Who is Friedrich Nietzsche? Biography of Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche(German) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche[ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈniːtsʃə] listen)) - German thinker, classical philologist, composer , creator of the original philosophical a teaching that is emphatically non-academic in nature and partly for this reason is widespread, going far beyond the scientific and philosophical community. Nietzsche's fundamental concept includes special criteria for assessing reality, calling into question the basic principles of existing forms morality, religion, culture and socio-political relations and subsequently reflected in philosophy of life . Being set out in aphoristic manner, most of Nietzsche's writings do not lend themselves to unambiguous interpretation and cause a lot of controversy.

Years of childhood.

Friedrich Nietzsche was born in Röcken (near Leipzig, eastern Germany), the son of a Lutheran pastor, Carl Ludwig Nietzsche (1813 -1849). In 1846 he had a sister Elisabeth, then a brother Ludwig Joseph, who died in 1849 six months after the death of their father. He was raised by his mother until in 1858 he left to study at the famous Pforta gymnasium. There he became interested in studying ancient texts, made his first attempts at writing, and experienced desire to become a musician, was keenly interested in philosophical and ethical problems, read with pleasure Schiller, Byron and especially Hölderlin, and also became acquainted with the music of Wagner for the first time.

Years of youth.

In October 1862 he went to University of Bonn, where he began to study theology and philology. He quickly became disillusioned with student life and, having tried to influence his comrades, found himself misunderstood and rejected by them. This was one of the reasons for his imminent move to Leipzig University following his mentor professor Friedrich Ritschl. However, studying philology in a new place did not bring Nietzsche satisfaction, even despite his brilliant success in this matter: already at the age of 24, while still a student, he was invited to the position of professor classical philology V University of Basel- an unprecedented case in the history of European universities.

Nietzsche was unable to take part in Franco-Prussian War of 1870: at the beginning of his professorial career, he demonstratively renounced Prussian citizenship, and the authorities of neutral Switzerland prohibited him from direct participation in battles, allowing him only to serve as a nurse. While accompanying a trainload of wounded, he contracted dysentery and diphtheria.

Friendship with Wagner.

On November 8, 1868, Nietzsche met Richard Wagner. It was sharply different from the usual and already burdensome philological environment for Nietzsche and made an extraordinary impression on the philosopher. strong impression. They were united by spiritual unity: from a mutual passion for the art of the ancient Greeks and love for the work of Schopenhauer to the aspirations of reorganizing the world and reviving the spirit of the nation. In May 1869, he visited Wagner in Tribschen, becoming practically a member of the family. However, their friendship did not last long: only about three years until 1872, when Wagner moved to Bayreuth and their relationship began to cool. Nietzsche could not accept the changes that arose in him, which were expressed, in his opinion, in betrayal of their common ideals, pandering to the interests of the public, and, ultimately, in the adoption of Christianity. The final break was marked by Wagner’s public assessment of Nietzsche’s book "Human, all too human" as “sad evidence of the illness” of its author.

Crisis and recovery.

Nietzsche never enjoyed good health. Already at the age of 18, he began to experience severe headaches, and by the age of 30 he experienced a sharp deterioration in his health. He was almost blind, had unbearable headaches, which he treated with opiates, and stomach problems. On May 2, 1879, he left teaching at the university, receiving a pension with an annual salary of 3,000 francs. His future life became a fight against the disease, despite which he wrote his works. He himself described this time as follows:

...at thirty-six years old I had sunk to the lowest limit of my vitality - I was still living, but I could not see three steps ahead of me. At that time - it was in 1879 - I left my professorship in Basel, lived like a shadow in St. Moritz during the summer, and next winter, the most sun-poor winter of my life, I spent like a shadow in Naumburg. This was my minimum: The Wanderer and His Shadow arose in the meantime. Without a doubt, I then knew a lot about shadows... The next winter, my first winter in Genoa, that softening and spiritualization, which was almost due to the extreme impoverishment in blood and muscles, created the “Dawn.” The perfect clarity, transparency, even excess of spirit, reflected in the said work, coexisted in me not only with the deepest physiological weakness, but also with the excess of the feeling of pain. In the midst of the torture of three days of continuous headaches, accompanied by painful vomiting of mucus, I had the clarity of a dialectician par excellence, I thought very calmly about things for which, in healthier conditions, I would not have found in myself enough refinement and calmness, I would not have found the audacity of a rock climber.

“Morning Dawn” was published in July 1881, and with it began a new stage in Nietzsche’s work - the stage of the most fruitful work and significant ideas.

Zarathustra.

