Monday, May 23, 2005

Nietzsche

Nietzsche's ideas are many and complex. I'm only going to talk about a few of them today; there is much more to him.

Nietzsch loved his sister, but he hated most of her views and opinions, and he hated the man she married, because he had those same views. Nietzsche did not like the fact that his sister was anti-Semitic, that she was a racist and a nationalist and a vegetarian, and that she wanted to revive ancient Norse paganism. Nietzsche, contrary to what is often said about him, opposed anti-Semitism, and did not like the fact that there was a growing anti-Jewish movement during his time (the late 1800's). He felt that racism was a shelter for mediocre people, who could get by if they happened to be of the majority power-holding race; he felt that mediocre people should be exposed and made to be servants of the better people, regardless of their race. Nationalism was an exercise of being part of a mindless "herd", and Nietzsche felt it was bad because it encouraged one to mindlessly follow the nation, and it (like racism) created a shelter for mediocrity. Oddly, vegetarianism was popular among both the leaders of the anti-Semtic movements and the early founders of the Nazi party.

Nietzsche, of course, is known for his atheism and his hatred toward Christians and the Christian faith. He despised the fact that the Christian faith encouraged people to "molly-coddle the weaklings", i.e., care for the poor, the orphans, the widows, and the oppressed. Nietzsche felt that not only should the strong survive (as in social Darwinism), but that the strong had the right, even the duty, to exploit the weak, and that the proper role of the weak was to serve those who were by nature simply better.