FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

EPISTEMOLOGY & METAPHYSICS - Nietzsches central epistemological belief was nihilism - Nihilism: the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth - Nietzsche saw that philosophers around him all desired for truth, understanding and knowledge, rather than untruth, uncertainty and ignorance; hence Nietzsche asked the question, What is the value of truth? (The will to truth) - He described the will to truth of the philosophers to be their will to power - The will to power is the force that drives humans to survive and live - Truth, reason, knowledge are merely tools used by humans to obtain power - This truth is different according to how each individual views it (perspectivism) - Nietzsche strongly opposed ideas of a priori knowledge, rationalism and idealism because he believed that reason was not capable of finding truth because truth does not exist - Similarly, he denied a posteriori knowledge, empiricism and realism Nietzsche denied metaphysics because of he did not believe in truth ; he objected the metaphysical idea of truth: the idea that philosophy or another intellectual enterprise can encompass truth He believed on the other hand, that truth including that of our origin or our first causes were unobtainable Nietzsche drastically altered the world of philosophys traditional view of metaphysics Reality is where his epistemology and metaphysics come together Reality is what humans make it to be and what humans have power over, rather than the truth and knowledge that other philosophers tried to analyze and examine

GOD, SOUL & ETHICS - Nietzsche did not deny the existence of God, rather he said that God is dead - God is dead because in Nietzsches words, we have killed him because we no longer need him - He believes that the death of God is a problem; humans have lost their ultimate reason for life - However, Nietzsche does not want to fix this problem - Rather, he believes that God is the problem because he forces humans to believe there is some kind of truth; he restricts humans and promotes blind faith Nietzsche believed that humans did have a soul, he believed it to be a disease or a problem He believed that our soul or conscience is responsible for psychological torture and that it prevents us from obtaining power He also believed that there are two types of souls in the world today: master and slave The master or noble soul is one who is comfortable despite the struggles and toils of life The slave or base soul is one who is afraid of the challenges in life and follows moral codes Nietzsche rejects the idea of ethics or morals Nietzsche states that the weak use morality as a disguise There is no good and evil, only strong and weak, powerful and feeble Since reality is based on what humans can achieve for themselves, those that do not have power need not be respected because there is no moral code There is no truth; therefore there is no reason to follow these nonexistent moral truths

INTERESTING NIETZSCHE QUOTES After coming into contact with a religious man I always feel I must wash my hands. All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking. That which does not kill us makes us stronger.