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'''Friedrich Nietzsche''' (1844-1900) was a [[Germany|German]] [[atheism|atheistic]], [[nihilism|nihilistic]] [[philosopher]] whose work set a foundation for the [[existentialism|existentialist]] movement of the 1900s.<ref>[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/ Stanford's Biography on Nietzsche].</ref> Nietzsche went mad and suffered a mental breakdown, from which he never recovered.

'''Friedrich Nietzsche''' (1844-1900) was a [[Germany|German]] [[atheism|atheistic]], [[nihilism|nihilistic]] [[philosopher]] whose work set a foundation for the [[existentialism|existentialist]] movement of the 1900s.<ref>[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/ Stanford's Biography on Nietzsche].</ref> Nietzsche went mad and suffered a mental breakdown, from which he never recovered.

Nietzsche was critical of [[religion]] in general, though especially [[Christianity]], which he described as the "religion of pity."<ref>[http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Friedrich_Nietzsche/ Nietzsche Quotations]</ref> Nietzsche is perhaps most famous for his declaration that “God is dead,” which suggests that since Christian morality views worldly pleasures as immoral, to accept Christianity is to deny life - therefore, God (a personification of Christian principles) is figuratively dead. Furthermore, he postulated that the Christian Heaven, a metaphysical "true world" beyond the reach of the human senses, devalued the physical world that we live in. In this sense, he accused Christianity of nihilism. He also suggested that Western culture seemed no longer rooted in Christian dogmatism and a faith-based worldview. Without [[God]], the idea of absolutes are difficult to come by, and Nietzsche thus suggested ways for people to cope with this loss of "[[Good]]" and "[[Evil]]".

Nietzsche was critical of [[religion]] in general, though especially [[Christianity]], which he described as the "religion of pity."<ref>[http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Friedrich_Nietzsche/ Nietzsche Quotations]</ref> Nietzsche is perhaps most famous for his declaration that “God is dead,” which suggests that since Christian morality views worldly pleasures as immoral, to accept Christianity is to deny life - therefore, God (a personification of Christian principles) is figuratively dead. Furthermore, he postulated that the Christian Heaven, a metaphysical "true world" beyond the reach of the human senses, devalued the physical world in which we live. In this sense, he accused Christianity of nihilism. He also suggested that Western culture seemed no longer rooted in Christian dogmatism and a faith-based worldview. Without [[God]], the idea of absolutes is difficult to come by, and Nietzsche thus suggested ways for people to cope with this loss of "[[Good]]" and "[[Evil]]".

{{cquote|When [[Adolf Hitler]] first met [[Benito Mussolini]], he presented him with a gift of the collected works of Nietzsche. It was an appropriate memento. Hitler's ideas about life and politics were largely derived from Nietzsche. Hitler subscribed to the Nietzschean idea that superior people have an inborn right to rule. - William Kilpatrick}}

{{cquote|When [[Adolf Hitler]] first met [[Benito Mussolini]], he presented him with a gift of the collected works of Nietzsche. It was an appropriate memento. Hitler's ideas about life and politics were largely derived from Nietzsche. Hitler subscribed to the Nietzschean idea that superior people have an inborn right to rule. - William Kilpatrick}}

Nietzsche suffered a mental collapse in 1889, and spent the last ten years of his life unable to care for himself. During this time, his sister Elizabeth Förster-Nietzsche took over his affairs, and worked to falsify and re-edit his writings in order to support her virulent Antisemitism (a view which Nietzsche arguably abhorred, and often mocked, during his lifetime). It was her distorted version of culled and misquoted statements which later provided an intellectual fig leaf for the [[Nazi]]s and [[Italian]] [[Fascist]]s.  

Nietzsche suffered a mental collapse in 1889, and spent the last ten years of his life unable to care for himself. During this time, his sister Elizabeth Förster-Nietzsche took over his affairs, and worked to falsify and re-edit his writings in order to support her virulent Antisemitism (a view which Nietzsche arguably abhorred, and often mocked, during his lifetime). It was her distorted version of culled and misquoted statements that later provided an intellectual fig leaf for the [[Nazi]]s and [[Italian]] [[Fascist]]s.  

The ''Übermensch'' (overhuman, superhuman) was a literary device used in his magnum opus, "[[Thus Spoke Zarathustra]]". The Overman was to be a new kind of being which would overcome resentment and affirm the Eternal Recurrence of the same.