Lou Salome in a carriage drawn by Paul Reu and Friedrich Nietzsche (1882)

At the end of 1882, Nietzsche traveled to Rome, where he met Lou Salome, who left a significant mark on his life. From the first seconds, Nietzsche was captivated by her flexible mind and incredible charm. He found in her a sensitive listener, she, in turn, was shocked by the fervor of his thoughts. He proposed to her, but she refused, offering her friendship in return. After some time, together with their mutual friend Paul Ree, they organize a kind of union, living under the same roof and discussing the advanced ideas of philosophers. But after a few years it was destined to fall apart: Elisabeth, Nietzsche’s sister, was dissatisfied with Lou’s influence on her brother and resolved this problem in her own way by writing a rude letter to her. As a result of the ensuing quarrel, Nietzsche and Salomé separated forever. Soon Nietzsche will write the first part of his key work " Thus spoke Zarathustra”, which reveals the influence of Lou and her “ideal friendship”. In April 1884, the second and third parts of the book were published simultaneously, and in 1885, Nietzsche published the fourth and last with his own money in the amount of only 40 copies and distributed some of them among close friends, among whom Helene von Druskowitz.

Last years.

The final stage of Nietzsche’s work is at the same time the stage of writing works that draw a line under his philosophy, and misunderstanding, both from the outside general public, and close friends. Popularity came to him only in the late 1880s.

Nietzsche's creative activity ended at the beginning of 1889 due to clouding of his mind. It occurred after a seizure, when the owner beat the horse in front of Nietzsche. There are several versions explaining the cause of the disease. Among them are bad heredity (Nietzsche’s father suffered from mental illness at the end of his life); possible disease with neurosyphilis, which provoked madness. Soon the philosopher was placed in a Basel psychiatric hospital and died on August 25, 1900. He was buried in the ancient Recken church, dating from the first half of the 12th century. His relatives are buried next to him.

Citizenship, nationality, ethnicity.

Nietzsche is usually considered one of the philosophers of Germany. Modern unified nation state called Germany did not yet exist at the time of his birth, but was union of German states, and Nietzsche was a citizen of one of them, at that time Prussia. When Nietzsche received a professorship at the University of Basel, he applied to have his Prussian citizenship revoked. The official response confirming the revocation of citizenship came in the form of a document dated April 17, 1869. Until the end of his life, Nietzsche remained officially stateless.

According to popular belief, Nietzsche's ancestors were Polish. Until the end of his life, Nietzsche himself confirmed this circumstance. In 1888 he wrote: “My ancestors were Polish nobles (Nitskys)» . In one of his statements, Nietzsche is even more affirmative of his Polish origin: “I am a purebred Polish nobleman, without a single drop of dirty blood, of course, without German blood.”. On another occasion, Nietzsche stated: “Germany is a great nation only because so much Polish blood flows in the veins of its people... I am proud of my Polish origins”. In one of his letters he testifies: “I was brought up to trace the origin of my blood and name to the Polish nobles, who were called Nietzky, and who abandoned their home and title about a hundred years ago, yielding as a result to the intolerable pressure - they were Protestants.”. Nietzsche believed that his surname could be Germanized.

Most scholars dispute Nietzsche's views on his family's origins. Hans von Müller refuted the pedigree put forward by Nietzsche's sister in favor of noble Polish origin. Max Oehler, curator of the Nietzsche archive in Weimar, claimed that all of Nietzsche's ancestors had German names, even the families of his wives. Oehler claims that Nietzsche came from a long line of German Lutheran clergy on both sides of his family, and modern scholars consider Nietzsche's claims about his Polish origins to be "pure fiction". Colley and Montinari, editors of a collection of Nietzsche's letters, characterize Nietzsche's claims as "baseless" and "erroneous opinion." The surname itself Nietzsche is not Polish, but is distributed throughout central Germany in this and related forms, e.g. Nitsche And Nitzke. The surname comes from the name Nikolai, abbreviated Nick, under the influence Slavic name The prostrate first took shape Nitsche, and then Nietzsche.

It is unknown why Nietzsche wanted to be classified as a noble Polish family. According to biographer R. J. Hollingdale, Nietzsche's claims about his Polish origins may have been part of his "campaign against Germany".

Relationship with sister.

Friedrich Nietzsche's sister Elisabeth Nietzsche married an anti-Semitic ideologue Bernard Foerster (German), who decided to leave for Paraguay so that there, with his like-minded people, he could organize the German colony Nueva Germania ( German). Elisabeth went with him to Paraguay in 1886, but soon due to financial problems Bernard committed suicide and Elisabeth returned to Germany.

For some time, Friedrich Nietzsche had a tense relationship with his sister, but towards the end of his life the need to take care of himself forced Nietzsche to restore his relationship with her. Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche was the steward of Friedrich Nietzsche's literary legacy. She published her brother’s books in her own edition, and for many materials she did not give permission for publication. So, “The Will to Power” was in the plan of Nietzsche’s works, but he never wrote this work. Elizabeth published this book based on her brother's drafts that she edited. She also removed all of her brother's remarks regarding his disgust with his sister. The twenty-volume collected works of Nietzsche prepared by Elisabeth set the standard for reprinting until the mid-20th century. Only in 1967 did Italian scientists publish previously inaccessible works without distortion.

