Friedrich Nietzsche
7 Generations Ago
30 Phil, Chapter 30: Nietzsche and Nihilism
Friedrich was born on October 15, 1844, on the 49th birthday of the Prussian King, after whom he was named. In 1869, at the age of 24, Nietzsche was appointed as a professor of classical philology at the University of Basel in Switzerland. The mustachioed-musician-philosopher Nietzsche shows us that his life was not solely confined to the rigor of intellectual quests; it also embraced the landscapes of creative artistry and a fervor for living a life well-lived.
Where Søren Kierkegaard taught us to take guidance from our angst—treating anxiety not as an illness but as a signal that demands a response—Nietzsche offers a different starting move. Kierkegaard’s anguish drives the leap of faith: a decision made when certainty runs out. Nietzsche, by contrast, urges us to first challenge inherited norms, traditions, and moral assumptions, clearing the ground so that any decision we make is truly our own.
For Nietzsche, the collapse of inherited meaning is not a tragedy but an opening. With “God dead,” humanity is no longer bound to borrowed values, inherited morals, or cultural scripts written by others. Meaning does not vanish—it changes hands. It becomes something we must create, through strength, intellectual honesty, and the difficult work of becoming rather than obeying.
This is why Nietzsche’s philosophy is not a descent into despair but a call to responsibility. If the old meanings have fallen, then living authentically means daring to create new ones—and having the courage to stand behind them. His challenge is simple, but demanding: before you leap, make sure the ground beneath you is truly yours.
