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Wednesday, 14 December 2005 01:20 |
"Question every single value constantly.?∆
?? Friedrich Nietzsche
?ÿ
By JOHN NORTH
HENDERSONVILLE ?? German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche??s assertion that ?®God is dead?∆ was intended to ?®rattle the cages?∆ of 19th century Lutherans, professor Duane Davis said in a Dec. 6 lecture at UNC Asheville??s Kellogg Center.
Inspired with the hope of getting people to live their lives the best way they see fit instead of being tied to a lifestyle and dogma that, Nietzsche said, benefits the rich and powerful and offers a false promise of a rewarding afterlife, he appealed to ?®the tragic allure of a dead God,?∆ Davis noted. The controversial philosopher??s ideas, including his mandate to question everything, and his shrill style, resulted in a ?®Nietzsche mystique,?∆ he added.
Nietzsche??s admonition was an ?®audacious thing,?∆ Davis said, and coupled with his proclivity to express himself in an ?®aphormous style,?∆ was intended to have the maximum possible impact on what he perceived as the prevailing sheep-like sensibilities of his time and place.
?®Who would dare say something like that??∆ the professor asked the nearly full house of more than 55 attendees at the monthly ?®Great Quotes 2005-06?∆ lecture.
An associate professor of philosophy at UNCA, Davis was participating in the lecture series co-sponsored by the Institute for Applied Philosophy and the UNCA Philosophy Department.
The program, which later included a public discussion and question-and-answer session, is intended to foster discussion of philosophically significant issues of the day.
As for saying ?®God is dead,?∆ Davis noted, ?®There??s something?Ò about that ?? that someone immortal and omniscient could die?Ò There??s something about the idea that God could die.?∆
In tracing the philosopher??s life and development, the professor
pointed out that Nietzsche was born in 1844 in Germany and died in 1900
?? an era and locale in which the ideas of Lutheranism were strong.
?®Lutheranism became tied with the growth of German nationalism, for better or for worse,?∆ Davis said.
?®Lutheranism is tied with obeying the civil order and maintaining the status quo ?? at least at that time and place.
?®For Nietzsche, maintaining the status quo is the greatest sin possible,?∆ he noted.
While Davis stressed he wanted to avoid going too far afield with psychology, he said scholars feel it is
important to know that Nietzsche??s father died when he was four years
old and was therefore believed to have been affected by an ?®absent
father figure.?∆ In addition, Nietzsche??s household was headed by strong
women.
Ironically, as Davis pointed out, Nietsche??s family had a strong
Lutheran background ?? his father and maternal grandfather were Lutheran
ministers.
?®He rejected values just because they were ?¥established,???∆ Davis said
of Nietzsche. He added that some critics say his stance was an
overreaction to his religion.
?®In modern philosophy, reason is used to establish the truths of nature, rather than to discern them,?∆ Davis said,
pointing to French philosopher Ren?‡ Descartes?? famous dictum: ?®I think, therefore I am.?∆
However, late modern philosophy ?? especially with German philosopher
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, ?®who flourished at the end of the 19th
century?∆ ?? believed ?®if something is true, it has to be universal,?∆
Davis said. ?®Hegel believed history makes truth?Ò All of history is what
makes the world make sense ?? history is actualizing human spirit.?∆
Hegel??s views predominated in Germany during Nietzsche??s lifetime and,
predictably, Nietzsche vehemently disagreed with his philosophy,
feeling Hegel was professing too much universalism, among other
objections.
Ludwig Feuerbach, another late modern philosopher cited by Davis, said
that ?®to get to truth, one must talk in materialistic terms. For
Feuerback, God is just a product ?? a projection ?? of this material
world.?∆
In contrast, Davis said Hegel was advocating that ?®the idea is perfect in every way. We??re helping God achieve divinity.?∆
Meanwhile, a third late modern philosopher, Max Stirner, had ?®the same
shrill sort of style as Nietzsche does,?∆ Davis noted. ?®He said
rationality is really overrated. We shouldn??t try to live that way...
