How Does Nietzsche's Influence On Western Philosophy

Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher in the late 19th century who challenged the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. Nietzsche was very interested in the improvement of individual and cultural health, and he believed in the life, power, and the realities of the world we live in, rather than those in a world beyond. The idea of “life-affirmation,” is central to his philosophy, which includes a forthright questioning of all principles that life is based upon, no matter how popular those beliefs might be. Nietzsche’s works were greatly influential on Western philosophy and inspired many leading figures in different aspects of cultural life. Nietzsche was born in a small German village southwest of Leipzig on October

And you can’t translate literature literally and have it work out well. Literature doesn’t have only a sense, it also has a sound. That Nietzsche...thought philosophy and literature were ultimately inseparable arts only further complicates the translator’s task.” Martin explains the complexity of the writing in Thus Spoke Zarathustra and how Nietzsche felt literature is an important part of philosophy. Because of the complexity of the writing in the original language, it makes it even more difficult to translate the writing to english. Nietzsche demonstrates unusual syntax in his parable about Zarathustra’s criticisms of ideals in order to find inner peace: “People commended unto Zarathustra a wise man, as one who could discourse well about sleep and virtue: greatly was he honoured and rewarded for it, and all the youths sat before his chair. To him went Zarathustra, and sat among the youths before his chair” (13). Nietzsche rearranges his sentences in ways the common person would not speak. This peculiar writing style is used throughout the work and almost resembles certain writing styles of pieces of classical philosophical literature. Nietzsche uses unique syntax during the same parable once again: “Happy even is he who liveth near this wise man! Such sleep is contagious--even through a thick wall it is contagious” (14). Changing the sentence structure by switching around words makes the

Nietzsche writes this piece to criticize past philosophers and others in Europe for blindly accepting rigid premises when considering morality. Dr. Clare Carlisle, professor of philosophy and theology at King’s College, states Nietzsche’s problem with moral ideals: “Nietzsche’s main criticism of the ideal of truth is the same as his criticism of moral ideals: he dislikes their claims to be absolute...Nietzsche uses this argument to undermine morality, and claim that absolute moral values lead to a culture of mediocrity and nihilism.” Dr. Carlisle states Nietzsche’s purpose, and how he feels that no moral ideas should be absolute and states that it is a falsification of the constantly changing world. Throughout this work, Nietzsche manages to incorporate metaphors to illustrate his point. Although he uses few examples of metaphors, they are often very vivid and descriptive. Nietzsche uses a simile to draw a contrast between the moral attitude of Europe at the time: “The moral sentiment in Europe at present is perhaps as subtle, belated, diverse, sensitive, and refined, as the ‘Science of Morals’ belonging thereto is recent, initial, awkward, and coarse-fingered” (41). In this passage, Nietzsche says the moral views in Europe are flawed by contrasting them to the unreliable “Science of Morals”. He uses this simile to demonstrate the faults of the moral attitude of many Europeans and his use of descriptive