The ''Übermensch'' (overhuman, superhuman) was a literary device used in his magnum opus, "[[Thus Spoke Zarathustra]]". The Overman was to be a new kind of being that would overcome resentment and affirm the Eternal Recurrence of the same.

The statement "God is dead" first appeared in Nietzsche's "The Gay Science," in Aphorism 108, titled "New Struggles". This aphorism introduces Nietzsche's famous Madman, who runs out into the street shouting, "God is dead!" Yet, to his dismay, the Madman sees "he has come too soon," for people have not realized this cultural revelation for themselves and are blind to it. They consider the Madman's seemingly theological claim as absurd for they misunderstand him; it is no argument about the existence of God, but a claim of how [[secular]] society has become. Nietzsche was no friend to Christian beliefs, and no doubt considered the Christian God to be a mere myth. This passage shows his hope for a [[philosophy]] of the future, one he imagined would be emptied of coarse objective rationalizing, which he characterized as God and associated with Christianity. Nietzsche, in other words, felt his message of [[Subjectivism|subjective]] truth came too soon and hoped, as the Madman, that he would be understood someday.

The statement "God is dead" first appeared in Nietzsche's "The Gay Science," in Aphorism 108, titled "New Struggles". This aphorism introduces Nietzsche's famous Madman, who runs out into the street shouting, "God is dead!" Yet, to his dismay, the Madman sees "he has come too soon," for people have not realized this cultural revelation for themselves and are blind to it. They consider the Madman's seemingly theological claim as absurd for they misunderstand him; it is no argument about the existence of God, but a claim of how [[secular]] society has become. Nietzsche was no friend to Christian beliefs, and no doubt considered the Christian God to be a mere myth. This passage shows his hope for a [[philosophy]] of the future, one he imagined would be emptied of coarse objective rationalizing, which he characterized as God and associated with Christianity. Nietzsche, in other words, felt his message of [[Subjectivism|subjective]] truth came too soon and hoped, as the Madman, that he would be understood someday.

Nietzsche, early in January 1889, saw a coachman flogging a horse, and rushed towards it. Throwing his arms around the horse, Nietzsche collapsed in unconsciousness, and was carried home. In a fit of insanity, he mailed several letters before dying on August 25, 1900, from pneumonia.<ref>Kaufman, Walter (1954). "The Portable Nietzsche." p. 684. ''Penguin Books''.</ref> These letters included the following: {{cquote|"To my maestro Pietro. Sing me a new-song: the world is transfigured and all the heavens are full of joy. -The Crucified"

Nietzsche, early in January 1889, saw a coachman flogging a horse, and rushed towards it. Throwing his arms around the horse, Nietzsche collapsed in unconsciousness, and was carried home. In a fit of insanity, he mailed several letters before dying on August 25, 1900, from pneumonia.<ref>Kaufman, Walter (1954). "The Portable Nietzsche." p. 684. ''Penguin Books''.</ref> These letters included the following: {{cquote|"To my maestro Pietro. Sing me a new-song: the world is transfigured and all the heavens are full of joy. -The Crucified"

-Friedrich Nietzsche to Gast, January 4, 1889<ref>''The Portable Nietzsche'', p. 685.</ref>}}{{cquote|"You may make any use of this letter which will not degrade me in the eyes of those at Basel. I have had Caiaphas put in fetters. Also, last year I was crucified by the German doctors in a very drawn-out manner. Wilhelm, Bismarck, and all anti-Semites abolished."

-Friedrich Nietzsche to Gast, January 4, 1889<ref>''The Portable Nietzsche'', p. 685.</ref>}}{{cquote|"You may make any use of this letter which will not degrade me in the eyes of those at Basel. I have had Caiaphas put in fetters. Also, last year I was crucified by the German doctors in a very drawn-out manner. Wilhelm, Bismarck, and all anti-Semites abolished."

