This gentleman’s philosophy justified Hitler and Mussolini. He was considered the official philosopher by the Nazis. Hitler went to Nietzsche’s house in Weimar and paid his respects to him. But Nietzsche despite his explosive philosophy never showed any discrimination to Jews himself. As a person he was weak in health and could not have hurt an ant. Perhaps in the act of compensating against his disability and weakness, he has swung to the other extreme and espoused a philosophy that is diametrically opposite to what he has practiced.
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born in Prussia in 1844. He was born on the birthday of the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm and therefore his father named him after the King. Surprisingly, in later times that King became mad and so also did Nietzsche’s father and finally Nietzsche himself who spent the last 10 years of his life into and out of mental asylums.
One day in the night while climbing the stairs at home his father stumbled and fell hitting his head on the floor which injured his brain. A year after that he died. Nietzche was just 7 years old then.
Nietzche’s father was a missionary. On his father’s side and mother’s side for generations his ancestors had been church employees and missionaries. After his father’s death Nietzsche and his sister were brought up by 4 ladies who held a strong belief in god. One was his mother, two aunts and his grandmother. However much they tried to inculcate Christianity in him Nietzsche grew up as an atheist.
Nietzsche had a weak body and was always unhealthy. He used to be weak and feminine and most of the time he played with his sister and avoided boys. From this guy came a philosophy that shook Europe. He made the character in his first book say “God is dead”. This is something that infuriated the worshipers and entire Europe at that time.
He came in and made whatever belief the contemporary society had, stand on right on its head in his philosophy. His writings touched chords in the hearts of people even if they happened to be the wrong ones. He was not a philosopher in the conventional sense, yet with his power of poetry, with its meanderings and great force he propounded his philosophy. It made the Europe of his time stunned in disbelief and angry too. They thought who is this guy? What nonsense is he talking and what is his conceit?
His writings are the best of poetry filled with a shade of madness and they have led Europe on a trail of destruction. He was the official philosopher for the Nazis despite the fact that he was dead by the time they came in.
He studied poetry, science, Greek and Latin. Later he studied at Bonn University. There as a masculine activity he acquired the habit of drinking. He used to tell erotic poetry and used to visit prostitutes and acquired Syphilis as well. Finally he got fed up of that life and bade goodbye to it. Due to bad health, he lost interest in sex. He developed an aversion towards religion during those days.
He then joined in Leipzig University to study linguistics. He was always pining for physical strength and felt that he was not able to enjoy life.
At that time he came across Schopenhauer’s “The World as Will and Idea”. He liked the pessimism of Schopenhauer and it suited him. Schopenhauer said the will to live is the universal principle. But that principle is the root cause of suffering (just what our Buddha said). Schopenhauer then said that will to live should be transferred to be the will to die. But Nietzche differed with that and said that will to live should drive man forward.
Despite stating that his health was not good and his vision was not proper the authorities forcibly recruited him into the army. One day while riding a horse he fell down and injured himself badly on the chest. The army then released him.
By that time itself the University official’s acme to know about his brilliance and before he could complete his doctorate, he was appointed as a professor at Basil University in Switzerland. He was hardly 25 years old then.
Now what did Nietzsche say that propelled the Nazis later?
Schopenhauer said that the will to live dictates the world. No said Nietzsche, the will is to obtain power, will to power or will to overpower. Obtention of power is the root principle. I am sure our politicians would love Nietzsche.
Yes, life is full of sorrow, but sorrow has an important role in life. Experiencing sorrow is a must for humans. From sorrow arise great qualities, the will to live and the will to overpower.
Taking the Greek tragedies Nietzsche has a written a theoretical work. In the Greek tragedies, the heroes’ are severely punished by Gods, but they do not submit and bear the punishment. For Nietzsche man too is the same, he has to fight with the Gods, rebel and obtain freedom. Because of sorrows man becomes stronger. His will becomes stronger. He has to obtain power from battle and rebellion. A person who adjusts with circumstances and loves pleasure is a fool and a slave.
Nietzsche was always all alone. But while working for Basil University he had one friend and that is Richard Wagner, the great composer. Wagner too was strongly influenced by Schopenhauer which perhaps is the reason they became friends.
Nietzsche was forever ailing and suffered from headaches. He resigned from the University and went from hospital to hospital, yet he could not find solace anywhere. In 1879 his ailment became very troublesome and he thought he would die. He was then just 35 years old. But nothing of the sort happened and his health improved. He roamed around and stayed at Rome for some time. There he met a beautiful Finnish woman and his fan named Andreas Salomi. He loved her and wanted to marry her, but she was just not interested and finally she married a young guy who knows nothing about philosophy. Kant was psychologically depressed and thought that a woman should never be believed. He also wrote aphorisms severely criticizing women.
Finally he quarreled with Wagner because Wagner was travelling from atheism to theism, and so lost his only friend. Gradually his ideas turned against Christianity and its values. Then he wrote his epic work “Thus Spake Zarathustra” in 1883. Nietzsche wrote many works later, but this is the most popular and it had a tremendous influence. That was not a philosophical work but an epic. Nietzsche penned with a great poetic flair and beauty and it is considered as one of the greatest works of the 19th century. This contains the essence of all his philosophy.
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