Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Otherworld

WHAT IS DEATH?
We have differentiated the phenomenology of death from the perspective of SCIENCE and RELIGION.

SCIENCE says death is the ending of life. When man stops breathing, he is dead. When the heart stops
beating, man is dead. In hospitals, man is dead when flat line occurs. Man is dead if man has no life.

RELIGION says death is a gateway to new life. When man is good, he goes up to heaven; he receives a
good karma; he is exulted from all other creatures. When man is bad, he goes down to hell; receive
bad karma; neglected by all, ignored by whoever they call god.

But what does Philosophy says about death? Is it really a question of what death is?

Or is it a question of -

WHAT IS DEATH BEFORE AND AFTER LIFE?

This is a famous line from our philosopher of today:

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
Quick review: God is dead! As an atheist, for Nietzsche, the society particularly us human beings are
the ones who killed our own god – Christians killed the true essence of their own religion . According
to his book Twilight of the idols, “When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to
Christian morality out from under one's feet. This morality is by no means self-evident… Christianity is
a system, a whole view of things thought out together. By breaking one main concept out of it, the
faith in God, one breaks the whole.”

He said this famous line as a reaction to his experience of early system of Christianity that makes it far
different from what Jesus wants the Church to be in original essence.

This is a good start to begin with Nietzsche’s philosophy about death. It has something to do with the
Christian belief system during his time – and all his philosophies are up against this kind of system.
Death, for him, can be best understood with the concept of the:
 OTHERWORLD
For Nietzsche, the Otherworld is nothing but a fiction created by Christians themselves. Knowing that
death is certain, people tend to focus more on the belief system rather than living an authentic way of
life. According to Vinzons, “Nietzsche cannot accept that people are willing to trade this world for a
world which is a product of human imagination and suffering. As a notorious critic of Christianity, he
claims that the concept of an afterlife in the otherworld serves to comfort those who are weak and
suffering in this world.” In short, people sticks to what the religion says about their lives – there is an
incorrect interpretation or exercise of the true essence of Christianity. Thus, for Nietzsche, one has to
take away the concept of the otherworld and focus on living life to the fullest.

But the question is… How?

LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST!

This line is indeed cliché if we speak about the meaning of life. But cliché as it may seem, this is
certainly the essence of what Friedrich Nietzsche wants us to realize in his philosophy about death.

According to him, the otherworld is just an illusion that makes people “accept their lowly condition
here on earth” and somehow gives them hope that this otherworld would grant them a life that is
better from the life they live in the present. Meaning to say, they tried to put their lives on the hands
of religion – giving all what they have for a belief that is ambiguous, and neglects what is essential in
the present.

Live the moment. Those people during Nietzsche’s time haven’t realized yet the point of his
philosophy. What matters most is you live in the present, not investing for something you are unsure
of.

According to Vinzons, “Nietzsche is against the otherworld because this leads those who experience
difficulties in this life to give up and hope for better life in another world instead.” Let us not forget
that during his time, they experience famine, war, and different levels of social injustices.

We cannot blame those people who are suffering from injustices especially when you are in the midst
of war. People during that time experienced despair – they thought that only religion can make their
lives better. But the problem is that they ignored their potentialities and possibilities and inclined to
something that is uncertain.

Friedrich Nietzsche, indeed, disagreed on this kind of mentality. He preferably suggests that YOU CAN
DO MORE and WE CAN DO BETTER in this present life. Now we understand what he meant when he
said ‘God is dead’ – since the people during that time killed the essence of a Christian life. God is
indeed dead for those who despair.