[Aytumious]

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I like how you call him little Freddie. Any special reason for that?


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There's something about him that evokes my strongest feelings of contempt. I think much of it is his prose style which truly sets my teeth on edge. I have a similar reaction to Sartre, but not to Dostoyevsky. And not to most other philosophers except maybe Berkely, but I haven't read a lot of him.

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I'm curious to know what you think his philosophy was, since at first glance you appear to have completely misunderstood what he wrote about.


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I'm not an expert on Nietzsche, though I do try to read him occasionally. I classify him in general as an existentialist and an atheist. If that's all I knew about him that would be enough to make the comments I've made. He may claim that he isn't a nihilist but given the premise that God doesn't exist nihilism is the only logical conclusion, assuming a working definition that "nothing matters". If I've misunderstood his position on the existence of God then I retract, otherwise what I've said is true for atheism. I believe all non-theistic world views are fundamentally irrational. It's obvious they would have to be if theism is true. And the logical conclusion of irrationality is nihilsim.

What is it you think I got wrong about him? I'm always ready to correct my errors, which are plentiful.

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Nietzsche devoted his life to showing how it was that humans could live a meaningful life despite the absence of God, and he railed against resorting to nihilism as a way out. When he wrote "God is dead" he didn't write it with the glee of a psychopath who felt he could now do as he pleased, he wrote it as a very concerned human who wondered how it was man could go on living after such a massive loss.

I find it unfortunate that someone like yourself, who certainly understands where he is coming from on this topic, cannot take the next step and see where he goes with it.

It is much easier to say, "Without God, life is meaningless, therefore I devote myself completely to my religion" than it is to say "God no longer exists? Well, let us use our human penchant for creativity and overcoming great hardship to press on and find a new way in which to live."

You should consider which view is indeed the nihilistic view. The view that believes man can indeed overcome the loss of God and formulate a way in which value can be created and life can be celebrated. The view that sees man for what he is, an animal who by chance sprung into existence and is self aware enough to know that his existence is quite trivial in cosmic terms, yet still has the strength, imagination, and audacity to proclaim himself important and worthy of life. Or the view that without God, man is lost in a sea of chaos, lacking in absolute morals and Gods guiding hand, weak, petty, and incapable of taking care of himself, wherein resorting to clutching ever more tightly to an antiquated metaphysical crutch through the most perverse applications of logic is the only way out.