesn't hold up very well either.
Truth, Illusion, and Moral Values
Although Nietzsche always told people to accept the truth, he also said that always following the truth in all matters could make a person's life difficult, even self-destructive. Besides, not always being realistic and sometimes being delusional is also not a fault — that was also his opinion. Nietzsche said it's good to have at least a little illusion in life; otherwise, everything will become unbearable.
This philosopher very firmly believed that the moral values he spoke about in his books could be used by a person to find the real truth, because these values support each other, oppose each other, give freedom, and also limit each other. Nietzsche wanted that no one should blindly use his values; rather, everyone should find their own values and develop them.
The Lasting Legacy of Friedrich Nietzsche
In the famous Hollywood movie "V for Vendetta," there is a famous dialogue: "Ideas are bulletproof." Philosophy has no death, which is why even 124 years after his death, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche's theories are still discussed and researched. In this era of Artificial Intelligence and Technology Advancement, the journey of finding one's own identity is essentially what Nietzsche's philosophy speaks about. How many people in this world of dopamine and adrenaline rush can relate to his Will to Power concept?
In this world, when people are increasingly becoming pessimistic, Nietzsche's Value of Affirmation concept speaks of being optimistic. The unity that people feel with art and culture at this time — its beginning was essentially from Nietzsche's pen. And this is how Nietzsche has maintained his relevance even today.
The renowned film director Ritwik Ghatak said, "Think, think, practice thinking." Nietzsche's life was spent in this practice of thinking, and he wanted to instill this mantra in the heart of the whole world — and he did. If you think of Nietzsche as merely a madman or a confined atheist, you will be making a grave mistake. If you want to know this gentleman, his words, his philosophy will change your thought process, your pattern of thinking. You may not agree with him in many places — in the last century and a quarter, no one has been able to either. And as long as the people of the world want to think something good or bad, as long as they can think, Friedrich Nietzsche and his ideologies will remain relevant — there is no doubt about that.
