Nietzsche and Modernism

Although Nietzsche isn't responsible for creating modernism, his philosophies were representative of the concerns and uncertainly of the modernist artists. Nietzsche and the modernists shared a dark outlook on society, one that he had called in his works "sick" and weak due to the constraints put upon them by the Christian church, and traditional values that had gone unquestioned for too long. To truly realize oneself, you must break free, denounce this imposed morality and search deep inside to develop into your own person.

Nietzsche realized that in the time of the modernist movement, certain people in Europe had begun to break free of these societal restraints, and experienced nihilism, yet he acknowledged that the common man would never be able to move beyond this slave mentality. The common man was weak, he resented his peers and superiors for things they had that he did not, and in return, fell up the existing societal value structure and the church as a crutch. Christianity gave these people a false sense of hope that if they lived their lives according to the rules set forth by their book and their leaders that they would at the end of their lives be rewarded. To most people, this is what they were looking for, guidance, to be part of something that would pay off in the end, they didn't have to undertake the daunting task of trying to make sense of the world, and ultimately realizing that there is no sense to be made of it. As a result of this, the social structure in Europe remained stable and for the most part content. When things seemed to go horrible wrong in ones life, they would turn to the church, and their misguided belief that there was a reason for everything and that God would take care of them as long as they didn't disrupt the fabric of their existence. In the periods before modernism (and to an extent up to this day) this was the widely excepted view of how things should be.

Although Nietzsche denounced Christianity, he praised Jesus as one of his ideal Overman. Jesus did not follow the set path, instead he created his own rules. In process he achieved a following, because it's in the nature of the weak to follow one who exhumes power and confidence. The church moved to capitalize on this power, but creating its own power structure, complete with a documented list of rules. These people, so awed by their "savior" saw it necessary to continue to praise him after his death, and turned to the house of god to do so. When you have a group of people subservient, it is natural that those in positions of power above them will use this to their advantage. What started as a group of people following one Overman has now become the largest and most powerful institution in the world. Most people, content with their safety net of the church never think to look back and question why the church is what it is, and why they should follow it. They never ask who wrote the bible and why was it written. They never question the validity of a book that relays stories past on generation to generation by word of mouth (and no doubt embellished) before they were ever put onto paper. Its Nietzsche's conviction that Jesus' intent was never what the church has become, but instead to realize his own true self.

The Overman was Nietzsche's term for he who was able to see past the haze of this imperfect existence. To reach this status, Nietzsche outlined three important steps to Nihilism. First he had to accept that religion was fabricated. His famous phrase "God is dead" was a harsh way of alerting people that what they have based their lives on is nothing but a system of morals and values imposed through trickery and deceit. This creates a feeling of foolishness and emptiness. They are ashamed admitting to themselves that all they believed in was a lie, and now they have to figure out where they go from here. Religion serves a purpose by supplying structure for people lives, without it they have to be strong in order to continue to move on with their exploration. Second, man has to overcome his loss of his own value, since it was perceived in relation to the structure of society. With the framework gone, where does he fit in? What is his purpose, if he is no longer a part of the structure? Third he gains a disbelief in the metaphysical world and "forbids itself any belief in a true world" Ð'- excerpt from Freud's notebook.

Nietzsche's concern was that in this process of nihilism that people would loose sight and instead of the church, fall upon the "factual" sciences as a source of reasoning. He observed that Math and Science were fast becoming the new religion among intellectual circles. While these humanities were important to pursue, they were dangerously being assumed as a new "truth." What Math and Science offered that Christianity never could was tangible, provable evidence. In Nietzsche's mind this sidetracked people on their route to finding their inner truth.

The modernists shared Nietzsche's view that human reason that was previously thought to be the path to freedom was instead becoming a