The best way to live life
is a sort of egoism... It??s a struggle to not be subordinate to anything.?∆
To that end, Davis said, ?®Nietzsche said in as shrill a voice as
possible that ?¥God is dead! What are you going to do about it????∆
In reading aloud one of Nietzsche??s most famous passages, Davis cited
a segment on the madman from the book ?®The Gay Science,?∆ in which
Nietzsche stated, ?®God is dead. God remains dead ?? and we??ve killed
him...?∆
As ?®a-theological?∆ proclamation, Davis said, ?®It??s no secret that
Nietzsche was an atheist ?? he was an atheist!?∆ Davis noted. ?®He said
alcoholism is the second-worse vice, topped only by the worst ??
Christianity.?∆
Shaking his head, the professor said of Nietzsche??s assertion, ?®It??s playful and delicious and shrill and vindictive.?∆
Alcoholism amounts to ?®hiding from life?∆ ?? and Nietzsche equated it to
Christianity, Davis said. ?®Nietzsche labeled Christianity as a cult,
with slavish followers.?∆ He added that the German philosopher liked to
say that
?®Thou shalt not think!?∆ is the 11th Commandment.
Nietzsche was concerned about the growing belief in science as absolute
truth in which, Davis said, ?®everything can be explained as cause and
effect. We don??t need God. We??ve got science.?∆
?®Nietzsche thought this was disgusting, too. People had replaced God
with science and were acting in the same dependent way. It??s just
another religion.?∆
Instead, Nietzsche??s message, according to Davis, was ?®Don??t let people
tell you what to do and don??t let others tell you what the truth is.?∆
As a metaphysical corrective, Davis said Nietzsche wrote of the veiled
temple of Egypt, in which it is ?®all in the appearances ?? and the
reality is supposedly behind it. Someone pulls off veil after veil and,
behind it, there??s nothing. There??s just the veils.?∆
While Nietzsche believed man has the power to kill God and reinvent
himself, he said he it is requisite to disabuse oneself of the notion
that there is truth behind appearances, Davis said.
This reinvention is a multi-step process that includes realizing that the most important thing is ?®being,?∆ while
?®most people are just concerned with appearances,?∆ Davis said of separating appearances from reality.
Also, Nietzsche believed that in the real world, ?®unobtainable for the
moment, we can??t know the whole truth... The truth becomes
incomprehensible.?∆
Nietzsche, perhaps because of his upbringing, linked Christianity as
the logical extention of femininity, Davis said, noting that scholars
agree it is ?®a complicated?∆ issue.
Nietzsche also held that ?®you??re never going to know everything you ought to know?∆ and that the truth has to be measured.
In effect, Davis said Nietzsche was saying, ?®Let us abolish the real
world. Let??s dance.?∆ Inasmuch as, in Nietzsche??s view, ?®we??ve abolished
the real world,?∆ Davis asked, ?®what world is left??∆
Despite his professed atheism, ?®Nietzsche writes like a prophet,?∆ Davis
observed with a note of irony. ?®He considers himself to be one.?∆
However, instead of concerns about an afterlife, he urged, ?®Let??s live
in the world in which we are.?∆
Nietzsche advocated that, ?®as an existential imperative, if God is dead, we have to give existence meaning.
Then there??s a challenge to find meaning. ?®?¥Live!???∆ Davis said.
The German philosopher said it is important that one feel that ?®I
wouldn??t choose to do anything different from what I??m doing,?∆ Davis
said. Otherwise, Nietzsche would wonder, ?®If you couldn??t will to live
your life as it is forever, then why don??t you change what you??re
doing??∆
To that end, Nietzsche said Christian morality is a dual joke played on
the weak by the strong. He termed Christian morality a sickness.
?®Nietzsche would say if your life only has meaning because of God, then
you??re not living your life,?∆ Davis said, noting that the philosopher
urged people to ?®live in this world. Don??t be other-worldly... Don??t
wait for our life to become valuable ?? make it valuable.?∆
In concluding, Davis triggered much laughter from the audience when he
told of seeing graffitti in a men??s bathroom stall, giving God the last
word, as follows:
?®God is dead.?∆ ?? Nietzsche
?®Nietzsche is dead.?∆ ?? God
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