-Friedrich Nietzsche to Jacob Burkhardt, January 6, 1889<ref>''The Portable Nietzsche'', pp.  685-687.</ref>}} Wilhelm II would become the Emperor of Germany just months after Nietzsche wrote this, and replace Otto von Bismarck, the nationalistic German Chancellor who'd unified Germany. Caiaphas was the Jewish high priest at the time of [[Jesus]] (Matthew 26:3). In other letters, Nietzsche also commanded the German emperor to go to Rome to be shot, and summoned the European powers to take military action against Germany.<ref>Zweig, Stefan (1939) Master Builders [trilogy], The Struggle with the Daimon, Viking Press, p. 524.<br>''Wikipedia''. "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche#Mental_breakdown_and_death_.281889.E2.80.931900.29 Friedrich Nietzsche: Mental Breakdown and Death]." Accessed May 12, 2012.</ref>

-Friedrich Nietzsche to Jacob Burkhardt, January 6, 1889<ref>''The Portable Nietzsche'', pp.  685-687.</ref>}} Wilhelm II would become the Emperor of Germany just months after Nietzsche wrote this, and replace Otto von Bismarck, the nationalistic German Chancellor who'd unified Germany. Caiaphas was the Jewish high priest at the time of [[Jesus]] (Matthew 26:3). In other letters, Nietzsche also commanded the German emperor to go to [[Rome]] to be shot, and summoned the European powers to take military action against Germany.<ref>Zweig, Stefan (1939) Master Builders [trilogy], The Struggle with the Daimon, Viking Press, p. 524.<br>''Wikipedia''. "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche#Mental_breakdown_and_death_.281889.E2.80.931900.29 Friedrich Nietzsche: Mental Breakdown and Death]." Accessed May 12, 2012.</ref>

Thus, for all his criticism of God, Christianity, and the supernatural, Nietzsche would end his life in a fit of madness prophesying the coming of World War II in warning to the Jewish people, accurately predicting German doctor Joseph Mengele, [[antisemitism]], and the threat of Germany to the free world.

Thus, for all his criticism of God, Christianity, and the supernatural, Nietzsche would end his life in a fit of madness prophesying the coming of World War II in warning to the Jewish people, accurately predicting German doctor Joseph Mengele, [[antisemitism]], and the threat of Germany to the free world.

''See also'': [[Cause of Friedrich Nietzsche's insanity]] and [[Atheism and health]]

''See also'': [[Cause of Friedrich Nietzsche's insanity]] and [[Atheism and health]]

Currently, there is an ongoing debate on whether Friedrich Nietzsche's insanity was caused purely through disease or whether his atheistic/[[nihilism|nihilistic]] philosophical outlook on life was the cause.<ref name="Nietzsche">Multiple references:

Currently, there is an ongoing debate on whether Friedrich Nietzsche's insanity was caused purely by disease or whether his atheistic/[[nihilism|nihilistic]] philosophical outlook on life was the cause.<ref name="Nietzsche">Multiple references:

*Owen, C. M., et al. (September 2007).  [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17881977 "The madness of Dionysus: a neurosurgical perspective on Friedrich Nietzsche" [abstract&#93;]. ''Neurosurgery'', vol. 61:3, pp. 626-32.  Abstract retrieved from National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, Pub Med on July 24, 2014.

*Owen, C. M., et al. (September 2007).  [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17881977 "The madness of Dionysus: a neurosurgical perspective on Friedrich Nietzsche" [abstract&#93;]. ''Neurosurgery'', vol. 61:3, pp. 626-32.  Abstract retrieved from National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, Pub Med on July 24, 2014.

*Brace, Robin A. (2006).  [http://www.ukapologetics.net/truthaboutnietzsche.html "Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900): the 'God is dead' man died in a state of complete insanity—but Christianity lives on!"]  UK Apologetics.  Retrieved on July 24, 2014.

*Brace, Robin A. (2006).  [http://www.ukapologetics.net/truthaboutnietzsche.html "Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900): the 'God is dead' man died in a state of complete insanity—but Christianity lives on!"]  UK Apologetics.  Retrieved on July 24, 2014.

''See also:'' [[Atheism and morality]]

''See also:'' [[Atheism and morality]]

Friedrich Nietzsche argued that rational egalitarianism denies [[creativity]], and reason cannot create values and [[morality]], attempt to do so would only lead to [[nihilism]].  Therefore, morality has been imposed.

Friedrich Nietzsche argued that rational egalitarianism denies [[creativity]], and reason cannot create values and [[morality]]; attempting to do so would only lead to [[nihilism]].  Therefore, morality has been imposed.

