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Nietzsche's Theory Of Nihilism

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Introduction Fredrick Nietzsche, a German philosopher who came before such varied phenomena as Nazism and postmodernism supported the concepts of individualism, self-reliance, competition, and elitism (Scott, 2014). These are the three terms that sum up the motives for the ongoing controversy over his theories, and the result of Nietzsche questioning the theory of nihilism (Scott, 2014). Nihilism is the understanding the higher values that people and society have undervalued themselves, by which they have become insignificant and outdated. It is the loss of all importance, sense, and purpose (Moroney, 1986). Nihilism is a rational result of corruption, corruption is an inevitable fact of life. In this assignment Nietzsche’s views on nihilism …show more content…

Nietzsche thought that Christian morals guided European humanity for the last 1,500 years (Bishop, 2012). Europeans had to make a noteworthy choice regarding the last man and the superman, between a realistic society dedicated to complete contentment or a higher but sad culture with superhuman possibilities (Bishop, 2012). Christianity was the first against particle and theoretical nihilism. Christianity gave purpose to people’s lives by granting them an absolute value, Christianity was able to explain and justify the evil and suffering in the world (Moroney, 1987). As time went by the spirit of truthfulness sprang from Christianity and eventually gave way to the rise of nihilism as people began to question the notion of God and the whole Christian culture (Moroney, 1987). Nihilism is unavoidable and, in spite of its destructive aspect, it can be rejuvenating, and consequently beneficial experience (Moroney, 1987). When Nietzsche says that nihilism can be beneficial and rejuvenating for Europe it is active complete nihilism that he is talking …show more content…

As a result, this brings us to believe that our freedom can release us from our traditional values. Once they have been revealed of their false and demeaning motives. Furthermore, as a result of this freedom and independence, new values develop (Mandic, 2011). This position failed on any belief of being responsive to circumstances we find ourselves in. The notion of liberty and the feeling of independence that follows from it is almost an unfeasible way for an individual to live their life. It leaves an individual without a sense of unity and belonging with others. (Mandic,

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Elie Wiesel, a male Holocaust survivor, once said: “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference” and “Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil.” During the Holocaust, over eleven million innocent people were killed because of the hate and intolerance the Nazis had for them. Many people fight against the injustice of the Nazi party and without them hundreds more people could have died. Intolerance and hate were some main causes of the Holocaust, and the fight against it is shown in The Book Thief, The Whispering Town, Paper Clips, and Eva’s Story.

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Elie Wiesel was one of the many unfortunate souls who were sent to Auschwitz, a well known concentration camp. He spent many painful years watching people get shot, or die of starvation; seeing people get sent to gas chambers for no reason. After he escaped, he turned bitter, and cruel. He later wrote the book Night. Elie Wiesel stated boldly, “The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference.”

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Although many people believe anger and hatred cause others to act out in violence or turn own friends against each other, the real problem is indifference. The quote by the Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, emphasizes how disastrous indifference really is: “More dangerous than anger and hatred is indifference. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end—and it is always the friend of the enemy” (Wiesel). In support of Elie Wiesel’s position, indifference is far more destructive than both anger and hatred combined.

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I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me.” (Wiesel 115). In the final lines of Elie Wiesel’s Night, the author reflects on the effects the holocaust has had on him.

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The Holocaust was a terrible time in the world’s history. Not many Jewish people made it out of the Holocaust alive, but Elie Wiesel not only made it through the dark years, but he also wrote a book and delivered a speech. Both of these things were meant to tell the world about the horrors that happened in the concentration camps and raise awareness about the Holocaust. The book Night tells us what Elie’s journey throughout 1943-1945 (the time of the Holocaust) was like with Nazis controlling the Jews. In the speech Perils of Indifference, Elie explains why it is dangerous to not have an opinion on certain topics.

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He is very well known for his memoir “Night” and his speech “Perils of Indifference.” The message is much more prominent in his book “Night” rather than his speech. Real life examples are provided, it is more understandable, and it leaves you with something to think about. The length, connections, and abundant amount of description helps promote the message as well as the book tells us why we can never let such indifference as the Holocaust happen again.

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My soul had been invaded-and devoured-by a black flame” (34). To summarize, Wiesel became a completely different person after only experiencing the beginning of a very long path of suffering. To elaborate, Wiesel was no longer consumed by uncertainty as he had been before he set foot in the concentration camp. What completely consumed him now was the fact that what he had to face every day in that camp was much worse than what he had imagined. This piece of the text can lead the reader to infer that even though it was no longer night and the sun was in the sky, darkness took the place of Wiesel’s soul, which had been destroyed by the flame of hopelessness.

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The general statement made by Elie Wiesel in his speech, The Perils of Indifference, is that indifference is sinful. More specifically, Wiesel argues that awareness needs to be brought that indifference is dangerous. He writes “Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end”. In this speech, Wiesel is suggesting that indifference is dangerous it can bring the end to many lives. In conclusion Wiesel's belief is suggesting that indifference is an end, it needs to be noticed and taken care of.

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Perils of Indifference delivers his message effectively, but not to the same degree of his memoir, for it isn’t able to explore these the horrors of the Holocaust, and use the same extent of literary terms because of its length

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Wiesel pinpoints the indifference of humans as the real enemy, causing further suffering and lost to those already in peril. Wiesel commenced the speech with an interesting attention getter: a story about a young Jewish from a small town that was at the end of war liberated from Nazi rule by American soldiers. This young boy was in fact himself. The first-hand experience of cruelty gave him credibility in discussing the dangers of indifference; he was a victim himself.

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From a young age, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an enlightened thinker. Whether it be because of his youthful fascination with the word eternity, which he found “majestic” (p.3), or his determination to be a theologian at thirteen, it seems unsurprising that he would grow to be a man of original mind and concepts, not destined to follow a crowd. Throughout his life, there are many ideas that are either thrown his way or intentionally sought after by him that contribute overall to his decision to resist the German Christians and subsequently the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer’s acquisition of knowledge that he accumulates throughout his existence, which include theories from each new place and new people he encounters, allow him to grasp a worldly view of

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H. L. Mencken wrote “the average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” I agree with this quote because of the deeper meaning it has behind it. In today’s society, people do not seem to have ambitions or dreams that they want to pursue. A lot of people settle with a job that pays just enough to make a living or they do not go beyond their limits to get a higher education to be able to make more money.

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In which millions of Jews were innocently killed and persecuted because of their religion. As a student who is familiar with the years of the holocaust that will forever live in infamy, Wiesel’s memoir has undoubtedly changed my perspective. Throughout the text, I have been emotionally touched by the topics of dehumanization, the young life of Elie Wiesel, and gained a better understanding of the Holocaust. With how dehumanization was portrayed through words, pondering my mind the most.

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Mulhall, Stephen. "Nietzsche 's Style of Address: A Response to Christopher Janaway 's beyond Selflessness. " European Journal of Philosophy, vol. 17, no. 1, Mar. 2009, pp. 121-131. EBSCOhost,

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He does not believe in a God, stating that the church exists to “devalue nature and natural values” and claiming that these religious systems steal power, creating weakness in mankind (Nietzsche 34). He creates a primitive and selfish lifestyle as a model to compliment this new concept of inverted values. This lifestyle is based on the Hyperboreans, a mythical race that lives North of the Arctic Circle and exemplifies strength and vigor. Nietzsche believed in training people from a young age to maximize power to assert dominance and exude toughness because goodness was associated with everything that creates a feeling of power and, therefore, happiness. Straying away from this is the reason for man’s weakness, which he claims is equivalent to unhappiness and all that is considered bad.

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