Thesis on "Friedrich Nietzsche"

Thesis 5 pages (1623 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche is one of the philosophers who caused huge controversy through his conceptions. Today still he is perceived as one of the harshest observers of the world and human nature. In his philosophical works he claimed that the human being is a weak being living in a corrupt world which lacks meaning. It is in this world that man in unable to find happiness. too scared to accept death and too disappointed by the objective reality, man chooses to invent religions, philosophies and any kind of systems which would give him the illusion of understanding why the world is what it is.

One of his primary focuses was on the Christian civilization. He believed it managed to function by conceiving laws which did nothing more but subordinate man's natural instincts which would have led to a complete chaos and decay. After centuries of adoration, humanity finds itself in crisis again.

The scientific discoveries make it more and more difficult for people to believe in the supreme being called God. Deprived of this psychological comfort, people show themselves unable to find any kind of balance.

Nietzsche has supreme ideal, such as absolute freedom and a man freed from all his fears, strong enough to realize his will.

In the "Gay Science" contemplates the territory of these a, describing it as infinite. This territory, although it might be perceived as frightening by some because it is unknown and because it will not undergo any form of control from man is actually the place where one can experience absolute freedom.

One of the most interesting characters from the book is represented by the madman who, in bright day light looks for God using a flash light. He states that God is dead and that him together with all the humanity are the ones who murdered him. And not only is god dead, but he will remain like this. And the humans are the ones to blame for this situation. According to the madman, God's death marks a new era, far greater in history than the ones before. It is a situation so important that it requires the invention of rituals to mark it (the festivals and sacred games which he speaks of).

He drops the flash light which breaks and then he leaves disappointed by the reaction of the people who are not yet aware of what has happened, nor of the consequences which will derive from this fact. People were shocked with this book because they took the madman's words literally and interpreted Nietzsche's intentions as wanting to prove that God was physically dead (although the assumption that God physically existed is one that Nietzsche never made).

The rue meaning of the death that the philosopher portrays refers to the decay of spirituality, to the fact that it can no longer act as a code of behaviour, nor impose any moral values. The humans are the ones who killed God because they are the ones who no longer believe in the previous order which allowed him to exist. Lack of faith is what murdered him. Since god is the incarnation of the moral values, the immediate consequence of his death will be the rejection of this values. Since one of the roles of the moral law is to create a union between all the human beings, ensuring that the world functions with a minimum of harmony, its absence will send humanity in a general crisis. There are no more fundaments to rely on. There is nothing on which meaning can be built in the future. We are facing complete nihilism.

Although the situation may seem to have no solution and suggest dramatic consequences, it is the philosopher himself which will present us with the solution. It is obvious that the basis which kept morality alive and people respecting the moral laws is getting old, undergoing decay. The direct consequence is that people loose their faith and will not be able to find any meaning if they keep searching in the same place. The foundations which humanity should be looking for are far deeper and are not to be found in Christianity. The flashlight that the madman uses is the symbol of the search for new values. The fact that it is used although there is the daylight is a clear hint that the natural light is no longer strong enough to allow people to see clearly. In fact, nobody except him realizes that God is dead and things have changed. It will take much more time for this important change to be acknowledged and accepted.

The fact that the flashlight brakes is another symbolic gesture. It suggests that its role is useless. God can not be found because he no longer exists. Under these circumstances the madman may very well abandon his search. He drew the attention of the people to what has happened, but he was taken for a madman. Humanity is still blind, still believing that daylight is enough to see reality. This attitude is another symptom for the general crisis that is about to come.

A new order will have to be created and this will have to be based on a new value, the will for power. This he describes as being the essential core of reality. In his opinion this is what can transcend reality, transform it according to man's desires and demonstrate man's freedom. Out of all the values, this is the strongest one.

Another aspect which can be analyzed when discussing Nietzsche's "Gay science" is represented by the relation between the body and the mind, in the sense that the states of the body play an important part in influencing the types of thoughts that one has. The philosopher speaks about the impact of sickness, underlining its strong influence. In the end, he questions himself about what philosophy really is and states that it could be considered a mere interpretation of the body and his states. It is true that the condition of the body plays a very important part upon the approach with which one handles himself and the surrounding world. According to Nietzsche one very important role is played not by well-being, but by pain. Pain makes people more lucid and more acute I their observation of the world and the surrounding universe. It is important to underline that pain is not an agent that will transform the human being into a better person, just like it is true that it will not increase his chances for happiness. what it will do is provide him the chance to understand things at a much deeper level.

There are however a few complications as well. Many times pain can not be overcome either because it is too strong or because its reasons are too absurd. This makes the human being to loose trust in the opportunity for life making us happy. Nevertheless, in Nietzsche's opinion this is not a problem. He states that people can go on loving life even under these circumstances because life becomes a challenge and makes one take into consideration things he would have otherwise ignored. It is a way of making man become more profound.

Nietzsche also speaks about what he considers to be the essence of humanity as species, that is the instinct to survive. Since man's will to survive is instinctual, it is obvious that it is one of the strongest manifestations of human will. Life is considered to be a supreme value which drives humanity as a herd in the direction of self preservation. The death of the old values can be considered a sign of this will that human kind has to protect itself. In order to prove how strong this instinct is the philosopher will give the example of the evil man. He… READ MORE

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