Nietzsche’s Philosophy: Key Concepts
Nietzschean Atheism
At the root of his philosophy, Nietzsche emphasizes the “death of God.” He believed that faith in the Christian God had become impossible to maintain and that this decline in belief paved the way for man’s creative energies to fully develop. Nietzsche saw the concept of God as negative for the development of life. In his work, The Twilight of the Idols, he states: “The God concept has been so far the greatest objection against existence.” In The Antichrist, he writes: “With God, one declares war on life, nature, and the will to live. God is the formula for every slander against ‘this world,’ every lie about the ‘beyond.'”
Given this attitude, it is understandable that Nietzsche considered the choice between theism and atheism as a matter of personal instinct. However, he maintained that when God cannot guarantee intellectual freedom, independence, or strength for the future of man, it is important to defend atheism. Nietzsche’s animosity toward Christian theism stemmed from his belief that it made men weak, submissive, resigned, and humble, preventing the development of superior individuals.
The Will to Power
Nietzsche speaks of the will to power as a primary and instinctive force within every human being. This will is a constant drive for self-assertion and growth. He considers rationalizations that deny passions and the life force as detrimental, advocating for a new culture that embraces instincts and all aspects of life. This theory shows the influence of Schopenhauer’s The World as Will and Representation, but Nietzsche goes further by extending the concept of the will to power from human physical processes to all organic life. In Beyond Good and Evil, he suggests that the will to power might be the unifying principle of all vital phenomena: “Every living thing seeks above all to discharge its strength – life itself is will to power; self-preservation is only one of the indirect and most frequent results thereof.”
The Superman (Übermensch)
As a potential goal for superior individuals, Nietzsche offers the myth of the Superman. He states: “Man is something that shall be overcome. Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superman.” Nietzsche suggests that man will not evolve into the Superman through a natural selection process. The Superman will only emerge if superior individuals have the audacity to transform existing values, especially Christian values, creating new foundations for life based on the will to power. These new values would provide a new direction and goal for humanity, embodied in the Superman. While Nietzsche’s description of the Superman is not always clear, he suggests that it involves the integration and development of higher intellectual and physical power, strength of character, independence, passion, and skill.
The Eternal Recurrence
While the concept of the Superman and the transmutation of values are central to Nietzsche’s work, he also introduces the doctrine of eternal recurrence. He considered this doctrine the “highest formula of affirmation that is at all attainable.” In The Gay Science, Nietzsche imagines a spirit telling him that his life, down to the most insignificant details, would return an infinite number of times. He writes: “In an infinite time, every possible combination in the universe must have been realized, and there must be a cycle of absolutely identical combinations that will be repeated again and again.” This theory rejects the idea of a God who creates a beginning and end to reality, as well as the idea of an afterlife. It expresses Nietzsche’s will to accept the world and life as they are, rejecting any form of escape or release as a manifestation of weakness.