Zach Killion Blog Post 1: Intro to Nietzsche

         Of all modern philosophers, it is easy to say Friedrich Nietzsche has been perhaps one of the most well-known and influential of them all. Born in the small German village of Rocken Bei Lutzen in 1844, Nietzsche had a somewhat difficult childhood, losing his father and younger brother at the age of 5. Nietzsche became the only male in his household. Soon after, his family picked up and moved to Naumburg where he was admitted to the prestigious Schulpforta prepatory school. It is here that Nietzsche met Paul Duessen, who would become a lifelong friend and colleague.
         In 1864, Nietzsche entered the University of Bonn, then to the University of Leipzig a year later. Before graduating, Nietzsche took a job at the University of Basel in Switzerland as a professor of Greek Language and Literature. In 1867, Nietzsche went on to serve his required military service, where he would be injured within a year, returning to the University of Liepzig.
       Nietzsche published his first book, The Birth of Tragedy, in 1872. From here, Nietzsche would continue to focus on his education and learnings to become one of the most influential philosophers the world has ever seen.

     Some of Nietzsche's greatest works include Beyond Good & Evil, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, On the Genealogy of Morals, The Case of Wagner, and The Antichrist, Curse on Christianity.

     Nietzsche published a wide range of philosophical beliefs, many on Christianity. Among the many controversial beliefs which Nietzsche held was that Christianity was a religion for the weak (The Antichrist). He is also perhaps most famous for his statement, "God is Dead":

"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?"
                                                                                                   - from The Gay Science.

Of all Nietzsche's controversial and debated concepts, perhaps none is more interesting than that of the Ubermensch, or Superman...