Historical Context and Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche

Historical Context

The new generation disclaims any conception of a metaphysical universe. The religious, scientific, and technical development of the old shell moves into society, giving rise to new epochs. It is a century of science and technology; however, the hegemony of scientism leads to a divisive, unspiritual, mechanistic, and universal set of values.

1.1 Culture

This culture influenced the crisis that society lives. Faced with a certainty crisis, Europeans look for something to believe in:

• a) Europe disseminates its great liberal democratic system.
• b) In the arts, there is a reaction against realism.
• c) In thought, there is a new movement: Vitalism, which tries to put the accent on the way and on values.

1.2 Philosophical Currents

• Positivism: Progress follows the law of the three states: the theological, where the world is interpreted as a product of supernatural forces; the philosophical, where the world is interpreted through ideas and abstract forces; and the positive, where the world is interpreted through general laws.
• Evolutionism: Darwinism, based on natural selection through the survival of the fittest.
• Utopian Socialism: A critique of capitalism that proposes a new organization of society for the benefit of all.
• Scientific Socialism: Based on the existence of two antagonistic social classes: the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.
• Vitalism: In the late nineteenth century, a group of thinkers established a philosophy whose axis is the exaltation of life.

2. Life and Works of Nietzsche

Born in 1844 in Prussian Saxony, his father died, leaving him to be raised surrounded by women. He attended the University of Bonn, where he chose philological studies. The following year, he moved to Leipzig, where he abandoned Christianity and turned to the atheism of Schopenhauer. During this time, he contracted syphilis. In 1868, he met Richard Wagner, whom he considered a spiritual parent. At 24, he was granted a chair at the University of Basel.

Classification of Works

1. Romantic Period: Includes The Birth of Tragedy and Untimely Meditations. Nietzsche becomes increasingly concerned with the positive sciences.
2. Positivist Period: He departs from earlier influences, attacks religion and metaphysics, and speaks of the death of God.
3. Critical Period: This is the fundamental period. He proposes to eliminate all theoretical dogmatism and perform a radical transmutation of values, ensuring values are in accordance with the essence of life. He expresses this in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, where he avoids speculative concepts and resorts to metaphor.

In late 1888, his health and mind became seriously ill. On August 25, 1900, after eleven years in this state, a stroke ended his life.