Friedrich Nietzsche


"The disappointed man speaks. - 'I listened for an echo and I heard only praise-.'"
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) not only stands today as one of the greatest modern philosophers, but similarly as one surrounded by turmoil and controversy. Most of this controversy arose in the 1930's with the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. Nietzsche's philosophy thus developed the reputation of being quite taboo as the Nazis used and abused his words in order to suit their own personal agendas. Included in his masterful oevres were his theory of the "superman" or "new philosopher" , the decandence of the masses, the necessary unification of the European states under one will and one goal, the innate cruelty to the human condition, and of course his most acclaimed and notorized view of the death of God. Specifically abused by the Nazi party were his views on the "superman" which was twisted to support the Aryan race, and his goal of European unification which thus justified the German occupancy of territories during the Second World War. Aside from this, Nietzsche quite successfully and amazingly found the ability to maintain a rationalist standpoint in an age of emerging empirical views of the world. His adherance to the relative consciousness and more over the relative moral system of the individual destroyed the presupposed western ideal of absolute universal ethics. His similar distaste for any notion of religion or God brough atheism into the forefront of discussion for the 20th century philosopher. Unfortunately, Nietzsche's contribution was cut short at the peak of his abilities in 1889 where he fell prey to a madness which left him in mental and physical paralysis until his death in 1900. His life in constant turmoil, his mind submitted to the dark shadows of madness, and yet his brilliance shines brightly whether in state of glory, or state of infamy. None the less, the importance of his contribution to popular thought: undeniable.
Selected Readings

The Birth of Tragedy (1872)
Untimely Meditations (1873-6)
Human, All Too Human (1878)
Assorted Opinions and Maxims (1879)
The Wanderer and his Shadow (1880)
The Dawn (1881)
The Gay Science (1882)
Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-5)
Beyond Good and Evil (1886)
Ecce Homo (1887-8)