Nietzche´s Übermensch or Superman is possibly one of the most important philosophical concepts in regard to human psychology but, in order to even come close to comprehending the concept one must first understand the fundamental components of the broader philosophical concept of Existentialism. Existentialism is the term applied to the body of work of late 19th and early 20th century philosophers, starting from the danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard who without using the term proposed that “an individual not bound by society or religion is solely responsible for giving a meaning to life and living it passionately and sincerely or authentically”. This followed by a plethora of philosophers who adopted this idea and givng it further meaning …show more content…
Although Nietzsche Lived from 1844 to 1900, at the age of 44 he suffered a psychotic breakdown which abruptly halted his career as a scholar and philosopher. But that is not to say he left behind an incomplete body of work since, as evidence would suggest his work has remained exalted more than one and a half centuries after. The work that projects Nietzsche philosophical prowess the most is the book; “Also sprach Zarathustra “ or “thus spoke Zarathustra” published in segments between 1883 and 1891. Upon release the piece was unsuccesful like much of his other work which may be part of the cause of his breakdown. In this book the reader is introduced to the concept of the “Übermensch” or “Superman”. This term to most must excite the thought of DC Comics´s Superman, a being that is physically superior in every way to the average human. This idea as wild as it may appear isn´t to far from Nietzsche´s meaning of the word, that being a human that is who´s pschological qualities are far superior to that of all other current human beings. Nietzsche asks “what are apes to man” implying that it is wrong to assume that human evolutution has reached its peak and come to an abrupt halt and his character, Zarathustra in a prophetic
'' Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood.'' - Friedrich Nietzsche '' When men make gods, there is no God!'' - Eugene O'Neil Life of Friedrich
Through analysis of a few of the proposed necessities of personhood–consciousness, intelligence, and self-awareness–the
Existentialism is a philosophical theory that was developed by Nietzsche and many other philosophers in the 19th century. In the first four chapters of the novel Grendel by John Gardner, the protagonist and the narrator, Grendel tells a story of his adolescence. Like any teenager, Grendel encounters multitude of events which molds him into what he is; an existentialist. Through the use of diction, personification, and simile in the narration of Grendel, John Gardner illustrates the cause of Grendel’s existential outlook.
Nonetheless, both Nietzsche and Motes were not able to live a joyful, normal life by believing in nihilism. O’Connor conveys the idea that individuals are not able to live a satisfying life if they do not have faith it anything; a faith in religion and God will make the individuals feel spiritually and mentally
He aims to suggest and make his people accept that the Aryan race must be praised as the highest degree of humanity for all the scientific and cultural outcomes they supposedly
The Style of the essay gives a strong argument by stating an example followed by a claim which backs the example and a warrant on how the example ties together with the claim. The prominent portrayal of the Toulmin style elevates Nietzsche’s essay to better enforce the arguments that he made making the work more
CITR Rough Draft Essay World War II had ended for America and instead of trying to come together as a nation some felt the need to exist as individuals. The Existentialist evolution came from Europe during the 1950’s. Existentialism came along in the United States at the same time segregation in schools was ruled unconstitutional, the Korean War had begun, and the Warsaw Pact had been signed. Existentialism was a time in America where some people emphasized the existence of the individual as a responsible and free agent. Existentialist believed that their development was based off their acts of will.
In a Flux The novel Catcher In The Rye written by J.D. Salinger has many prominent Existentialist views through the story. The novel’s main character is Holden Caulfield, who has just been expelled from high school. This is not the first time an event like this has happened. The novel is written about Holden remembering times he had in high school, while he is in a mental institute.
The harsh realities of the industrial revolution created a climate of fear and anxiety about the human condition, which made many people more receptive to existential ideas. The birth of the existential movement took place following World Wars I and II and influential philosophers such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Sartre, who were in conflict with the predominant ideologies of their time, were committed to exploring and understanding human experience. Existentialism has three main branches; Christian existentialism represented by Kierkegaard, Jaspers, Marcel and May; aethestic existentialism represented by Sartre, Camus and Nietzsche and Jewish existentialism represented by Buber, Yalom and Frankl. (Professor M.L.O Rourke Handout October 2016). The Humanistic version of existential therapy predominantly thrived in America, through the work of Yalom (Van Durzen,
In Kafka 's work The Metamorphosis and in In the Penal Colony the themes and ideas portrayed are nothing less than chaotic. But it is in this chaos that he creates an efficient way of portraying the ideas of philosophical thought to his readers. He shows these ideas without directly stating any one track of thought to follow which allows each reader to form the book to their ways of thought rather than molding their outlook to existential thought. Kafka chooses to convey the messages of absurdism, essentialism and existentialism through the protagonist 's reactions when their purpose is brought into question. He does this by completely revoking purpose in The Metamorphosis and question the legitimacy of the officer’s purpose in In the Penal Colony.
As these numbers indicate a low society that is in need of help thanks to the influence of Nietzschean thought. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher, cultural critic, poet, and Latin and Greek scholar whose work has shook the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality by way of the proposal of the Übermensch, the last man, eternal recurrence, and the will to power. First, the Übermensch, a German word translated variously as, “Overman,” “Superman, “ or “Super-human”. In his work Thus Spoke Zarathustra Nietzsche introduced the concept of a value-creating Übermensch who rises above the masses to in devoid of anything. The overman is the solution to a problem that humanity is not yet aware of.
The argument Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher, presents on existentialism helps to prove the foundation which is “existence precedes essence”. Existentialism is normally understood as an ideology that involves evaluating existence itself and the way humans find themselves existing currently in the world. For the phrase existence precedes essence, existence’s etymology is exsistere or to stand out while the term Essence means “being” or “to be” therefore the fundamental of existentialism, literally means to stand out comes before being. This can be taken into many different ideas such as individuals having to take responsibility for their own actions and that in Sartre’s case the individual is the sole judge of his or her own actions. According to him, “men is condemned to be free,” therefore “the destiny of man is placed within himself.”
“Nietzsche’s ideal man despises the vulgar worldly prosperity aimed at by the average man” (Foster, 1920). The Uebermesch or Superman does not recognize any higher power than himself (Goebel, 1899). He only obeys his own will and does not believe in a God. He claims that the belief in a God is a delusion (Goebel, 1899). He states that only weak people consider the voice of conscience the voice of higher power (Goebel,
In “Waiting for Godot”, written by Samuel Beckett, absurdism is a major theme within the play as an existentialist view of human reality is hugely reflected. The play revolves around the mocking of religion and faith in regards to futility. Ironically, however, the play would not exist without this idea that life has no meaning. The first example of the absurdism present in the play is how the main characters, Vladimir and Estragon spend the entirely of their time waiting for someone who they do not know will arrive.
For existentialists, emotions or moods play a central role. Emotions are viewed as a sensuous presentation as well as a cognitive experience of human finitude. Existentialists contributed to emotions by claiming that moods signify the relation of oneself to the world, where the emotion of anxiety for example signifies freedom. In this paper, I first analyze Kierkegaard’s view as a religious existentialist on human moods and emotions. He presumed that emotions or moods disclose something.