Philosopher, Poet, Cultural Critic (1844-1900)

Life & Philosophy

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history. Born in Röcken, Prussia, he became the youngest person ever to hold the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel at just 24 years old.

His revolutionary ideas challenged the foundations of Christianity, traditional morality, and contemporary culture. Nietzsche's philosophy is characterized by his critique of conventional moral systems, his development of the concept of the Übermensch (Overman), and his proclamation that "God is dead"—a statement about the decline of traditional religious certainties in the modern world.

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."

Key Concepts

• The Will to Power
• Eternal Recurrence
• Master-Slave Morality
• The Death of God
• Perspectivism

Major Works

• The Birth of Tragedy (1872)
• Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-1885)
• Beyond Good and Evil (1886)
• On the Genealogy of Morality (1887)
• Twilight of the Idols (1888)

Legacy

Nietzsche's productive period ended abruptly in 1889 when he suffered a mental collapse. Despite his tragic end and initial obscurity, his influence on 20th and 21st-century thought has been immense, impacting existentialism, postmodernism, psychoanalysis, and countless other philosophical and cultural movements.

"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star."