Ever get tired of trying to be sane in this insane world?
I am constantly bothered by the the following thought; while perhaps I can do something good to better the world, but at the same time, I thought, why do anything, life is meaningless. What a contradiction?! I am equally moved by the two views in my head. I hope someone will respond? I am curious to see how many people are constantly stuck with contradictions (or whatever you want to call it) like this.
So what is it about life then? Can it be said that I should convince myself that things are good, that there is a purpose? Is life all about “make-believe?” To me, religion feels alot like a make-believe state of consciousness, as though happiness or faith have always been there, as long as one think/convinced his or herself they’ve got it.
A major downer for me is when I did nothing, I was told to do something because life has much more to offer than what I thought; then when I finally did something, I was told of what I did was insignificant and useless, ordinary/unimportant. So I decided to ignore most of everyone and just kinda go with my own flow.
Now I feel strongly that people are meant for conflict, as though as just want to fight about whatever all the time; peace is perhaps just another excuse to have something to fight for/ fight about.
I understood who he was, I bought his book because ppl keep tellin me how similar I think when compared with Netizsche. I never read philosophy (even though I hate reading, I keep buying these books), I just love talking lol, but yea, I know what you mean man.
“Extreme positions are not succeeded by moderate ones but by extreme positions of the opposite kind. Thus the belief in the absolute immorality of nature, in aim- and meaninglessness, is the psychologically necessary affect once the belief in God and an essentially moral order becomes untenable. Nihilism appears at that point, not that the displeasure at existence has become greater than before but because one has come to mistrust any “meaning” in suffering, indeed in existence. One interpretation has collapsed; but because it was considered the interpretation it now seems as if there were no meaning at all in existence, as if everything were in vain.”
[Nietzsche, The Will to Power, section 55.]
This, I think, summarises the “contradiction” in your soul: the Christian moral concept of good on the one hand, and the meaninglessness of life on the other. This follows from the fact that “God is dead”, i.e., that the Christian moral God is no longer credible. But this event, the death of God, is great because it carries the seed that will allow some at least to overcome their nihilism and attain to a new affirmation (a new concept of good). It is here that Nietzsche introduces the Super- or Overman (Ãœbermensch), the man who is superhuman in relation to mankind as a whole in general, and to the morally “good” man in particular. And the good news is, the measure of Ãœbermenschlichkeit (“superhumanness”) is the same moral virtue that has “killed” the Christian God - i.e., truthfulness. The Superman is the man who can “see things as they are: tragic”* - who wants to see things as they are. And not as a moral imperative, but because it requires courage, because it tests his strength, - the Superman carries through his resolution to see the truth “in spite of the fact that the disutility and dangerousness of “the will to truth,” of “truth at any price” is proved to [him] constantly.”** But note that this is only my interpretation of Nietzsche, I who have been reading him for ten years, which is more than a third of my life. I may be wrong!
[*Nietzsche, Revaluation of All Values, book 4, section 364. **Nietzsche, La Gaya Scienza, section 344.]
bravo Sauwelios, I only wish I can articulated myself at such level as you have.
I like you explanations, I wonder though, if Nietzsche wanted to attain" a new affirmation" “a new understanding of good”. I was never a Christian or anything, nor do I have anything against them in general. I figure that I am not no longer in pursuit of the truth behind what is good, but rather, what does it mean to to define what is good. I suppose I should finish this “human, all too human” thats been collection dust.