Friedrich_Nietzsche

==

//"Whatever is done from love always occurs beyond good and evil////.”// - Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche was a very influential late-19th century German philosopher and existentialist who challenged the rationality of the human mind. His works forshadowed the decline in the West and also the misleading Christian beliefs. In 1895, in Nietzsche's __The Antichrist__, his real words came to vilify Christianity as a religion in its entirety.

He contributed to the philosophical movement of the 19th century and influenced the 20th century existentialist thinkers.

Joyce R., Irem A.

(Leipzig, Germany [|http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=64573&rendTypeId=4)]

(//Friedrich Nietzsche//, by Robert Munch [|http://www.nietzsche.com/nietzsche-munch.html)]

Timeline of Significant Events

 * 1844** - Friedrich Nietzsche was born in a small German town near Leipzig, Germany. He was named after the Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm IV. His father was a Lutheran minister, but Nietzsche refused to follow Christianity.


 * 1864** - Started studying classical philology first in Bonn, then in Leipzig


 * 1867** - Joined the Prussian army, and interrupted his work for one year, but was released after he was injured

April 13, **1869**- Nietzsche left Naumburg to Basel and renounced his German citizenship


 * 1869** - Was chosen to be Professor Extraordinarius at Basel University


 * 1872** - __The Birth of Tragedy, Out of the Spirit of Music__. This book was his first and it argues the fact that the West had "overemphasized rationality" since classical Athens. This book triggers Nietzsche to question values and Christianity even more.


 * 1879** - Retired from the University due to health reasons


 * 1882** - __The Gay Science__. This Nietzsche work popularizes the beginning of //existentialism//, the belief or the lack thereof, of a supreme being. Existentialists questioned our existence and purpose on Earth and most of them were atheist. This particular work is important because it mentions the famous line, "God is Dead". That significant line refers to his atheist belief that Christians were "lackadaisical", and no longer believed in Christ.[[image:nrg.jpg width="197" height="291" align="right" caption="Nietzsche in Leipzig"]]


 * 1886** - Published __Beyond Good and Evil__


 * 1888** - __Ecce Homo, How One Becomes What One Is__. Demonstrates Nietzsche's belief in the strength and superiority of man. (Based off of the philosophical ideas of Dionysus)

January 3, **1889** – Nietzsche’s breakdown in Turin. He collapsed in the piazza.


 * 1895** - __The Antichrist__. Exemplifies his radical atheism.


 * 1900** - Nietzsche dies. After exhibiting symptoms of a serious mental illness, he was taken care of by his sister. He influences many 20th century existentialist thinkers including: Sigmund Freud, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Carl Jung.

Background

 * //Social// || * Beginning in 1880, since he was not a citizen of any country because he had given up his German citizenship, he moved around a few French, Swiss, German, and Italian cities. He did not stay in the cities for more than a few months, and these years traveling led to some of his greatest works, such as __Daybreak__, __The Gay Science__, __Thus Spoke Zarathustra__, and __Beyond Good and Evil__ (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
 * He resented Christian beliefs and his collection of works exemplified his criticism (Grolier).
 * Nietzsche mostly lived and worked in Switzerland (EBSCOHost).
 * He represented the development of existentialism along with Kierkgaard (Grolier). ||
 * //Economic// || * Nietzsche was from an upper middle class family since his uncles and grandfathers were Lutheran ministers. Germany was also on the rise during the late 1800s. Therefore, he had the opportunity to attend a superior school and prepare for university. He attended the University of Bonn and had the chance to meet many friends who influenced his works (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
 * He also served in the Franco-Prussian War under the medical unit in Prussia (Grolier). ||
 * //Political// || * Nietzsche's political philosophy was considered "illiberal" due to the fact that he did not accept the concept of human equality. He believed in natural order and that the state lied about almost everything (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
 * Although his political ideas and opinions were not evident in most of his works, his philosophy still influenced many German radical thinkers in the 20th century (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
 * He also supported the French Enlightenment (Grolier). ||

Accomplishments at a Glance
During the Age of Anxiety in the late 19th century and early 20th century, Nietzsche developed a new way of thinking. His philosophy was considered one of the "modern philosophies". A number of Nietzsche's works include the philosophical styles of nihilism and existentialism. These styles were not solidly mentioned nor coined by Nietzsche himself, but the theories behind both were used throughout his works. The two styles influenced many thinkers and philosophers to come.