In 1930, Elisabeth became a Nazi supporter. By 1934, she ensured that Hitler visited the Nietzsche Museum-Archive, which she had created, three times, was photographed respectfully looking at a bust of Nietzsche, and declared the Museum-Archive the center of National Socialist ideology. A copy of the book " Thus spoke Zarathustra" together with " Mein Kampf " and " A myth of the twentieth century" Rosenberg were ceremonially laid together in the Hindenburg crypt. Hitler awarded Elisabeth a lifelong pension for services to the fatherland.

Philosophizing style.

Being a philologist by training, Nietzsche paid great attention to the style of conducting and presenting his philosophy, gaining fame as an outstanding stylist. Nietzsche's philosophy is not organized into system, the will to which he considered a lack of honesty. Most meaningful form his philosophies are aphorisms, expressing the captured movement of the state and thoughts of the author, who are in eternal becoming. The reasons for this style are not clearly identified. On the one hand, such a presentation is associated with Nietzsche’s desire to spend a long part of his time walking, which deprived him of the opportunity to consistently take notes of his thoughts. On the other hand, the philosopher’s illness also imposed its limitations, which did not allow him to look at white sheets of paper for a long time without pain in his eyes. Nevertheless, the aphorism of the letter can be called a consequence of the conscious choice of the philosopher, the result consistent development his beliefs. An aphorism as its own commentary unfolds only when the reader is involved in a constant reconstruction of meaning that goes far beyond the context of a single aphorism. This movement of meaning can never end, more adequately conveying experience life.

Healthy and decadent.

In his philosophy, Nietzsche developed a new attitude towards reality, built on metaphysics "being of becoming", and not given and unchangeable. Within such a view true how the correspondence of an idea with reality can no longer be considered the ontological basis of the world, but becomes only a private value. Coming to the forefront of consideration values are generally assessed according to their correspondence to the tasks of life: healthy glorify and strengthen life, while decadent represent disease and decay. Any sign is already a sign of powerlessness and impoverishment of life, which in its fullness is always event. Uncovering the meaning behind a symptom reveals the source of the decline. From this position Nietzsche attempts revaluation of values, still not critically taken for granted.

Dionysus and Apollo. Socrates' problem.

Nietzsche saw the source of a healthy culture in the dichotomy of two principles: Dionysian and Apollonian. The first personifies the unbridled, fatal, intoxicating, coming from the very depths of nature passion life, returning a person to immediate world harmony and unity of everything with everything; the second, Apollonian, envelops life “beautiful appearance of dream worlds”, allowing you to put up with her. Mutually overcoming each other, the Dionysian and Apollonian develop in strict correlation. Within the framework of art, the collision of these principles leads to the birth tragedy. Watching the development culture of ancient Greece, Nietzsche focused on the figure Socrates. He asserted the possibility of comprehending and even correcting life through dictatorship reason. Thus, Dionysus found himself expelled from culture, and Apollo degenerated into logical schematism. This complete forced distortion is the source of the crisis of modern Nietzschean culture, which has found itself bloodless and deprived of myths.

Often the reason outstanding achievements in philosophy and art is difficult biography. Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the most significant philosophers of the second half of the 19th century, went through a difficult short but very fruitful life path. We will tell you about the milestones of his biography, about the most significant works and views of the thinker.

Childhood and origins

On October 15, 1844, in East Germany, in the small town of Recken, the future great thinker was born. Every biography, Nietzsche and Friedrich is no exception, begins with ancestors. And with this in the history of the philosopher, not everything is clear. There are versions that he comes from a Polish noble family named Nitsky, this was confirmed by Friedrich himself. But there are researchers who claim that the philosopher’s family had German roots and names. They suggest that Nietzsche simply invented the “Polish version” in order to give himself an aura of exclusivity and unusualness. It is known for sure that two generations of his ancestors were associated with the priesthood; on the part of both parents, Frederick’s grandfathers were Lutheran priests, just like his father. When Nietzsche was 5 years old, his father died of a serious mental illness, and his mother raised the boy. He had a tender affection for his mother, and he had a close and very complex relationship with his sister, which played a big role in his life. Already in early childhood Friedrich demonstrated a desire to be different from everyone else, and was ready for various extravagant actions.

