What do you know about Friedrich Nietzsche

1
What do you know about Friedrich Nietzsche?
2
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

• Life
• Works
• The Birth of Tragedy (1872)
• Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-58)
• Beyond Good and Evil (1886)
• Twilight of the Idols (1888)
• The Antichrist (1888)
• Art is the truly metaphysical activity of man
  and the existence of the world is justified only
  as an aesthetic phenomenon.

3
Some Key Points

• Nietzsches Aim Towards a Revaluation of All
  Values
• Philology and Perspectivism every view is only
  one among many possible interpretations.
• Truth is a necessary lie.
• Dionysus the central metaphor for Nietzsches
  affirmative philosophy

4
How do you interpret Zs proclamation that god is
dead?

• No absolutes, transcendental values or absolute
  principles, e.g., Judeo-Christian tradition as
  ultimate moral authority
• Emphasizes individual freedom in creation of
  values
• Once the sin against god was the greatest sin,
  but god died, and these sinners died with him
  (p. 125)
• Forget otherworldly salvation (p. 144)
• there is no devil and no hell. Your soul will
  be dead even before your body fear nothing
  further (p. 132)

5
How do you interpret Zs teaching of the overman?

• I teach you the overman. Man is something that
  must be overcome. What have you done to overcome
  him?
• Man as a bridge from beast to overman (p. 126)
• A creator
• Essentially metaphorical
• Refers to humanitys capacity for achieving a
  self-transformation of itself

6
Who is the last man?

• Most contemptible, domesticated, without longing,
  no chaos, apathetic and indifferent
• Happiness and contentment are goals as well as
• Poison (medicine, alcohol, drugs) and agreeable
  sleep (thats why he needs the virtues)

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Zarathustras Speeches

• On the three metamorphoses of the spirit
• Camel beast of burden, bears much that is
  difficult, traditional values
• Lion fights the great dragon thou shalt and
  conquers to become free, says I will
• Child innocent and forgetting, sacred yes,
  creates new values

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Zarathustra preaches against

• (1) Teachers of Virtue who preach sleep
• Blessed are the sleepy ones for they will drop
  off.
• (2) Teachers of the afterworldly, i.e.,
  metaphysicians
• I teach men to no longer bury ones head in the
  sand of heavenly things, but to bear it freely,
  and earthly head, which creates a meaning for the
  earth.

9
What does Z mean by remain faithful to the
earth?

• those who speak of otherworldly hopes are
  despisers of life
• body am I entirely, and nothing else and soul
  is only a word for something about the body. (p.
  146)
• On the Despisers of the Body turns away from
  life going under (p. 147)

10
What is Zs advice in part 3 of The Gift-Giving
Virtue?

• go alone
• Go away from me and resist Zarathustra! And even
  better be ashamed of him! Perhaps he deceived
  you. (p. 190)
• lose me and find yourselves
• Zarathustra wants no believers
• but, like Socrates, aims to help others find
  themselves and surpass him. (p. 121)