| | '''Friedrich Nietzsche''' (1844-1900) was a [[Germany|German]] [[atheism|atheist]] [[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|atheist]] [[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, rather than a [[theological]] argument, suggests 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 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]]". |
| | {{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]]}} |