Nietzsche "Twilight of the Idols"
Friedrich Nietzsche was a 19th century German Philosopher who did not shy away from either criticism or conflict with other philosophers. One example of this was Nietzsche's remarks on Rousseau, equality, and democracy. In Nietzsche's book Twilight of the Idols in the chapter entitled "Skirmishes of an Untimely Man," section 48 is devoted to Rousseau, and his idea of the natural equality of humans. (Nietzsche, 82-84) Nietzsche begins his rant by criticizing, in the most egregious terms, Rousseau and his idea of returning to nature. Nietzsche does not seem to know what Rousseau means by "nature," and must ask the question of him "…to what did Rousseau was to return?" (Nietzsche, 82-84) and answering this question by comparing Rousseau's state of nature to the violence and terror of the French Revolution.
The French Revolution was based upon the idea of equality; making everyone equal. Nietzsche viewed this as an unnatural attempt to make the shallow and mediocre of society the same as the great. And by raising the unworthy to a position of equality with their betters, the result was the great social upheavals and violence of the French Revolution. Nietzsche...
Foremost, though, is the Nietzschian concept that freedom is never free -- there are costs; personal, societal, and spiritual. To continue that sense of freedom, one must be constantly vigilant and in danger of losing that freedom, for the moment the individual gasps a sigh of relief and feels "free" from contemplating freedom, tyranny will ensue. He believed that it was the internal cost that contained value. This, however,
Nietzsche and Power What does Nietzsche mean by a "will to power," or "life affirmation?" "The world itself is the will to power -- and nothing else. And you, yourself are the will to power, and nothing else!" F. Nietzsche Much of Nietzsche's thought seems to be about the concept of human beings, not individuals, but the species, overcoming mediocrity and becoming "better." Certainly, his ideas are sometimes translated out to mean "nothing
How does this shed light on the question, "Are we free to do what we want with our lives?" It doesn't shed light on it, so much as reveal that the question was asked from the darkness. Our "free will" is an illusion, but we do act, and our actions are our own. They have manifold causes, but not one of them could possibly be "outside of nature" or outside
The book discusses the prevalent impression of oneself as a separate ego covered in a bag of skin that is similar to a hallucination that accords neither with experimental philosophy nor with the religions of the east, more specifically Hinduism. This hallucination undermines the use of technology and of formal education in general, because of its involvement in the destruction of humanity. Watts favors the kind of education that
What is intrinsic regarding this definition of evil is the value that ressentiment has upon it. Ressentiment is a term widely used by Nietzsche and other philosophers (such as Kierkegaard) to refer to the notion of resentment -- which can take many forms including jealousy and other forms of subjugation -- influencing a particular moral perception. Because the weak were oppressed by and opposed to the depredation of the strong,
Ingenious Pain Andrew Miller prompt: One major themes discussed Alain de One of the central philosophical components of Friedrich Nietzsche's varied stance is the fact that pain is integral to providing meaning to the human life. This basic tenet is echoed in Andrew Miller's Novel, Ingenious Pain, which chronicles a protagonist who is born with a marked inability to perceive suffering or physical pain -- whether it is his or that
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