pull down to refresh

10 sats \ 3 replies \ @freetx 27 Jun \ parent \ on: When Nietzsche Wept BooksAndArticles

The entire saga of "Thus Spoke Zarathustha" is almost too comically perverse to properly explain....its really one of those "are we in a simulation" situations.

  1. Nietzsche writes a book where the main character is trying to warn people about the effects of "God is dead".
  2. In the novel, the warnings are that they need to embrace this news and engage in true self-discovery, and self-reliance. Mankind needs to boldly go out build their own future. If they don't, they will fall into clinging to false idols out of fear.
  3. His major warning is that this "nihilism" will lead to increasingly fearful men who, because they've lost the promise of immortality, cling ever more desperately to "safety" and risk aversion. This desperate clamor towards safety-above-all will create a world that is unfit to live in.
  4. The people in the book completely miss the message and clamor towards safety and risk aversion upon learning that "god is dead"

Then comes the mind-fuck:

  • In real life if you ask the random person about Nietzsche they will say: "He was a nihilist man....." that is they think he was advocating nihilism instead of warning about it.

The whole situation cracks me up.....the people both inside and outside novel missed the point....

write
preview
0 sats \ 2 replies \ @noknees 28 Jun

It’s funny how you say Zarathustra’s story is “comically perverse” — you just proved Nietzsche’s whole point, have you read it even?

He wasn’t promoting nihilism, he was warning us about what happens after we lose belief in higher values. He saw that once “God (Ubermensch) is dead,” people wouldn’t become free, they’d panic, run toward comfort, and invent new idols (safety, ideology, herd-think).

Zarathustra begged people to become creators of their own meaning, but they ignored him. Just like many today ignore Nietzsche and call him a nihilist, when he was trying to save us from that exact fate.

It’s not a joke, it’s a mirror. Most people still don’t get the message. That’s why the book hits so hard. I'll drop a line specially for you

“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
— Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
reply
30 sats \ 1 reply \ @freetx 28 Jun
He wasn’t promoting nihilism, he was warning us about what happens after we lose belief in higher values. He saw that once “God (Ubermensch) is dead,” people wouldn’t become free, they’d panic, run toward comfort, and invent new idols (safety, ideology, herd-think).

Uhh...did you even read my post? We are literally saying the same thing.

Most people still don’t get the message. That’s why the book hits so hard.

Correct. The characters in Zarathustra missed the point, as did the real-world public who the only thing they know about Nietzsche is that "he was a nihilist".

reply
10 sats \ 0 replies \ @noknees 28 Jun
the real-world public who the only thing they know about Nietzsche is that "he was a nihilist"

so true.
i hope this book reaches larger masses.
in fact, all his books should reach a greater audience for a semantic understanding of the ordeals of society.

reply