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Questions tagged [nietzsche]

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a German philosopher and poet. Nietzsche is consistently one of the most widely-read philosophers, even among laymen; yet his work is often elliptical, even cryptic, and demands an unusual discipline with respect to reading and thinking. This contradiction may give some sense of the complexity and profundity of Nietzsche's powerful writing and explosive style. Much of his work can be understood as critique of nihilism.

22 votes
12 answers
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What did Nietzsche mean by monsters and the abyss?

What do you think Nietzsche meant by "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you." (...
Michael Lee's user avatar
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22 votes
4 answers
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What did Nietzsche and Marx think of each other?

Nietzsche (1844-1900) and Marx (1818-1883) weren't quite contemporaries, but both were prominent and influential German thinkers, and one might expect that they have at least heard of each other. Marx ...
Alexander S King's user avatar
21 votes
2 answers
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How does Nietzsche define and characterize "freedom" throughout his works?

My basic question concerns the meaning of freedom in Nietzsche's work. Nietzsche suggests that, in reality, a will can never be absolutely "free" or "unfree"—rather, any particular will is going ...
Joseph Weissman's user avatar
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6 answers
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Was Nietzsche making fun of the military mindset when he said "That which does not kill me, makes me stronger"?

A friend of mine told me that he interpreted this quote as mocking the military mindset, and that it should not be taken as indicative of what Nietzsche actually thought, so I looked it up in context, ...
Ben Hocking's user avatar
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18 votes
1 answer
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Passages validating Goethe as Nietzsche's Übermensch?

It is believed by some that the closest Nietzsche comes to naming the Übermensch is Goethe. However, in my own readings (which is not comprehensive) I've not found any solid evidence. What is ...
fogus's user avatar
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18 votes
7 answers
20k views

What does "You go to women? Do not forget the whip!" mean?

As an Iranian citizen I have read most Nietzsche's books which have been translated in Persian/Farsi language as my mother tongue. There are still debates between translators,philosophers and ...
Persian Cat's user avatar
17 votes
2 answers
16k views

Did Nietzsche read Kierkegaard?

Kierkegaard and Nietzsche are often treated together as early existentialists. This is rather odd, as Kierkegaard was self-consciously seeking to be an orthodox Christian, and Nietzsche was self-...
Kazark's user avatar
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16 votes
2 answers
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How valid is Nietzsche's critique of Buddhism?

According to a paper titled Nietzsche's Reception of Buddhist Psychology With Constant Reference to Christianity by McDonald (2012), given at a conference in Copenhagen, Nietzsche's work contains 158 ...
Dr Sister's user avatar
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15 votes
16 answers
172k views

Trying to Understand Quote by Nietzsche

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Nietzsche (Beyond Good and Evil: ...
geocalc33's user avatar
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15 votes
3 answers
3k views

What is the modern view of the validity of Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morals?

I have been rereading Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morals. The prose is moving, inasmuch as one is moved by prose (I am but very little), but the content seems to my eye poorly reasoned (relying ...
Rex Kerr's user avatar
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13 votes
17 answers
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What does Nietzsche mean by "there are no facts, only interpretations"?

I came across this philosophical thought. There are no facts, only interpretations written by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). As translated from Notebooks, Summer 1886 – Fall 1887, in The Portable ...
NullPointer's user avatar
12 votes
6 answers
12k views

What does Nietzsche mean when he says "God is dead"?

What does German Philosopher Nietzsche mean when he says : "God is dead"? In one of the books of an Indian Mystic Osho, I read this reply from Osho: "Nietzsche is wrong because God has never been born"...
math's user avatar
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12 votes
7 answers
3k views

What are some theories attacking postmodernism preserving objective truth and morality without assuming a God?

From my simplified understanding postmodernism claims ?: there is no objective truth, only interpretation there is no objective morality, morality usually represent the interest of the powers that be ...
Andy's user avatar
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12 votes
7 answers
6k views

Nietzsche doesn't believe in free will nor in "non-free will". How come?

In Beyond Good and Evil, section 21, Nietzsche writes (this is not the whole section) The desire for “freedom of will” in the superlative, metaphysical sense, such as still holds sway, unfortunately, ...
Choripán Con Pebre's user avatar
12 votes
7 answers
2k views

The eternal return, as thought experiment: what are the consequences?

Nietsche, as others before and after him (its roots, I am told, are in the West Asian tradition) , espoused the idea of an ever repeating clockwork universe, in which all lives are led over and over; ...
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