Nietzsche

 mpartyon

“By my love and my hope I beseech you: do not throw away the hero in your soul! Hold holy your highest hope!”

Friedrich Nietzsche was born in 1844. His major philosophical works were composed in the 1880’s. He went insane in 1889 and died shortly after the turn of the century. He is sometimes thought of as a sort of proto-nazi–admired by Hitler (et al) for his acclamation of “The Will to Power.” He is more accurately described as a virulent anti-christian thinker–a self proclaimed “immoralist” and “antichrist.” In my opinion, the essence of his moral philosophy is most accurately reflected in the following observation:

     that man be delivered from revenge, that is for me the
     bridge to the highest hope, and a rainbow after long
     storms (Thus Spoke Zarathustra). [More]

Nietzsche felt that fullness of life demands an unconditional affirmation of existence. The “spirit of revenge” is to be mistrusted inasmuch as it is usually born out of weakness and resentment. It is not that we ought to turn the other cheek, but rather that we should renounce the tendency to despair which is implicit in our habit of always seeking someone to blame for the difficulties we experience. We may do whatever we will– our right extends as far as our power! –but we only exacerbate our difficulties when we brood over past insults and injuries. We are unable to realize our real potential due to such brooding and, in general, due to our habit of saying “No!” to life. In contrast to the spirit of revenge which broods over the past, the spirit of life affirms the past as the sole foundation upon which we may create–the necessary condition for the realization of our highest hopes and most noble possibilities.  That person is “redeemed” who can “recreate all ‘it was’ into a ‘thus I willed it'” (Thus Spoke Zarathustra). Such affirmation reaches its pinnacle in those who are able to will “the eternal recurrence of the same”–those who would gladly live every detail of their lives over and over and over again, for all eternity! Just imagine!–no heaven when you die! No escape from life into the oblivion of eternal death! Just this life–your eternal life!

Click here to find out more about Nietzsche, “the eternal recurrence of the same,” and the affirmation of life!

Note:  Eventually I hope to add more of my old Nietzsche pages and activate the link indicate in the text above.  In the meantime, click here to find out more about Nietzsche, etc., with the help of Google!