There are four basic parts of Nietzsche’s philosophy.

 

§        Polemics

§         Ad Hominem

§        Aphorisms

§         Become who you are -> Develop into your full potential.

 

Polemics

 

A polemic is a critical attack usually on something held as a common value.  Nietzsche’s favorite target was the Christian church as practiced in Europe. His famous “God is Dead” gives some idea as to the boldness of his criticism but it is easy to misunderstand what he was saying. He was not so much stating an atheistic position as he was pointing out that real faith in God had died and that without God to believe in, people had to come up with another means of structuring their beliefs and lives.  For example, moral values could no longer be based on religion and an afterlife is very questionable. He also disagreed with the Christian concept of morality which he felt turned virtues into vices and vices into virtues.  He developed the idea of master and slave morality.  The master morality is what is practiced by the person who does what they want when they want with little concern about what others think of it.  They seize life and go for it.  Slave morality is the result of people who got jealous and fed up with the masters.  They do not want to confront the masters directly so they contrive a story with the moral that the master morality is evil and needs to stop.  This is to get the masters under control. Nietzsche clearly favored the master morality though he did find some merits to the slave morality.

 

Ad  Hominem

 

Ad hominem means to attach the person rather than the ideas.  For example, Nietzsche said “Socrates was ugly,” and that he hated life. Nietzsche believed that you cannot separate the philosopher from the ideas he expresses. They are a personal expression of his values, beliefs and most importantly problems.  Therefore, you should not try to just evaluate the ideas but also consider the author of those ideas.

 

Aphorisms

 

Nietzsche used sound bites called aphorisms to peak interest and conveys the gist of an idea. For example, ‘That which does not kill you, makes you stronger,” is one of his better known aphorisms.  Nietzsche was a great literary artist bordering on poetic and the aphorism are a part of his expression. His aphorisms are like the peaks on mountains but to really understand them you need to delve down the sides of that mountain,

 

What you should do -> Become Who You Are

 

Nietzsche’s main thrust was to grab onto life and live it.  Whereas some philosophies and religions reject this life as wanting and look to an after life, Nietzsche rejected this and said we should accept this life and live it to the fullest.  Don’t be afraid but do what you need to do to fulfill yourself.  This is actually what ‘Will to Power’ is about, it means harness your drive to develop and express yourself, somewhat akin to the marine slogan “Be All That You Can Be”. Nietzsche’s morality did not focus on what you should not do but instead focused on what you should do, namely whatever helps you achieve your fulfillment of your potential and self expression.

 

Books by Nietzsche

 

Nietzsche was a prolific writer so it is easier to read analysis and summaries of his ideas.  However, there is nothing like reading the philosopher in his own words or in this case a translation of his words. I have read ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’, ‘Gay Science’, and ‘The Anti-Christ’. I personally like ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’ mainly because it covers most of Nietzsche’s ideas in one book.  It is a strange book in that it is written something like the gospels with Zarathustra as the prophet.  I found parts a bit humorous and I tend to think Nietzsche meant it that way, i.e. have some fun with it at times. Otherwise, it can seem a bit goofy at times.

 

§        The Birth of Tragedy

§        Human, All Too Human

§        The Anti-Christ

§         Thus Spoke Zarathustra

§        Twilight of the Idols

§        Beyond Good and Evil

§        The Gay Science

§         Genealogy of Morals

§         Will to Power

§         Ecce Homo

§        Untimely Meditations