Nietzsche may have encountered the idea of the Eternal Recurrence in the works of Heinrich Heine, who speculated that one day a person would be born with the same thought-processes as himself, and that the same applied to every other individual. Although he admired Heine he never mentions him in connection with this idea. [7] Nietzsche put forth his theory in The Gay Science and developed in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Schopenhauer directly influenced this theory. [8] Keith Ansell-Pearson, An Introduction to Nietzsche as Political Thinker: The Perfect Nihilist, Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp 33–34 Today as always, men fall into two groups: slaves and free men. Whoever does not have two-thirds of his day for himself, is a slave, whatever he may be: a statesman, a businessman, an official, or a scholar.” Friedrich Nietzsche The author must keep his mouth shut when his work starts to speak. Love your enemies because they bring out the best in you. Without passions you have no experience whatsoever. Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood. Become who you are. Make what only you can make. Only he who is man enough will release the woman in woman. And if your friend does evil to you, say to him, ”I forgive you for what you did to me, but how can I forgive you for what you did to yourself? Loneliness is one thing, solitude another. I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses. All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking. You know a moment is important when it is making your mind go numb with beauty. In the mountains of truth, you never climb in vain. The spirit now wills his own will, and he who had been lost to the world now conquers the world. Main article: Master–slave morality The Wille zur Macht and the thought of eternal recurrence [ edit ]

Dombowsky, D., Cameron, F. (2008) Political Writings of Friedrich Nietzsche: An Edited Anthology. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. p. 118 Although the statement and its meaning are attributed to Nietzsche, Hegel had discussed the concept of the death of God in his Phenomenology of Spirit, where he considers the death of God to "Not be seen as anything but an easily recognized part of the usual Christian cycle of redemption". [9] Later on Hegel writes about the great pain of knowing that God is dead: "The pure concept, however, or infinity, as the abyss of nothingness in which all being sinks, must characterize the infinite pain, which previously was only in culture historically and as the feeling on which rests modern religion, the feeling that God Himself is dead, (the feeling which was uttered by Pascal, though only empirically, in his saying: Nature is such that it marks everywhere, both in and outside of man, a lost God), purely as a phase, but also as no more than just a phase, of the highest idea." [10] Altman, W. H. F. (2012) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche: The Philosopher of the Second Reich. Lexington Books, 2012.

Influence and relevance

For him, nihilism is not simply a negative attitude or outlook, but rather a philosophical position that questions the very foundations of knowledge and existence. Losurdo, D. (2002) Nietzsche, the Aristocratic Rebel: Intellectual Biography and Critical Balance-Sheet. Brill, 2020. p. 750

After Buddha was dead people showed his shadow for centuries afterwards in a cave, — an immense frightful shadow. God is dead: but as the human race is constituted, there will perhaps be caves for millenniums yet, in which people will show his shadow. — And we — we have still to overcome his shadow! Despite having a relatively short career than most (but an absolutely brilliant one), Nietzsche had published numerous major works that impacted the late 19th century and throughout the whole of 20th (even in the 21st).

Nietzsche was an advocate of European colonialism, seeing it as a way to solve the overpopulation problem, pacify the rebellious working class, and rejuvenate the decadent European culture. European expansion and global domination were part of his "great politics". He noted that in colonies, Europeans often act as ruthless conquerors, unconstrained by Christian morality and democratic values, which he saw as a liberated, healthy instinct. [143] He had even shown some initial interest in his brother-in-law's colonial project in Paraguay, Nueva Germania, despite the huge political differences between them, and for a while in the mid-1880s also considered migrating to a Swiss colony in Oaxaca, Mexico. [144] He was especially interested in climate differences, believing that Northern Europe is an unhealthy habitat which stunts cultural development; similar ideas, often very radical and unrealistic, were also held by Wagner and many of his followers. [145]

Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Part I, Section XXII, 3, tr. Thomas Common Explanations [ edit ] He states that nihilism is an advance in man’s ability to think and thus, he gives it a positive connotation. Brobjer, T.H. (2008) Nietzsche's Philosophical Context: An Intellectual Biography. University of Illinois Press, 2008. p. 70 Holub, R. C. (2018) Nietzsche in the Nineteenth Century: Social Questions and Philosophical Interventions. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018. p. 236

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Dombowsky, D. (2014) Nietzsche and Napoleon: The Dionysian Conspiracy. University of Wales Press 2014. p. 94 Benson, Bruce E. Pious Nietzsche: Decadence and Dionysian Faith. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008. He sees nihilism as a necessary step in the evolution of thought, one that leads to a greater understanding of the world and our place in it. In his essay “ On the Genealogy of Morals,” he compares nihilism to the concept of a “highest good” or “beatitude.” People who live in an age of corruption are witty and slanderous; they know that there are other kinds of murder than by dagger or assault; they also know that whatever is well said is believed.” Friedrich Nietzsche There’s no defense against stupidity. And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn’t hear the music. Invisible threads are the strongest ties. He who cannot obey himself will be commanded. That is the nature of living creatures. The work consists of four separate books, entitled "European Nihilism", "Critique of the Highest Values Hitherto", "Principles of a New Evaluation", and "Discipline and Breeding". Within these books there are some 1067 small sections, usually the shape of a circle, and sometimes just a key phrase—such as his opening comments in the 1st monstrosity of the preface: "Of what is great one must either be silent or speak with greatness. With greatness—that means cynically and with innocence." [5]

Richter, Jean Paul Friedrich (1897). The Dead Christ Proclaims That There Is No God. Translated by Ewing, Alexander. London: George Bell and Sons. Losurdo, D. (2002) Nietzsche, the Aristocratic Rebel: Intellectual Biography and Critical Balance-Sheet. Brill, 2020. p. 566 God is dead, perhaps," said Gerard de Nerval one day to the writer of these lines, confounding progress with God, and taking the interruption of movement for the death of Being. Dombowsky, D., Cameron, F. (2008) Political Writings of Friedrich Nietzsche: An Edited Anthology. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. p. 15 Losurdo, D. (2002) Nietzsche, the Aristocratic Rebel: Intellectual Biography and Critical Balance-Sheet. Brill, 2020. p. 973-977

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Nietzsche titled aphorism 377 in the fifth book of The Gay Science (published in 1887) "We who are homeless" ( Wir Heimatlosen), [146] in which he criticized pan-Germanism and patriotism and called himself a "good European". In the second part of this aphorism, which according to Georges Bataille contained the most important parts of Nietzsche's political thought, the thinker of the Eternal Return stated: Katsafanas, Paul. 2015. “Fugitive Pleasure and the Meaningful Life: Nietzsche on Nihilism and Higher Values.” Journal of the American Philosophical Association 1 (3): 396–416. Altman, W. H. F. (2012) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche: The Philosopher of the Second Reich. Lexington Books, 2012. p. 66 Quoted in Young, Julian (2010). Friedrich Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography. Cambridge University Press. p. 525