Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche.
Written by: Javeria Khan Date: March 3, 2024
Let's delve into the extraordinary philosophy and melancholic life of Friedrich Nietzsche. Let's overview his life and controversial ideas.
Early life
He was born on October 15, 1844 in Rocken, Germany, his father was a Lutheran minister. His name was Carl Ludwig Nietzsche, and he died in 1849. Then his family went to Naumburg with his mother, grandmother, two aunts and younger sister. He had a complicated and strained relationship with his family. He once said," I don't like my mother and it's painful even for me to hear my sister's voice".
He joined University of Bonn to study theology and classical philology. He was made professor at the University of Basel only in his mid-twenties. He then gave up his career and moved to Sils Maria, Switzerland working in peaceful environment and producing phenomenal work like "The Birth of Tragedy", "The Gay Science", "The Spoke Zarathustra", "Beyond Good and Evil", "The Antichrist", "Ecce Homo" etc.
In his later years, he became partially blind and suffered from unrelenting pain. In the last 11 years of his life he lived in mental darkness, in Basal asylum. His mental breakdown was attributed to typical general paralysis.He died in August 25,1900 in Weimer,Germany. He left intellectual treasure, innovative and provocative idea, never ending legacy and a new to European philosophy.
Master Mortality vs Slave Mortality.
This is one of the most famous and intriguing concept proposed by Friedrich Nietzsche in his book " Beyond Good and Evil".
The society is divided between two types of people.
1- Master like individuals: These include aristocrat, government, people who are dominating us through power. They get to decide what's good and what's bad
2- Slave like individuals: They value submissiveness and obedience. The slave is driven by malice such as resentment and fear of strength.
He argue that being meek, mild and passive is not virtue. He saw revolt and movement as a simply slave people's will to power and an attempt to take it. Moral people are secretly liars, they are cowards and timid to take any action, and at the same time, they envy the people of power for their control and might. The origin of this philosophy was his hatred for Christianity. In his opinion defined morals demonizes the strength and dominance and accept passivity and helplessness as righteous. Forgiving your enemy, avoiding worldly gains and being harmless are key qualities Christianity focuses on.
This insight later becomes pillar for European liberalism. He had predicted earlier that Christianity would end up from Europe.
If we have to make change for better, we need power, it also suggest that bravery is key quality for bringing about change for the better. History gives us examples full of such people Nelson Mandela, M.Ali Jinnah etc. In order to rise as a leader,they acquire strength and authority. The running away of bourgeols from power is a simple evidence of their cowardice.
Ubermensch(superman) and selbstüberwindung ( self-overcoming).
Ubermensch means superman. It is the Nietzsche guide to becoming Superman. There are three stage of metamorphosis.
Camel, lion and child. The concept of ubermensch is battling against Christianity, Socialism, Communism and the current moral system. He argues man should craft their own value ( move beyond reality). The characteristics of ubermensch are moral strength, power and creativity..He rejects dominant moral system and doesn't bow to any authority. He should have love for mankind. Nietzsche said everyone can become superman.
His philosophy was influenced by Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe, who was a German writer. He considered him to be the nearest possible example of ubermensch.
The stages of ubermensch metamorphosis
1- Camel
It is most common stage found in human. Nietzsche said," There is much that is difficult for the spirit. The strong reverent spirit that would bear much, but the difficult and the most difficult are what it's strength demand? Like the camel that burdened speeds into the desert, this the spirit speeds into its desert".
Becoming camel means to sacrifice , submit yourself to the greater than oneself and then become a servant of some Sovereignty. The camel sacrifices itself for greater good . The camel is a ideal follower of an imposed moral system, he follows rules without questioning them, just like a perfect citizen.
2- Lion
It is the middle stage, the person is neither the first or the last. Nietzsche said," In the loneliest desert, however the second metamorphosis occur. Here the spirit becomes a lion who would conquer his freedom and be master in his own desert."
The lion crafts it's own way and moral system. The lion has understood the system of rules and is ready to seek its own path and freedom. Nietzsche continues the above paragraph by saying the lion is in battle with the dragon, which symbolises the customs and tradition. The dragon is the enemy of self- mastery. The dragon is called " Thou Shalt". Instead of submission the lion claimed," I Will" and is ready to challenge the old school of thought.
3- Child
All stages are mentioned in his famous book ," The Spoke Zarathustra". The child is full of passion, innocent and free from regrets. When spirit rebels against norms. It starts to live freely and creatively. Since. Nietzsche is also known as precursor of existentialism. He highlighted the importance of freedom and meaning in this meaningless world.
Nietzsche in his own words," For the game of creation. The spirit now will, his own will. And the who had been lost to the world now conquers his own."
The concept of child is driven by factor of creating new values, free from the bond and pressure of society
The word Selbstüberwindung is a German word meaning self- overcoming and going through the stages of metamorphosis in order to become Ubermensch. This philosophy inspired many great philosophers, leaders and writers, we know today. He has gone through the stages and gained wisdom and intelligence.
Lastly, I want to discuss the relationship between Nietzsche and Nihilism (meaninglessness). He is known as an atheist due to his provocative opinion, " God is death and we have killed Him". He mentioned this in his famous book "The Gay Science".
By declaring the news of God 's death, he metaphorically means that people now don't believe in their religious faith. He saw the coming of " crisis of Nihilism", which we are witnessing today 's world.
He is falsely accused of being a nihilism advocate due to his provocative quote but I think he used it rather metaphorically than literally, as his expression of thoughts was very enigmatic and cryptic.
I will talk about the philosophy of nihilism and its origin in forthcoming blog.
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