In the Mind of Neitzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche was German philosopher of the late nineteenth century. He produced several books during his lifetime and is quoted often. He did not have much affect while he was alive and died before he could see the lasting effects of the works in which he produced. During life, he sold very few copies of his books and his admirers amounted to only a few. Nietzsche's writings revealed that his ideas which filled his mind were constantly changing. He often contradicts his own self in his writings. Nietzsche lived his life attacking almost all of which had been considered true or sacred. He brings in question and doubt concerning God, truth, morality, equality, and many other modern values. He can be labeled as one the most controversial philosophers of his time (Craig, 1998). Nietzsche's stance on Christianity proves to be one his most written and talked about; this stance has helped create his identity to the world.

Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844. His father, Ludwig Nietzsche, a patriotic Prussian who adored King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, named his son after his king (Hollingdale, 1999). Besides his father's mountainous love for his king, Nietzsche got his name because he was actually born on the king's birthday. Nietzsche's father died when he was only four years old in 1849. His brother died the next year.

The death of his father and brother resulted in Nietzsche being raised by his mother. His mother moved Nietzsche and his sister to their father's mother's home where two of their aunts also resided. This living arrangement is said to have influenced Nietzsche's view towards women later in life (Strathern, 1996).

At thirteen years old, Nietzsche was offered to attend one of Germany's top boarding schools of nearby Pforta free of cost (Craig, 1998). Nietzsche, at the age of eighteen, began to question his faith. Hollingdale (1999, p.25) states that Nietzsche had stopped believing as a Christian; his beliefs now leaned towards science and history. Nietzsche said that "'the only firm foundation upon which we can build the tower of our speculations'" is that of science and history" (as cited in Hollingdale, 1999, p. 25). Craig (1998, p.13) said that the "clear-sighted thinker couldn't help noticing the square pegs in the round holes" and Nietzsche became critical of everything he had ever learned. "Thus there is no Ð''thing-in-itself', and nothing has a nature or essence; there is only existence and history" (Blackham, 1959, p. 24).

After Nietzsche graduated in 1864, he went on to study theology and classical philology at the University of Bonn. However, even though Nietzsche's destiny was pre-planned by the women who raised him, he had born a new desire in which to rebel. While at Bonn, Nietzsche's rebellion led him to drink with his fellow fraternity friends. This revolt led Nietzsche to conclusion that "God is Dead." Refusing to enter the church or take communion, he decided to turn his life towards a different direction.

Nietzsche decided to transfer to Leipzig University. He dropped theology and focused on classical philology. The years at Leipzig provided the most influence on Nietzsche's later work (Craig, 1998). It was here that Nietzsche was introduced to Schopenhauer and is where he met Wagner. Nietzsche was in a secondhand bookstore when he came across Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation. After impulsively purchasing the book, Nietzsche took it home. "'Back home I threw myself into the corner of the sofa with my new treasure, and began to let that dynamic gloomy genius work on my mind. . . . I found myself looking into a mirror which reflected the world, life and my own nature with terrifying grandeur. . . . Here I saw sickness and health, exile and refuge, Hell and Heaven.'"(as cited in Strathern, 1996, p.17). Wagner also had a profound respect for Schopenhauer; thus forming a very personal relationship between Nietzsche and Wagner.

Also while at Leipzig, Nietzsche worked under a classical philologist whose name was Friedrich Ritschl. Nietzsche was Ritschl's "star pupil" (Craig, 1998, p. 846). Nietzsche happened to prove himself worthy as was the finest student Professor Ritschl had seen in forty years (Strathern, 1996). At the young age of twenty-four, Nietzsche was recommended (by Ritschl) and appointed to the Chair of Classical Philology at Basel. He immediately began to lecture; combining philosophy and philology. He welded together "an instrument for analyzing the faults of our civilization" (Strathern, 1996). This unorthodox mixture, however, damaged Nietzsche's reputation as a philologist (Craig, 1998). Then in 1879, Nietzsche resigned; not because of his reputation but because of persistent health problems that he had experienced for years.

Nietzsche's first book was The Birth of Tragedy written in 1872. In it, Nietzsche used Schopenhauer's philosophy to interpret Greek tragedy; in which Nietzsche believed resulted in the fusion of two elements: the "clear-cut Apollonian element of classical restraint" (Strathern, 1996, p. 24) and the "darker, instinctual Dionysian forces" (Strathern, 1996, p. 24). This created much controversy in the nineteenth century. The classical world was to be considered sacred; the ideas of justice, culture, and democracy appealed to the self-image of the emerging middle-classes (Strathern, 1996). People were appalled when it was proposed that these ideas were nothing but a mistake. In it, he also proposed that Wagner's opera represents the rebirth and salvation of modern culture (Craig, 1998) and referred to it as "music of the future" (Strathern, 1996, p.25). These illustrations of his book were perhaps even more controversial than the earlier. They also proved controversial because almost immediately after the book was finished, a break between Nietzsche and Wagner is believed to have caused Nietzsche to change his view of Wagner. He soon began to focus on the "decadence" of Wagner's philosophical ideas (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2006).

This book supplied those who read it a preview of Nietzsche's stance on Christianity. Nietzsche believed that Christianity is the product of negativity, specifically the religion slaves of the Roman Empire (Strathern, 1996). He proclaimed "God is dead, and the Christian era was finished" (as cited in Strathern, 1996, p. 26). Kellner states in his critique of Nietzsche, that Nietzsche in fact viewed Christianity as "anachronistic and irrational" (n.d.). "Jesus Christ, he claimed, Ð''promoted the stupidifying of man, placed himself on the side of the poor in spirit and retarded the production