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote "Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual.", "With morality, the individual can only ascribe value to himself as a function of the herd", "I submit that egoism belongs to the essence of a noble soul ... and has its basis in the primary law of things", "all morality is partisan; just as any legal system will favor certain behavior against others", "who else should we wish to serve, if not ourselves?" and "Whoever battles monsters should take care not to become a monster too, for if you stare long enough into the Abyss, the Abyss stares back into you."

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote "Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual.", "With morality, the individual can only ascribe value to himself as a function of the herd", "I submit that egoism belongs to the essence of a noble soul ... and has its basis in the primary law of things", "all morality is partisan; just as any legal system will favor certain behavior against others", "who else should we wish to serve, if not ourselves?" and "Whoever battles monsters should take care not to become a monster too, for if you stare long enough into the Abyss, the Abyss stares back into you."

===On Politics===

===On Politics===

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote "As a political subject, it is an illusion to ask myself what I require from the state.  In reality, it is a question of what the state requires from me", "culture and the state are antagonistic", "clearly, the individual will is forfeit to the demands of government - a kind of political Darwinism.  The herd triumphs again, this time under the banner of the state", "socialism is the fantastic younger brother of an almost decrepit despotism, which it wants to succeeded", "the doctrine of free will is an invention of the ruling classes" and "madness is something rare in individuals; but in groups, parties, ages, it is the rule".

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote "As a political subject, it is an illusion to ask myself what I require from the state.  In reality, it is a question of what the state requires from me", "culture and the state are antagonistic", "clearly, the individual will is forfeit to the demands of government - a kind of political Darwinism.  The herd triumphs again, this time under the banner of the state", "socialism is the fantastic younger brother of an almost decrepit despotism, which it wants to succeed", "the doctrine of free will is an invention of the ruling classes" and "madness is something rare in individuals; but in groups, parties, ages, it is the rule".

===On Women===

===On Women===

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote "Women are essentially unpeaceful" and "Man is for woman a means; the purpose is always a child.  But what is woman for man?"

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote "Women are essentially unpeaceful" and "Man is for woman a means; the purpose is always a child.  But what is woman for man?"

Nietszche also wrote "Stupidity in a woman is unfeminine." [http://www.goodreads.com/search?page=3&q=Nietzsche&search%5Bcountry%5D=&search%5Bpage%5D=2&search%5Bper_page%5D=20&search%5Bquery%5D=Nietzsche&search%5Bsearch_type%5D=quotes&search%5Bsort%5D=&search%5Bsource%5D=goodreads&search_type=quotes&tab=quotes]

Nietszche also wrote, "Stupidity in a woman is unfeminine." [http://www.goodreads.com/search?page=3&q=Nietzsche&search%5Bcountry%5D=&search%5Bpage%5D=2&search%5Bper_page%5D=20&search%5Bquery%5D=Nietzsche&search%5Bsearch_type%5D=quotes&search%5Bsort%5D=&search%5Bsource%5D=goodreads&search_type=quotes&tab=quotes]

===On Philosophy===

===On Philosophy===

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote "Philosophy is the dressing-up in rational argument of moral beliefs, intuitions and desires".

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, "Philosophy is the dressing-up in rational argument of moral beliefs, intuitions and desires".

===On Religion===

===On Religion===

Friedrich Nietzsche was born to a long line of Protestant Lutheran ministers. His grandfather, Friedrich August Ludwig Nietzsche, was in fact an established Protestant scholar whose writings argued the “everlasting survival of Christianity.” From an early age Friedrich Nietzsche maintained a dedication to Lutheranism and continued his passion for theology in university. In the year 1864, Nietzsche entered the University of Bonn as a theology and philology student with a particular interest in the translation and interpretation of Biblical texts. Nietzsche's views on religion are scattered amongst his earliest works in the 1860s well up until the time of his death in 1889. As such, his views concerning religion, morality, and human nature are not outlined definitively and are thus the subject of scholarly debate.

Friedrich Nietzsche was born to a long line of Protestant Lutheran ministers. His grandfather, Friedrich August Ludwig Nietzsche, was in fact an established Protestant scholar whose writings argued the “everlasting survival of Christianity.” From an early age, Friedrich Nietzsche maintained a dedication to Lutheranism and continued his passion for theology in university. In the year 1864, Nietzsche entered the University of Bonn as a theology and philology student with a particular interest in the translation and interpretation of Biblical texts. Nietzsche's views on religion are scattered amongst his earliest works in the 1860s well up until the time of his death in 1889. As such, his views concerning religion, morality, and human nature are not outlined definitively and are thus the subject of scholarly debate.