Education

At the age of 14, Frederick, who had not yet even begun to emerge, was sent to the famous Pfort gymnasium, where classical languages, ancient history and literature, as well as general education subjects were taught. Nietzsche was diligent in languages, but he was very bad at mathematics. It was at school that Friedrich developed a strong interest in music, philosophy, and ancient literature. He tries himself as a writer and reads a lot of German writers. After school, in 1862, Nietzsche went to study at the University of Bonn at the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy. Since school, he felt a strong pull towards religious activities and even dreamed of becoming a pastor like his father. But during his student years his views changed greatly, and he became a militant atheist. In Bonn, Nietzsche’s relationships with his classmates did not work out, and he transferred to Leipzig. Here great success awaited him; while still studying, he was invited to work as a professor of Greek literature. Under the influence of his favorite teacher, the German philologist F. Richli, he agreed to this job. Nietzsche easily passed the exam for the title of Doctor of Philosophy and went to teach in Basel. But Friedrich did not feel satisfaction from his studies; the philological environment began to weigh on him.

Youth hobbies

In his youth, Friedrich Nietzsche, whose philosophy was just beginning to take shape, experienced two strong influences, even shocks. In 1868 he met R. Wagner. Friedrich had been fascinated by the composer’s music before, and the acquaintance made a strong impression on him. Two extraordinary personalities found a lot in common: both loved ancient Greek literature, both hated the social shackles that constrained the spirit. For three years things were established between Nietzsche and Wagner. friendly relations, but later began to cool down and stopped completely after the philosopher published the book “Human, All Too Human.” The composer found in it obvious signs the author's mental illness.

The second shock was associated with A. Schopenhauer’s book “The World as Will and Representation.” She changed Nietzsche's views on the world. The thinker highly valued Schopenhauer for his ability to tell the truth to his contemporaries, for his willingness to go against generally accepted ideas. It was his works that pushed Nietzsche to write philosophical works and to change his occupation - now he decided to become a philosopher.

During the Franco-Prussian War he worked as an orderly, and all the horrors from the battlefields, oddly enough, only strengthened him in his thoughts about the benefits and healing influence of such events on society.

Health

Since childhood, he was not in good health, he was very short-sighted and physically weak, perhaps this was the reason for the way his biography developed. Friedrich Nietzsche had poor heredity and a weak nervous system. At the age of 18, he began to experience attacks of severe headaches, nausea, insomnia, and he was worried long periods decreased tone and depressed mood. Later, neurosyphilis was added to this, contracted from a relationship with a prostitute. At the age of 30, his health began to decline sharply, he was almost blind, and experienced debilitating attacks of headaches. He was treated with opiates, which led to problems with his work gastrointestinal tract. In 1879, Nietzsche retired due to health reasons; his benefits were paid by the university. And he began a permanent fight against disease. But it was precisely at this time that the teachings of Friedrich Nietzsche took shape and his philosophical productivity grew significantly.

Personal life

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, whose ideas changed 20th-century culture, was unhappy in his relationship. According to him, there were 4 women in his life, but only 2 of them (prostitutes) made him at least a little happy. He has early youth had a sexual relationship with his sister Elizabeth, he even wanted to marry her. At the age of 15, Friedrich was subjected to sexual violence from the outside adult woman. All this radically influenced the thinker’s attitude towards women and his life. He always wanted to see a woman first and foremost as an interlocutor. Intelligence was more important to him than sexuality. At one time he was in love with Wagner's wife. He later became fascinated by psychotherapist Lou Salome, with whom his friend, writer Paul Ree, was also in love. For some time they even lived together in the same apartment. It was under the influence of his friendship with Lou that he would write the first part of his famous work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Twice in his life, Friedrich proposed marriage and was refused both times.

The most productive period of life

With his retirement, despite a painful illness, the philosopher enters the most productive era of his life. Friedrich Nietzsche, whose best books have become classics of world philosophy, writes 11 of his main works in 10 years. Over the course of 4 years, he wrote and published his most famous work, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra.” The book not only contained bright, unusual ideas, but formally it was not typical for philosophical works. It intertwines reflections, myology, and poetry. Within two years after the publication of the first parts, Nietzsche became a popular thinker in Europe. Work on the latest book, “The Will to Power,” lasted several years, and included reflections from an earlier period. The work was published after the philosopher’s death thanks to the efforts of his sister.

last years of life

At the beginning of 1898, a sharply worsening illness led to the end philosophical biography. Friedrich Nietzsche saw a scene of a horse being beaten on the street, and this provoked a fit of madness in him. Doctors never found the exact cause of his illness. Most likely, a complex of prerequisites played a role here. The doctors could not offer treatment and sent Nietzsche to a psychiatric hospital in Basel. There he was kept in a room upholstered with soft cloth so that he could not harm himself. The doctors were able to bring the patient into a stable condition, that is, without violent attacks, and allowed him to be taken home. The mother looked after her son, trying to ease his suffering as much as possible. But she died a few months later, and Friedrich had an accident that completely immobilized him and made him unable to speak. Lately The philosopher was looked after by his sister. On August 25, 1900, after another stroke, Nietzsche died. He was only 55 years old; the philosopher was buried in the cemetery in hometown close to relatives.

