Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a <a href="/facts/German_philosopher/4awnJxIb">German philosopher</a>. He began his career as a <a href="/facts/Classical_philology/CXF1ltbH">classical philologist</a>, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest professor to hold the Chair of Classical Philology at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Basel/wHh85dtE">University of Basel</a>. Plagued by health problems for most of his life, he resigned from the university in 1879, and in the following decade he completed much of his core writing. In 1889, aged 44, he suffered a collapse and thereafter a complete loss of his mental faculties, with <a href="/facts/Paralysis/Sh1Rqr8R">paralysis</a> and <a href="/facts/Vascular_dementia/New27nwl">vascular dementia</a>. He lived his remaining 11 years under the care of his family until his death. <a href="/facts/Friedrich_Nietzsche_bibliography/q4CpFI1u">His works</a> and <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_Friedrich_Nietzsche/PVbjBeA5">his philosophy</a> have fostered not only extensive scholarship but also much popular interest. 
Nietzsche's work encompasses philosophical <a href="/facts/Polemic/DF28IXME">polemics</a>, poetry, <a href="/facts/Cultural_critic/UpqJTKXN">cultural criticism</a> and <a href="/facts/Fiction/p1AY3Xp4">fiction</a>, while displaying a fondness for <a href="/facts/Aphorisms/hYudG9yF">aphorisms</a> and <a href="/facts/Irony/w8oHsT9Q">irony</a>. Prominent elements of his philosophy include his radical critique of <a href="/facts/Truth/NyQmBtUC">truth</a> in favour of <a href="/facts/Perspectivism/SRk8sIPr">perspectivism</a>; a <a href="/facts/Genealogy_(philosophy)/Tzxrw5Ct">genealogical</a> <a href="/facts/Critique_of_religion/by3XvnJw">critique of religion</a> and <a href="/facts/Christian_morality/nEjJ6RMp">Christian morality</a> and a related theory of <a href="/facts/Master%25E2%2580%2593slave_morality/W16mUdCp">master–slave morality</a>; the <a href="/facts/Aesthetics/FSD8f7oF">aesthetic</a> <a href="/facts/Affirmation_of_life/F3qydGQf">affirmation of life</a> in response to both the "<a href="/facts/God_is_dead/wtYygRMb">death of God</a>" and the profound crisis of <a href="/facts/Nihilism/qETgtSKu">nihilism</a>; the notion of <a href="/facts/Apollonian_and_Dionysian/nBgSYxNK">Apollonian and Dionysian</a> forces; and a characterisation of the human <a href="/facts/Subject_(philosophy)/CoEclgFn">subject</a> as the expression of competing <a href="/facts/Will_(philosophy)/cLDa60FT">wills</a>, collectively understood as the <a href="/facts/Will_to_power/BpfoB9yL">will to power</a>. He also developed influential concepts such as the <a href="/facts/%25C3%259Cbermensch/B0Cjny8n">Übermensch</a> and his doctrine of <a href="/facts/Eternal_return/LIBWpAFU">eternal return</a>. In his later work he became increasingly preoccupied with the creative powers of the individual to overcome cultural and moral mores in pursuit of <a href="/facts/Transvaluation_of_values/e1ggENpm">new values</a> and aesthetic health. His body of work touched a wide range of topics, including <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_Art/FSD8f7oF">art</a>, <a href="/facts/Philology/5u0xzd5g">philology</a>, <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_history/gRxLws9I">history</a>, <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_music/NRcVGPW1">music</a>, <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_religion/1yI4cqMx">religion</a>, <a href="/facts/Tragedy/dapwNdf8">tragedy</a>, <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_culture/CdT0lrUt">culture</a> and <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_science/aonsfhTY">science</a>, and drew inspiration from <a href="/facts/Greek_tragedy/4P3clg5x">Greek tragedy</a> as well as figures such as <a href="/facts/Zoroaster/o4RAWuMX">Zoroaster</a>, <a href="/facts/Arthur_Schopenhauer/pYt2cRmc">Arthur Schopenhauer</a>, <a href="/facts/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson/PmnMgwd5">Ralph Waldo Emerson</a>, <a href="/facts/Richard_Wagner/XoFH4v69">Richard Wagner</a>, <a href="/facts/Fyodor_Dostoevsky/cbQ5REbv">Fyodor Dostoevsky</a> and <a href="/facts/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe/k5hW4Tw5">Johann Wolfgang von Goethe</a>. 
After Nietzsche's death his sister, <a href="/facts/Elisabeth_F%25C3%25B6rster-Nietzsche/cryFsPAT">Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche</a>, became the curator and editor of his manuscripts. She edited his unpublished writings to fit her <a href="/facts/German_nationalism/qSNpIxWj">German ultranationalist</a> ideology, often contradicting or obfuscating Nietzsche's stated opinions, which were explicitly <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_Friedrich_Nietzsche/PVbjBeA5">opposed to antisemitism and nationalism</a>. Through her published editions, Nietzsche's work became associated with <a href="/facts/Fascism/EhQWcPsE">fascism</a> and <a href="/facts/Nazism/JjsMI4lE">Nazism</a>. Twentieth-century scholars such as <a href="/facts/Walter_Kaufmann_(philosopher)/6atyWPFj">Walter Kaufmann</a>, <a href="/facts/R._J._Hollingdale/cAQagqMW">R. J. Hollingdale</a> and <a href="/facts/Georges_Bataille/hpJCujYt">Georges Bataille</a> defended Nietzsche against this interpretation, and corrected editions of his writings were soon made available. Nietzsche's thought enjoyed renewed popularity in the 1960s and his ideas have since had a profound impact on 20th- and 21st-century thinkers across philosophy—especially in schools of <a href="/facts/Continental_philosophy/uVbXljJo">continental philosophy</a> such as <a href="/facts/Existentialism/ylQ1HF6b">existentialism</a>, <a href="/facts/Postmodernism/aBgbw8QJ">postmodernism</a> and <a href="/facts/Post-structuralism/N1GPxB42">post-structuralism</a>—as well as art, literature, music, poetry, politics, and <a href="/facts/Popular_culture/cKj0ho02">popular culture</a>.

Friedrich Nietzsche open-in-new

Friedrich Nietzsche