   

   

However, Nietzsche spoke out against Islam citing that it was a force subsisting wholly on the denial of the individual. He posed in his work "The Birth of Tragedy" that Islam (among other religions) utilizes the restriction of necessary human desires such as love as a means of securing their permanence as a force of control.

However, Nietzsche spoke out against Islam citing that it was a force subsisting wholly on the denial of the individual. He posed in his work "The Birth of Tragedy" that Islam (among other religions) utilizes the restriction of necessary human desires such as love as a means of securing their permanence as a force of control.

Thus Friedrich Nietzsche viewed [[Mohammed]], [[Buddha]], [[Homer]] etc., not as religious figures, but as creators of rigid moral frameworks, who lost their authority as [[Europe]] severed ties with its diverse religious tradition.

Thus Friedrich Nietzsche viewed [[Mohammed]], [[Buddha]], [[Homer]], etc., not as religious figures, but as creators of rigid moral frameworks, who lost their authority as [[Europe]] severed ties with its diverse religious tradition.

==Legacy==

==Legacy==

=== Influence on Freud ===

=== Influence on Freud ===

Nietzsche wrote his books from one to three decades before [[Sigmund Freud]] wrote his, and published his first book the same year that Mietzsche died (1900).  Although Sigmund Freud said that he had never read Nietzsche's works, this statement is contradicted by Freud paraphrasing and quoting Nietzsche in private conversations and in his own personal journals.  The similarities are: the concept of the unconscious mind, the idea that the individual becomes more comfortable and effective when he pushes unacceptable thoughts and memories into his unconscious mind, the idea that repressed emotions and instincts are expressed in disguise, dreams are symbolic and a cathartic process which has health benefits,the suggestion that hostile, unconscious feelings are projected on others, who are then seen as the perpetrators, is the basis of paranoid thinking, the acknowledgment of a repetition compulsion (for Nietzsche, eternal reoccurrence) <ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7728371</ref><ref>http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/58144/the-birth-psychoanalysis.pdf</ref>

Nietzsche wrote his books from one to three decades before [[Sigmund Freud]] wrote his, and published his first book the same year that Nietzsche died (1900).  Although Sigmund Freud said that he had never read Nietzsche's works, this statement is contradicted by Freud paraphrasing and quoting Nietzsche in private conversations and in his own personal journals.  The similarities are: the concept of the unconscious mind, the idea that the individual becomes more comfortable and effective when he pushes unacceptable thoughts and memories into his unconscious mind, the idea that repressed emotions and instincts are expressed in disguise, dreams are symbolic and a cathartic process which has health benefits, the suggestion that hostile, unconscious feelings are projected on others, who are then seen as the perpetrators, is the basis of paranoid thinking, the acknowledgment of a repetition compulsion (for Nietzsche, eternal reoccurrence) <ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7728371</ref><ref>http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/58144/the-birth-psychoanalysis.pdf</ref>

===Influence on the American Library Association===

===Influence on the American Library Association===

Nietzsche's nihilistic writings, in particular his infamous screed of "God is dead" and that humanity has no common good to which everyone was responsible, formed the basis of the American Library Association's radicalization, even diverging from another influential figure in their radicalization, [[John Stuart Mill]]'s insistence that they protect people from harm.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/19980119060706/http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/1996/feb96/focus.html<br />"The ALA [American Library Association] has rejected this idea [from John Stuart Mill] of the Right to Protect and has instead accepted the nihilistic ideas of the 19th century German philosopher, Friedrick Nietsche, who preached the now-familiar refrain that "God is dead" and that there is no common good to which we are all responsible."</ref>

Nietzsche's nihilistic writings, in particular his infamous screed of "God is dead" and that humanity has no common good to which everyone was responsible, formed the basis of the American Library Association's radicalization, even diverging from another influential figure in their radicalization, [[John Stuart Mill]]'s insistence that they protect people from harm.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/19980119060706/http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/1996/feb96/focus.html<br />"The ALA [American Library Association] has rejected this idea [from John Stuart Mill] of the Right to Protect and has instead accepted the nihilistic ideas of the 19th-century German philosopher, Friedrick Nietsche, who preached the now-familiar refrain that "God is dead" and that there is no common good to which we are all responsible."</ref>

===Other influences===

===Other influences===