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Philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, in his discourse suggests that man is in a state of normlessness. He makes various assertions that lead to him saying that "God is Dead". This essay explains the "Death of God", Nihilism as a concept and the Ubermensch. It furthermore, however, supplies criticism of Nietzsche's views of Nihilism. Consequently, provides a defense of Nietzsche's views against the criticism.
Nietzsche introduces the idea of the "Death of God" through the Madman's speech in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. He asserts that the term "God" does not necessarily mean the actual God who is the creator, however, it encapsulates every form of divinity, morals, values and every other construct that people draw their life's meaning from.
where God has gone: We have killed him- you and I. All of us are his murderer's (Van Tongeren 2018:132). The audience of the madman was quick to attain and assert some form of divinity or power in realizing that they have killed a divine being.
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At this juncture, people are still not aware of the message that Nietzsche is trying to communicate with them. (The Death of God) has to deal with natural phenomena rather than human actions (Van Tongeren 2018:134).
This suggests that the Death of God is not an action rather, it is something that is bound to happen. Furthermore, this is because there is an uncontrollable rise to man's superiority and autonomy. This autonomy is perpetrated by the enforcement of Human Rights. Therefore, this liberation sees us grappling with a state of normlessness because there is no form of good or bad.
Nihilism can be defined as the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated (Alan Pratt, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Nietzsche observed that people in his era associated their meaning of life with constructs such as values, morals and/or religion. Nietzsche is concerned with the question of where one gets one's life's meaning. He consequently urges us to become "philosophers of the hammer", this means that we constantly must check the foundations of our Life's meaning. If one's life's meaning stems from a fallible construct, then one's life is integrally meaningless. In his discourse, Nietzsche grapples with the common comfort that people have with their lives as they have a hope of a better afterlife. This is as a result of religion, people believe that their present suffering will yield a better afterlife.
Nietzsche suggests that life has no meaning and one is faced with a constant pursuit of meaning. Nietzsche presupposes that every belief, every considering something-true is necessarily false because there is simply no world (Will to power 1883). This ideal can be furthermore explained through the myth of Sisyphus who was cursed troll a boulder up a hill for his entire life (Camus 1942). This means that our life is like a Sisyphean Curse, in the sense that we are "cursed" to find our own life's meaning.
However, we have some knowledge that this life might be meaningless, but we are forever in pursuit of meaning. Life's meaninglessness causes us to suffer (Van Tongeren 2018:79). This means that we find constructs that give us meaning, but only for a short period of time and we later realize that there is something more that we ought to find. Every fulfilment of this willing shall perish; and no matter what you achieve, death will be the ultimate victor and you will lose everything once more (Van Tongeren 2018:79). At this point, many fall into the pit of an existential crisis, because Nietzsche's assertion causes one to re-evaluate all known beliefs. Therefore, upon realizing that one believes in baseless constructs, one then begins to question the life that one has lived or has been living. However, Nietzsche suggest that we be lovers of our own fate (Amor Fati). This is because experiencing an existential crisis might cause one to be resentful of life itself.
There is an evident distinction and/or link between the "death of God" and Nihilism. The death of God seems to be the prerequisite for Nihilism. This means that for Nihilism to manifest, there must be some form of the "death of God" (death of constructs that give people their meaning of life) that must happen. Consequentially, the state of nihilism is manifested after there is a sense of normlessness. The concept of Nihilism is again linked to the "Last Man" as suggested by Nietzsche. He presupposes that the Last Man is a man who is comfortable in his own fate. The Last Man is a man who is aware of the suffering he is experiencing. However, he is comfortable and confident in his hope of a better afterlife. The discernable link is that the life of the Last Man is like that of a Nihilist, because both are in a state of suffering. Nonetheless, a Nihilist is not cognizant of his or her suffering.
In contrast, Nietzsche's idea of Nihilism might seem convincing, but it also has some evident loopholes. Firstly, as afore-mentioned, Nietzsche states that Nihilism is not an action, but it is something that is bound to happen. If nihilism is a sort of inaction, then Nietzsche's philosophy points away from Nihilism not to it. The Will to power is nothing if not a doctrine of action (Solomon 1980). This means that one supposedly must do something in order to be termed a Nihilist, like one is literally expected to murder God. On the contrary, Michaels Steven (2004) writes, this is the nihilism at odds with life, the nihilism that his philosophy aims to counter. The nihilism that Nietzsche fears is tied to inaction. Accordingly, it is evident that Nietzsche's argumentation certainly is not about and does not condone the "inactivity" linked to it, but it warns against it. In other words, Nietzsche suggests that the "type" of Nihilism that he envisioned in the 19th century is a nihilism that will be inactive, hence people are unable to notice is when it is being exhibited. This is because they do not actively choose to be nihilists but since it is a natural phenomenon, it just "finds a way" to display itself.
Furthermore, some argue that Nihilism is a perspective. This assertion stems from the fact that one cannot discern "the Death of God" (Nihilism). Therefore, this means that the concept exists only to those who can see its manifestations or can be able to detect it when they experience it. According to Nietzsche, Nihilism is not subjective to the perceiver. Zarathustra, in Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, got the knowledge of the concept of Nihilism by rising into higher realms to attain "hidden knowledge". Nietzsche suggests that upon the realization of the death of God, one ought to strive not to be the "Last Man". The opposite of the Last Man is the Ubermensch/Superman, which is man who strives to eliminate unnecessary suffering in life. This is a man acknowledges the presence of suffering but however wishes and tries to live beyond that. Therefore, Nihilism cannot be subject to perception when it is a prerequisite of a good life.
Meyboti (2016) suggests that Nietzsche fails to make a distinction between Nihilism and Pessimism. He suggests that there is a common assertion of Nihilism being pessimism or Pessimism being Nihilism. Even though there have been many talks about this issue, Meyboti still asserts that there is no concrete answer to the question. Pessimism can be loosely defined as the state of hopelessness, this is in the sense that one lives life with no purpose or vigor to attain anything. As afore-mentioned, Nihilism is a state of normlessness and suffering. However, Nihilistic suffering is a hopeful suffering. It is characterized as hopeful suffering because Nihilists suffer in the present life with a hope of a better, fruitful and rewarding afterlife. Therefore, pessimism and nihilism exhibit some forms of similarity, but the distinction of their differences is imperative to understand Nietzsche's views of Nihilism.
As philosophers of the hammer it is solely up to us to wake up from the comforting normless state and become the superman. One becoming the superman not only benefits humankind, but it also provides one with some sort of peace in knowing that one has eliminated unnecessary suffering.
Nietzsche's Nihilism: Death of God, Ubermensch, and Critiques. (2019, Dec 11). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/nihilism-and-critique-example-essay
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