ThePhilosophyofFriedrichNietzsche-UniversityofKentucky.pptVIP

The Philosophy of Friedrich NietzscheThe Battle of God vs. Superman By Alan DeSantis His Life Born in 1844, Nietzsche came from a long line of Lutheran ministers (father, grandfather) Studied “Classics” and became a brilliant professor Left the University to live in solitude and write By his mid-40s, Nietzsche began his life-long battle with metal illness (engendered by syphilis) By the 1890s, he became internationally know, although he knew nothing of success In 1900, at age of 56, Nietzsche died in an insane asylum His Life-Long Goal: He was committed to teaching us how to live life to the fullest This could best be done in a godless, meaningless world! The Horizon(In The Use and Abuse of History) Every society has a Moral Horizon These are absolute statements about how we should live They inform citizens what is morally right and wrong Great men create horizons for us (p.833) Plato, Locke, Hegel, Buddha, Jefferson, and Jesus They all believe they “discovered,” not created truths In the best Civilizations, the Moral horizon allowed the weak, the incompetent, and the stupid to be eliminated through a natural process Survival of the species Moralists like Jesus said these values are wrong—that laws should protect the weak The Consequences of Christianity’s Moral Horizon This code became the dominant moral “horizon” in Europe Christianity triumphed over Rome (a strong culture) Today, Christian morals go unquestioned and unchallenged by most of us How: The process of condemning strength and encouraging a welfare state has been accomplished by convincing society that this new Christian moral code is the perfect, absolute, divine code of the Universe Society now unquestionably accepts Christian morality as a transcendent “moral horizon” The Consequence: Natural leaders, the confident, the courageous, the innovators are shackled by a value system that makes them equal with the masses Horizons are only Perspectives For Nietzsche, all horizons (including