Philosophical views of Nietzsche

The philosopher Nietzsche is known throughout the world for his nihilistic and radical views. He very sharply criticized modern European society, especially its Christian foundations. The thinker believed that since the times of Ancient Greece, which he considers as a certain ideal of civilization, there has been a collapse and degradation of the culture of the Old World. He formulates his own concept, later called the “Philosophy of Life”. This direction believes that human life is unique and unique. Each individual is valuable in his or her experience. And he considers the main property of life not reason or feelings, but will. Humanity is in constant struggle and only the strongest deserve to live. From here arises the idea of ​​the Superman - one of the central ones in Nietzsche's doctrine. Friedrich Nietzsche reflects on love, the meaning of life, truth, the role of religion and science.

Major works

The philosopher's legacy is small. His last works were published by his sister, who did not hesitate to edit the texts in accordance with her worldview. But these works were enough for Friedrich Nietzsche, whose works are included in the compulsory program on the history of philosophy at any university in the world, to become a true classic of world thought. List it best books includes, in addition to those already mentioned, the works “Beyond Good and Evil”, “Antichrist”, “The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music”, “Towards the Genealogy of Morality”.

Search for the meaning of life

Reflections on the meaning of life and the purpose of history are the basic themes of European philosophy; Friedrich Nietzsche could not stand aside from them. He speaks about the meaning of life in several of his works, completely denying it. He argues that Christianity imposes imaginary meanings and goals on people, essentially deceiving people. Life exists only in this world and it is dishonest to promise some kind of reward in the other world for moral behavior. So, says Nietzsche, religion manipulates a person, forces him to live for the sake of those goals that are inorganic human nature. In a world where “God is dead,” man himself is responsible for his own moral character and humanity. And this is the greatness of man, that he can “become a man” or remain an animal. The thinker also saw the meaning of life in the will to power; a person (man) must strive for victory, otherwise his existence is meaningless. Nietzsche saw the meaning of history in the education of the Superman; he does not yet exist and social evolution must lead to his appearance.

Superman concept

In his central work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche formulates the idea of ​​the Superman. This ideal person destroys all norms and foundations, he boldly seeks power over the world and other people, false sentiments and illusions are alien to him. The antipode of this supreme being is the “last man,” who, instead of boldly fighting stereotypes, chose the path of a comfortable, animal existence. According to Nietzsche, the modern world was planted with such “lasts”, so he saw in wars a blessing, purification and an opportunity for rebirth. was positively assessed by A. Hitler and accepted as an ideological justification for fascism. Although the philosopher himself did not even think about anything like that. Because of this, Nietzsche’s works and name were strictly prohibited in the USSR.

Quotes

The philosopher Nietzsche, whose quotes were spread throughout the world, knew how to speak succinctly and aphoristically. That is why many of his statements are so fond of being quoted by various speakers on any occasion. Most famous quotes philosopher about love became the words: “People who are not capable of true love, nor on strong friendship, they always rely on marriage,” “In love there is always a little madness..., but in madness there is always a little reason. He spoke very scathingly about the opposite sex: “If you go to a woman, take a whip.” His personal motto was: “Everything that doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

The importance of Nietzsche's philosophy for culture

Today, from the works of which can be found in many works of modern philosophers, it no longer causes such fierce debate and criticism as at the beginning of the 20th century. Then his theory became revolutionary and gave rise to many directions that existed in dialogue with Nietzsche. One could agree with him or argue with him, but he could no longer be ignored. The philosopher's ideas had a strong influence on culture and art. Impressed by the works of Nietzsche, for example, T. Mann wrote his “Doctor Faustus.” His direction “philosophy of life” gave the world such outstanding philosophers as V. Dilthey, A. Bergson, O. Spengler.

Bright people always arouse people's curiosity, and Friedrich Nietzsche did not escape this. Interesting Facts Researchers are looking for his biographies, people read about them with pleasure. What was unusual about the life of a philosopher? For example, he was interested in music all his life and was a good pianist. And even when he lost his mind, he created musical opuses and improvised in the hospital lobby. In 1869, he renounced Prussian citizenship and lived the rest of his life without belonging to any state.

“When [Nietzsche] became convinced that there was no God, he was overcome by such insane despair that, in essence, despite his exceptional literary talent, until the end of his life he was never able to adequately tell what people did when they killed God. But Nietzsche was not heard. Everyone still thinks that it doesn’t matter at all whether there is a God or not.” (Lev Shestov)

The great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was born in 1844 and died in 1900. The son of a Protestant pastor, Nietzsche became an orphan at the age of five after the death of his father and was carefully raised by his mother. He received his education at the University of Bonn, and later at the University of Leipzig, where he studied classical philology. In 1869, on the recommendation of his teacher Ritschl, Nietzsche was appointed professor of philology in Basel and held this position for 10 years. The only one external fact What upset Nietzsche’s peaceful life was his participation in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871: he then signed up as a volunteer orderly, but not for long, as he became seriously ill. This illness was apparently the cause of the headaches and stomach cramps that Nietzsche began to suffer from that time and which, progressively worsening, forced him to leave the department in 1879. In 1890, the philosopher was finally broken by mental illness, which made him incapacitated.

