Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a nineteenth century German philsopher. Appointed at the age of 24 to the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel, he was the youngest individual ever to have held this position. He quickly justified the confidence that had been placed in him, with a revolutionary account of the Greek tragic theatre. Among his most influential and important works are "Beyond Good and Evil" (1886) and "The Genealogy of Morals" (1887). Nietzsche's works remain controversial and there is widespread disagreement about their interpretation and significance. Part of the difficulty in interpreting Nietzsche arises from the uniquely provocative style of his philosophical writings. Some of his ideas challange Christianity, not only the Gospel morality, but of the personality of Jesus, with whom he never ceased to compare himself. Nietzsche associates slave-morality with the Jewish and Christian (Judaeo-Christian) traditions. Here, value emerges from the contrast between good and evil, where good is associated with charity, poverty, restraint, self-sacrifice and evil seen in the cruel, selfish, wealthy, indulgent and aggresive. He sees the slave morality as a social illness that has overtaken Europe. In Neitzsche's eyes Christianity exists in a hypocritcal state wherein people preach love and kindness which makes people weak and kills their creativity and the power of the intellect.
One of his best-known remarks is a statement "God is dead". On the basis of this, Neitzsche is obviously reggarded as an atheist. In his view recent developments in modern science and the increasing secularization of European society had effectively `killed` the Christian God, who had served as the basis for the meaning and value in the West for more than a thousand years.
Alexxx P 24/10/08
1 comment:
It is very interesting! But i can';t understand one thing, why good associated with poverty and evil with wealth??
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