Justine Gil A.

Cailing June 29, 2021

“Man Is Something to be Surpassed” Friedrich Nietzsche

In one word:
Friedrich Nietzsche believes that certain concepts have become inextricably entangled:
humankind, morality, and God. attempts to shatter many of the most cherished views of the
Western philosophical tradition, especially in relation to these three things. He targets three
linked ideas in particular: first, the idea we have of “man” or human nature; second, the idea we
have of God; and third, the ideas we have about morality, or ethics. He wrote a book, a famous
book, intitled Thus Spoke Zarathustra. This is famous because of the famous line God is dead.
The death of God is not just the death of a deity; it is also the death of all the so-called higher
values that we have inherited. Nietzsche wants to put an end to such life-denying philosophies,
so that humankind can see itself in a different way.

In other word:
Christianity views the world we live in now as somehow less real than heaven, but in this
version of the “two worlds” idea the “real world” is attainable, albeit after death and on condition
that we follow Christian rules in this life. This view of Christianity asks us to deny the present
life in favor of the promise of a life to come. This means that we must deny our desires, our
worldly pleasures. We must deny our life. We must turn away from ourselves so that we can
attain “Life after Death”. We have come to see the world we live in as a world that we should
resent and disdain, a world from which we should turn away, transcend, and certainly not enjoy.
Is that a meaningful life, living in despair? Is that the purpose of life, to suffer? Man must
surpass this limiting idea. Nietzsche wants to put an end to such life-denying perspective. He
wants to say that “God is dead” so that humankind can live their life in a meaningful way that is
out of resent and disdain.