The Scoop On Nietzche #3
Hey! It's Adam again :) On to more Nietzsche! Here we discuss Nietzsche's personal life and some of his awesome quote trains: =============================================================================Nietzsche, the individual was part comical, tragic, bizarre, and badass. He was born in 1844 and soon thereafter, his father died (when Friedrich was at the tender age of five). Subsequently, he spent the rest of his childhood in the care of his mother and sisters. He suffered from incessant migraines throughout his life and was of frail constitution. This was compounded by involvement as a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War where he likely contracted syphilis from a French prostitute (one theory as to his eventual descent into madness and insanity later in life). Despite all that, his brilliance was nearly universally recognized in his time and he set the track-record for youngest person ever appointed to a tenured chair position at the University of Basel at the age of 24. Growing gradually weary of the politics and culture of his time (and troubled by ill health), Nietzsche spent most of his latter years roaming as a stateless self-described world citizen and nomad (though he was supported financially by his friends and admirers). Nietzsche’s love-life is a tale of the unrequited – he is known to have written, early in life, that “love is the most unjust condition in the world”. After a particularly feverish manic period of tremendous creativity and output, Nietzsche collapsed into a state of incurable insanity until he died some ten years later. There are many rumors and theories as to why Nietzsche went insane (perhaps as interesting as the philosophy itself).
Was it his philosophy? Was it syphilis? And so on. One particularly oft-repeated interpretation has it that after spending his life attempting to live up to his own superhuman ideals (despite being of ill-constitution – he was known to sleep without fire, warmth of any sort, and cover in the winters in order to, somewhat badassly, overcome the freezing cold of middle Europe in an age before electricity) and in his rejection of empathy, love, and compassion he broke his own mind. Indeed, one popular tale has it that the event which immediately precipitated his descent into raving lunacy resulted from his “witness[ing] the flogging of a horse at the other end of the Piazza Carlo Alberto” he “ran to the horse, threw his arms up around its neck to protect it, and then collapsed to the ground.”
Nietzsche was one of the few philosophers who admired the “pessimistic” work of Artur Schopenhauer (who wrote the beautiful line that “genius is one who falls into the mire while gazing at the stars”) though he came to repudiate Schopenhauer’s work later on.
Ayn Rand (who I’m not particularly fond of and who was by all accounts an atrocious philosopher) thought that Nietzsche got it mostly right except for his rejection of Logic and Reason.
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Famous Quips (Aphorisms) By Or Relating To Nietzsche: Whatever you might think about his philosophy – his aphorisms (and the hilarious quote trains that he initiated) are quite seductive and filled with insight and wisdom.
Unlike, Kant (arguably the dryest philosopher), Nietzsche’s writing is full of play. I’ve always said that there are as many great philosophers as there are kinds of people. Nietzsche’s the poster child of the creative-artist philosopher.
Nietzsche: “Plato was a bore.”
Tolstoy: “Nietzsche was stupid and abnormal.”
Hemingway: “I’m not going to get into the ring with Tolstoy.”
Robbins: “Hemingway was a jerk.”
“Ah, women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent.”
"In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.”
"He that humbleth himself wishes to be exalted.”
“Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil.”
“In heaven, all the interesting people are missing.”
"Beware yea who fight with monsters for you may become one... for as long as you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you."
“There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.”
“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”
“Madness is rare in individuals – but in groups, parties, nations, and ages it is the rule.”
“There are no facts, only interpretations.”
“Without music, life would be a mistake.”
“The word ‘Christianity’ is already a misunderstanding – in reality there has been only one Christian, and he died on the Cross.”
“The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.”
“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
“You must have a little chaos within to give birth to a dancing star.”
“In large states public education will always be mediocre, for the same reason that in large kitchens the cooking is usually bad.”
Part Five
Part Six
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