Post #7 - Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche was a 19^th-century German philosopher who wrote texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, and science. His father was a pastor and brought him up in a Christian environment, but once Nietzsche started college he lost his faith. Nietzsche argued that historical research had discredited the central teachings of Christianity. He didn’t want to destroy morality but rather initiate a re-evaluation of the values of Judeo-Christianity. Nietzsche viewed Christianity as a hypocritical state where people preached love and kindness, but found their joy in condemning and punishing others for pursuing impulses that they, as Christians, are not allowed to act upon.

He became the Chair of Classical Philology at University of Basel at 24 but had to resign due to health problems. Later on in his life he exhibited symptoms of serious mental illness and had to be taken care of by his mother and sister. His book called the Vision of Nietzsche is out of print but his writings can still be found on the internet. I have read some of these passages and have written a quick summary and interpretation of each.

1. Death of God:

The God is dead quote is about a madman who ran with a lit lantern into the market-place looking for God where he was ridiculed by a couple non-believers. The madman was crying out that they were all murderers, that they all killed God, and how where they supposed to console themselves after such a crime. These comments left the non-believers silent and in deep thought. This quote is about the death of God in the heart of modern man due to the rationalism and advances in science. Nietzsche states that these same people used to have “Christian-morals” but these same morals have lead to the death of God. A new approach had to be taken where a new set of values are set in place which are faithful the values of the earth.

2. Truth:

This passage was very difficult for me to understand, but I’ll give it a try. It starts off by explaining a planet where clever animals invented knowledge, and after a minute this star grew cold and died. It then talks about nature and how this world existed before our human intellect and how it will still continue after we die out. It talks about how the world does not revolve around us, even if we think it does. I like when it points out that the mosquito which flies around the room also probably thinks that it is flying around the center of the world. Nietzsche goes on to explain that if we actually had real knowledge about this world, then we would want to leave it as soon as possible. Our world is full of vanity and we want everything we can get our hands on. This vanity is a great escape from the reality of things and gives us something to focus on besides the truth about the world around us. Our vision of the world is not the ‘truth’, but a vision that is spoiled by our prejudice.

3. Morality as Anti-Nature:

The passage on Morality as Anti-Nature was also a difficult concept to understand. I think it’s talking about how Christians feel they have to destroy the ‘passions and cravings’ in order to prevent themselves from doing something they’ll regret and suffer the consequences of these actions. Nietzsche explains that Christians do not have good self-control and have to follow strict rules to behave ‘morally.’ Ascetics are the ones who came up with these rules because they wanted to be able to punish anyone who was freely living out their passions. He focused on the idea that Christian moral value system in Europe had changed and the present morality was an inversion of the true and noble morality.

4. Jesus:

The passage on Jesus explains the Christian way of life. They are promised ‘eternal bliss’ if they live their lives as Christians. They do not hate anyone, don’t get angry with anyone, and love their neighbors. Nietzsche explained that Jesus lived his life and died in this manner so he could teach mankind how to live and not to just save them. Jesus understood that his crucifixion was all planned out by God, so he did not try to fight it or show anger towards his accusers. This is where the phrase: “What would Jesus do?” comes from. Jesus lived a Christian life, knowing that everything has already been planned out by God. Therefore, he did not fight any of the horrible things that were happening to him and he showed love to every individual who crossed his path. I think Nietzsche is using sarcasm when he is praising Jesus for these attributes. He feels these are all demonstrations of how Christians have taken on the slave-morality where meekness and subservience. Nietzsche called for an “Anti-Christian” morality for the future with the transvaluation of all values.

5. Paul:

Nietzsche wrote these two passages about Paul to show how he corrupted the image of Jesus into the image of “Jesus Christ” through his resurrection and second-coming. Nietzsche brings up a comparison between Buddhism and Christianity. He says that Buddhism offers nothing while Christianity promises everything but fulfills none of it. He accused Paul of inventing ‘his own history of Christian beginnings’ and of using his standing as a priest to reach out for more power. Nietzsche believed that Paul set up the belief of the immortality of the soul and therefore, the ‘doctrine of judgment.’ I don’t think Nietzsche’s ideas or accusations are too outlandish since the Bible was written by humans. Humans are not perfect or completely innocent, so I can see why Nietzsche would believe that Paul would use his position to gain more power.

6. Myth of Eternal Recurrence:

This passage is about a demon sneaking into your dreams and telling you that you will have to relive this life over and over again. Everything will be the same every time you live your life. What would you do if the demon told you this? Would you curse him or take this as your ultimate eternal confirmation? In this passage I think Nietzsche is trying to explain to the reader that living a Christian life of abstinence is not something one would want to re-live over and over again. He thinks that an individual should only consider their life when trying to decide what action to take. Nietzsche is criticizing the Christian view of the afterlife, where the believers are supposed to give up their immediate happiness for the reward in the afterlife.

7. Free Spirit:

I believe Nietzsche is referring to himself and other philosophers like him, who do not believe in the Christian morality, as the ‘free spirits.’ Passage 343 is about him rejoicing at the fact that ‘God is dead.’ Nietzsche explained that most people don’t know what this death of God actually means; they do not realize that the Europe they live in has been built on these Christian morals. He talks about how the free spirits don’t even understand what this means but they see it as a kind of new light and exhilaration about the changes which are about to come. Nietzsche states that these free spirits can finally come out of hiding and they are finally allowed to be lovers of knowledge. Nietzsche sees the death of the ‘old God’ as the dawning of a new way of life, where free spirits will be able to live without the passing judgment of Christians.