Friedrich Nietzsche. Photo taken in Basel ca. 1875

In his first works, especially in “The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music” (1872); “Schopenhauer as Educator” (1874) and “Richard Wagner at Bayreuth” (1876), Nietzsche sets out the demands he makes on modern culture, which he wants to base on a generalization of three principles: Greek tragedy, musical drama Wagner, and the philosophy of Schopenhauer. The metaphysics of the latter forms the starting point of Nietzsche's philosophy. Like the Frankfurt hermit Schopenhauer, he sees the essence of the world in the suffering "will", but still this world, in his eyes, can be justified if we look at it solely as aesthetic phenomenon. If the world is full of evil, if “truth” makes us desire emptiness, then we will try to “desire chimeras”, we will try to find sufficiently beautiful, seductive illusions so that they make us love life, despite all its suffering, and we will apply all our mind and all our energy to knowledge of these illusions. There are two main illusions that provide justification for our existence and which Nietzsche in “The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music” calls Apollonian and Dionysian. Looking at the world from the point of view of its beauty forms, we can create ourselves a beautiful image- a dream that fills our entire existence - this is the Apollonian illusion. On the other hand, despite the terrible suffering, destruction and death, the manifestation of eternal world will in the constant sequence of its phenomena. Hence the second illusion: the eternity and indestructibility of the individual, the indestructibility of what lies at the basis of things spontaneous impulse– Dionysian. The combination of these two illusions creates the "tragic wisdom" to which the ancient Greeks rose in their tragedy. It must constitute the ideal of aspiration and modern civilization. This latter is now full of rational “scientific optimism”, believing that the world is understandable as a whole and in its parts and that the goal to which we must strive is the organization of personal and public life on the scientific understanding of the universe. New civilization mistakenly imagines that science can give man the motives for action that he needs in order to find meaning in life. This error has given rise to a pseudo-civilization in Europe, the despised representative of which is the Bildungsphilister - the cultural philistine who trusts in science, which, in his opinion, will provide humanity with an ever-increasing amount of well-being.

However, in modern European civilization one can also discover signs that herald a great revolution. Richard Wagner resurrects the tragedy in his musical drama ancient Greece. Schopenhauer, with his ruthless pessimism, forever destroyed scientific optimism and showed that history is cruel and meaningless, that man is fatally doomed to suffering. However, Nietzsche, contrary to the spirit of Schopenhauer's philosophy, hopes that pessimism, instead of pushing a person onto the path of despair, on the contrary, will arouse heroism in him. A person will consider “good” not that which reduces suffering, but that which makes life more intense, beautiful, worthy; its highest purpose will not be to help the weak, but to elevate the genius above the mass of average people. This is the ultimate goal of humanity in Nietzsche's philosophy; his most perfect works contain the whole meaning of his existence. And if higher culture and the emergence of genius must be purchased at the price of suffering, the “free spirit” of modern civilization must learn to suffer himself and let others suffer for the progress of the human race.

Nietzsche finds traces of pessimism in all the ideas and beliefs of mankind and proves that belief in truth at all costs actually stems from the same pessimistic instinct that makes man sacrifice real life and create false idols to please the fictitious idea of ​​a supreme being. The purpose of man is not in the desire for good and not in the pursuit of truth. According to Nietzsche's philosophy, evil and illusion are as useful for the development of life as good and truth. The universe has no purpose. This is pure nonsense, which man is called to illuminate and, in his full power, determine its inner value. In the name of these considerations, Friedrich Nietzsche sharply attacks Christianity and asceticism, curses socialists, democrats and anarchists, denies altruism and the religion of compassion.

Portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche. Artist E. Munch, 1906

Negation reaches its apogee in Nietzsche in the period from 1870 to 1882, when he publishes the books “Human, All Too Human” (1878), “The Wanderer and His Shadow” (1880), “Dawn” (1881), “The Gay Science” ( 1882), “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” (1883 – 87), “Beyond Good and Evil” (1886), “Towards the Genealogy of Morality” (1887). This energy of denial becomes even more exalted and fierce in the last year of his life as a thinker (1888). Nietzsche wrote nothing more harsh than Wagner's Incident, Twilight of the Idols, and Antichrist. Only in Zarathustra does the concept of life, as it was formed by Nietzsche during his youth, when he saw the happiness of humanity in the revival of Dionysian illusion and tragic wisdom, come to the fore again. Painted in new colors, in the mouth of Zarathustra it becomes the theory of the superman and the eternal return. Nietzsche believes that we have lived our lives an infinite number of times in its smallest details and will continue to relive it again. To cognize this highest law of life, to accept it as a guide not only without indignation, without horror, but with a good heart, and not only that, with enthusiasm and joy - this is the goal that Nietzsche’s Zarathustra points out to humanity. When it reaches it, a person will become a “superman”. In Nietzsche's philosophy, a superman is a person who has reached the highest state of health, physical and mental, free from outdated views, with the consciousness of the law of eternal return. The moment will come when man will use all his energy so that through his own self-destruction a superman will appear.

As a stylist, Nietzsche has not yet been surpassed in Germany; the success of his philosophical works must be partly attributed to his language. Nietzsche himself speaks of the “diamond beauty” of his Zarathustra. "Luther's language and the poetic form of the Bible are the foundations of modern German poetry - this is my discovery."

The literature on Nietzsche is extremely extensive, both in Germany itself and in other countries. Of the works about him, the most worthy of mention are:

Book of the Philosopher's Sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche"The Life of Friedrich Nietzsche". It serves as the main source of biographical information about Nietzsche, containing many of his letters, sketches, poems, and unpublished passages

Georg Brandes"Friedrich Nietzsche. Treatise on Aristocratic Radicalism." (Nietzsche himself considered the expression “aristocratic radicalism” best definition the essence of his philosophy.)

Andreas Salome"Friedrich Nietzsche and His Works". An interesting sketch by a German writer who knew Nietzsche closely.

Georg Simmel"Friedrich Nietzsche. Moral and philosophical silhouette."

G. Feiginger"Nietzsche as a Philosopher".

A. Lichtenberger"The Philosophy of Nietzsche."

L. Shestov"Dostoevsky and Nietzsche".

E. Trubetskoy"The Philosophy of Nietzsche."

S. Frank"Friedrich Nietzsche and the ethics of love for the distant"

The main ideas of F. Nietzsche, the founder of the philosophy of life, are briefly outlined in this article.

Nietzsche's main ideas

(1844-1900) is a European philosopher. The name of the thinker is known to everyone. His worldview developed under the influence of the works of Schopenhauer and the theory of Darwin. Friedrich Nietzsche founded a philosophy about life, declaring that the reality that must be comprehended is valuable.

Nietzsche outlined the main ideas in his works:

• Death of a God
• Will to power
• Change of world view
• Nihilism
• Superman

Let's consider the most common ideas of the great thinker.

• Will to power

Nietzsche sought dominance and power. This is his main life goal and the meaning of existence. For the philosopher, the will represented the basis of the world, consisting of many accidents and filled with disorder and chaos. The will to power led Nietzsche to the idea of ​​​​creating a “superman”.

• Philosophy of life

Life, according to the philosopher, is a unique and separate reality for each person. She harshly criticizes teachings and expressions that refer to thoughts as an indicator of human existence. Also, life should not be identified with the concept of reason. Nietzsche believes that life is a constant struggle, the main quality of which is will.

• Superman

Nietzsche's philosophy also touched upon his thoughts regarding the ideal person. He destroys all the rules, ideas and norms prescribed by people. Nietzsche seems to remind us that all this is a fiction that Christianity imposed on us. By the way, the philosopher viewed Christianity as a tool that imposes on people qualities that create slave thinking, from strong personalities make the weak. At the same time, religion too idealizes a weak person.

• True Being

Nietzsche covers the problems of existence briefly. The philosopher is sure that it is impossible to contrast the empirical and the true. Denial of reality contributes to the denial of decadence and human life. The thinker is sure that absolute existence does not exist. There is just a cycle of life in which what once happened is constantly repeated.

In addition, Friedrich Nietzsche criticizes religion, morality, science, and reason. He is sure that most of the people on the planet are unreasonable, pathetic and inferior individuals. The only way to control them is through military action.

The Thinker is also aggressive towards women. He identified them with cows, cats and birds. The only role of a woman is to inspire a man, and he, in turn, must keep her strict and use physical punishment.

We hope that from this article you learned what Nietzsche’s main ideas are.

In the town of Recken near the city of Lützen in Germany in the family of a Lutheran pastor. His birthday coincided with the birthday of the king, Frederick William IV, so the boy was named after him.

Nietzsche wrote his first poems and essays at the age of ten. In 1858 he entered the Naumburg school in Pfort. In 1864-1868 he studied philology in Boyne and Leipzig. From 1869 to 1879 - professor at the University of Basel in classical philology. He volunteered in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and was a nurse. Having seriously undermined his health, he soon returned to Basel, where he resumed teaching. Nietzsche spent the following years mainly in Switzerland and Italy.