Existentialism and Nihilism
Existentialism developed during the early twentieth century, and was the philosphy in one's existence. Existentialist thinkers questioned why and how human beings came about. Nietzsche's philosophy was the basis of existentialism, but he never coined the term in his works. Nihilism, which derived from the Latin word 'nihil', meaning 'nothing', is the belief that values were baseless. "Gott ist tot." ("God is dead.") In his work, __The Gay Science__, Nietzsche exemplifies nihilism. "Gott ist tot" does not mean God's death in a literal sense, but rather the "giving up of" on the belief in God. Nietzsche believes that if others believe in this concept, they are nihilists, having no basis of morals.

Influences
Some of Nietzsche's influences contain Plato, Charles Darwin, and Immanuel Kant. Immanuel Kant was an 18th century German philosopher during the Enlightenment. Some of Kant's works include the topics of metaphysics. Metaphysics, a philosophy on existence and being, shares a relationship with existentialism, which clarifies the influence between Nietzsche and Kant.

Influenced by Nietzsche
Nietzsche's use of existentialism and nihilism also led to the influence of others. The “death of God” concept inspired existentialists such as Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, and Albert Camus. Many others, including theologians, created religions based of this idea. His influence also spread to Greek writer, Nikos Kazantzakis, who expressed Nietzsche’s views in his most recognized novel, __Zorba the Greek__. Furthermore, in the field of psychology, he was greatly admired by Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, who gained much insight from his exploration of human nature.

Important Works
Nietzsche’s first book, published in 1872, was __The Birth of Tragedy, Out of the Spirit of Music__. Inspired by the Romantic Movement, he wrote that creativity had been bottled up in European society since the time of the Greeks. He promoted the idea of cultural revival by the release of creative energy. However, Nietzsche also felt strongly about the human experience and scientific truths. __The Antichrist__ was one of his most famous works that condemned Christianity as an obstacle of scientific exploration and discovery. His famous idea, ‘God is dead’, was first seen in his work, __The Gay Science__. In other works, he expresses his belief of the absence of a universal moral and the concepts of ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Nietzsche is still respected as one of the great philosophers of the 19th century.

//"Morality is herd instinct in the individual.////"// - __The Gay Science__



Selected Readings from Nietzsche's __Beyond Good and Evil__
media type="file" key="Nietzsche Podcast.m4a" width="300" height="300" Pictures: www.dartmouth.edu www.readingnietzsche.com www.amazon.com www.members.telering.at/art4u/059.htm www.answers.com

Aliprandini, Michael. "Friedrich Nietzsche: 'The Birth of Tragedy' and Middle Years." __Primary Search__. EBSCO. School Lib., King of Prussia, PA. 21 Feb.2008 <[|http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=prh&AN=19345848&site=ehost-live>.]
 * Sources**:

__Friedrich Nietzsche Quotes__. 2006. ThinkExist. 6 Feb. 2008 <[|http://thinkexist.com/quotes/friedrich_nietzsche/2.html>.]

Kaufmann, Walter. "Nietzsche, Friedrich." //Encyclopedia Americana//. 2008. Grolier Online. 22 Feb. 2008 http://ea.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0287400-00.

McKay, John P., John Buckler, and Bennett D. Hill. "Uncertainty in Modern Thought." __A History of Western Society__. 6th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. 928-9.

Munch, Eduard. __Friedrich Nietzsche__. Oil on canvas. 1906.

__Nietzsche Circle__. Ed. Rainer J. Hanshe and Mark Daniel Cohen. 2007. 14 Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.nietzschecircle.com>.]

Nietzsche, Friedrich. __Beyond Good and Evil__. Trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Random House, 1966.

__The Nietzsche Channel__. 10 Nov. 2007. 14 Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.geocities.com/thenietzschechannel>.]

Wicks, Robert. Friedrich Nietzsche (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). 2007. Stanford. 7 Feb. 2008 <[|http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/>.]

Wren, Thomas E. "Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm." //Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia//. 2008. Grolier Online. 22 Feb. 2008 <[|http://gme.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0208410-0>.]