Nietzsche
I just finished my book on Nietzsche. It’s been a while, but I finally did it.
I have to say that I liked it, even if it was extremely hard to understand. The thing about Nietzsche is that he wasn’t trying to establish something definitive. He “wrote with his blood”, or in other words, just wrote what he was thinking. He didn’t care if you agreed or not, he just wanted to give you some ideas.
What I got out of it was that your will is your most valuable asset. You are an important person to yourself, and you should treat yourself well. Sometimes this can be hard, but it’s a struggle worth having. I think he said something along the lines of “What is good? Whatever increases the will to power.” In other words, whatever makes you stronger is good.
That being said, he had some interesting ideas on morality. He absolutely despised pity, saying it was basically a contagious unhappiness. It was sort of his capital sin. He really hated Christianity for that reason; he felt the entire religion was founded upon pity and weakness, and glorified it.
I also like his ideas on finding the truth. He said it was supposed to be a great struggle to find the truth, full of discomfort and constant fight against one’s own biases. He felt that man was something that had to be overcome, and that meant taking one’s own psychology into account.
It was a hard read, and I couldn’t possibly explain all of what I read, let alone remember it. Anyway, if you’re interested in a nihilistic philosopher that turns morality upside-down and gives a totally fresh view on things, pick him up.
