Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844 in Rocken, Germany. He was one of the most important German philosophers of the second half of the XIXth century.
Biography and Career :
Freidrich Nietzsche was born in a Protestant family, his father was a pastor. From the time he was a child he was confronted with the problem of the belief in God and he leans towards atheism, fact that will be later reflected in his philosophy.
He studies Philosophy at the University in Leipzig. In 1865, Nietzsche became acquainted with the work of Arthur Schopenhauer, and he read Friedrich Albert Lange's Geschichte des Materialismus in 1866.
In 1869, at the age of 25, he becomes a teacher at the University in Basel. he studies ancient Greek philosophy, especially Heraclit and Em
pedocle. Because of health problems he abandons teaching and, starting from 1879, he swings between Venice, Torin, Nice and Engadin, in search of a favorable climate. In 1882 he meets Lou von Salome, and he asks her to marry him but he is refused. In the same year , while in Nice, he start writing his masterpiece, "Thus Spake Zarathustra".
On January 3,1889 in Torino, he has his first mental break down, he becomes delirious, thinking that he is Dionysos or Jesus. For the rest of his life, he is taken care of by his sister, Elisabeth Foester.
Friedrich Nietzsche passed away on August 25, 1900 at Weimar.
Nietzsches philosophy reevaluates the philosophy and art of the ancient Greece. The concept of "will of power" plays a central role in Nietzsches mentality: " the most intimate essence of the existence is the will of power".
His project of reevaluating the traditional concepts of metaphysics will lead to the abolition of the idealistic values, especially those of Christianity. The will of power is analyzed not only as a development of a force but as the internal relationship of a conflict, as an intimate structure of formation, as a fundamental enthusiasm. This conception allows the human being to outrun himself, to abandon all idols and the hope of a world beyond us, it allows us to accept life as an aspiration towards power. The human represent a thing that has to be surpassed, he is a deck, not a goal.
He has had a great influence over the culture of the XX the century,(Thomas Mann, André Gide, Hermann Hesse, Sigmund Freud, Martin Heidegger, Emil Cioran). He is the man that has proudly stood up and said without a doubt : "God is dead!"
Quotes :
- "The overman...Who has organized the chaos of his passions, given style to his character, and become creative. Aware of life's terrors, he affirms life without resentment. "
- "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. "
- "To predict the behavior of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence. "
Important Works:
1872:The Birth of Tragedy
Started in 1873 and completed in 1876:Untimely Meditations
1883 - 1885:Thus Spoke Zarathustra
1886:Beyond Good and Evil
1887:On the Genealogy of Morals
May - August 1888:The Case of Wagner
August-September 1888:The Twilight of the Idols
September 1888:The Antichrist
October-November 1888:Ecce Homo
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