Influenced by the works of Arthur Schopenhauer and the aesthetic ideas and art of Richard Wagner, Nietzsche moved from classical philology to philosophy.

There are several main stages in Nietzsche's philosophical evolution: the romanticism of the young Nietzsche, when he was entirely influenced by the ideas of Schopenhauer and Wagner; the stage of so-called positivism, associated with disappointment in Wagner and a sharp break with the ideal of the artist, when Nietzsche turned his attention to the “positive” sciences - natural science, mathematics, chemistry, history, economics; the period of mature Nietzsche or actually Nietzschean, imbued with the idea of ​​the “will to power”. In turn, the work of the mature Nietzsche, from the point of view of the topic and order of the problems he considered, can be presented as follows: a) the creation of an affirmative part of the teaching by developing a cultural and ethical ideal in the form of the idea of ​​​​the “superman” and the “eternal return”; b) the negative part of the teaching, expressed in the idea of ​​​​"revaluation of all values."

In his first major work, “The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music” (1872), Nietzsche developed the ideas of a typology of culture, continuing the traditions outlined by Friedrich Schiller, Friedrich Schelling and the German romantics, but giving his own, original interpretation of Greek culture, in which, in his opinion, fully expressed three the most important beginnings, then inherent in any European culture: Dionysian, Apollonian and Socratic. The work ends with the philosopher’s hope for the revival of the tragic age with its Dionysian art, which has become a kind of symbol of vitality. Here Nietzsche formulates main problem throughout his life and philosophy, which would then find its most complete embodiment in the work “Thus Spake Zarathustra” - how, in what way, to create such a culture, obeying which a person could ennoble his inner world and educate yourself.

At the second stage of his work, the philosopher devoted all his energy to the study of human sciences (“Human, too human”, 1874; “Morning Dawn”, 1881; “The Gay Science”, 1882).

Nietzsche tried to bring together his most significant conclusions in the book “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” (1883-1884). In this book, Nietzsche first put forward the theory of the superman (Übermensch) and the will to power; later developed his ideas in the works “Beyond Good and Evil” (1886) and “Towards the Genealogy of Morality” (1887).

As a cultural and ethical ideal, Nietzsche puts forward the image of the superman, aestheticized by him and enclosed in an artistically complete form. A superman is a man of powerful vitality, powerful instincts, the Dionysian principle has not been extinguished or suppressed in him.

The only representatives of true humanity, according to Nietzsche, are philosophers, artists and saints. Every ordinary person, according to the philosopher, should look at himself as a failed product of nature and try to educate himself as a philosopher, artist or saint.

All those whom Nietzsche admired were people of exceptional intelligence and creative power, they were passionate natures who were able to put their passion at the service of creativity. At the end of the book "Twilight of the Idols" (1888), Goethe is presented as an example of a superman. Another such example for Nietzsche was Leonardo da Vinci.

Nietzsche's struggle for the liberation of people from the power of spirits and social authorities entered the history of culture under the slogan of “revaluation of the values ​​that existed until now.” It was this struggle that made Nietzsche one of the most brilliant singers of European nihilism. All the works he wrote after Zarathustra represent such a “revaluation.”

The study of philosophy, Christian religion and ascetic morality leads the philosopher to the conclusion that they separate a person from the sources of true existence, from life itself. The path that European humanity eventually took turns out to be fraught with a number of consequences that Nietzsche prophetically foretells to his contemporaries, lifting the curtain of the European future: the collapse of European spirituality and the devaluation of its values, the “revolt of the masses,” totalitarianism and the reign of the “coming boor.” with its leveling of man under the banner of universal equality of people. Overcoming nihilism can only be a revaluation of all values ​​and the creation of new ones.

The central concept in the philosophy of the late Nietzsche was the concept of “will to power,” most fully expounded in his work “The Will to Power” (1886-1888). The will to power is interpreted by Nietzsche as the principle of everything that exists. He seeks confirmation of his thoughts in any analytical material available to him: in philosophy, religion, art, psychology, politics, natural science, right down to everyday life.

According to Nietzsche, the will to power finds its expression in every human activity; he even suggested that it could be the energetic basis of the entire cosmos as a whole. Nietzsche did not call for striving for power, he spoke about honesty with oneself and turned to examples of “superhuman” strength embodied in people like Goethe and Leonardo, as opposed to the “human, all too human” strength of military despots.

In 1889 creative activity Nietzsche's life was cut short due to mental illness.

Nietzsche's ideas had a huge influence on modern philosophy. No author has been cited as often as Nietzsche. Many pages of works or entire books by Semyon Frank, Nikolai Berdyaev, Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze and other outstanding philosophers are devoted to the analysis of his legacy, polemics with his prophecies, and are permeated with rejection of his ideas or admiration for them.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti