Nietzsche and A 'Good' Life
A rockstar amongst boy bands.
As we explore what is a ‘good’ life through history’s greatest thinkers, one theme keeps coming up—friction. Like a diamond born under intense heat and pressure, a ‘good’ life cannot exist without tension.
Even among history’s wisest minds, there is no path to ultimate fulfilment without a level of resistance and challenges to face, as this is part of what life is; no life is perfectly calm and smooth sailing all the way. Where the fun in that?
Before we dive into Nietzsche—a mini detour, friends. I am aware that of ‘history’s greatest thinkers,’ I’ve exclusively featured men.
Here’s the sad truth: I didn’t study a single woman throughout my four-year degree—all Western and male.
While this partly reflects the US Jesuit institution I attended, it also mirrors a harsh historical fact—the denial of intellectual opportunities for women, everywhere throughout history and beyond. But, honestly, this is only part of the issue.
To move beyond the patriarchy requires education reform, amongst others—and unfortunately, we must work twice or thrice as hard to uncover and celebrate women thinkers who were/are shunned or discouraged (depending where you are and what area of thought). This is a deep-rooted issue that deserves greater intentional explorations that this edition isn’t adequate for. I hope to examine this further another day though. I’ll have a think.
Also, caveat, I completed my bachelors more than a decade ago, before the ‘woke’ movement and MeToo awakening shook society sober, so sadly, it’s not that surprising that through eight semesters, I studied no women and also only had one female professor: Dr. Erin Stackle.
Yet, funnily, she was the professor who taught me one of the most valuable methods for philosophy—to read each text three times. The first as an introduction, the second as a start to grasp the concepts, and third to finally arrive at a moderate reveal of new insights that may qualify as our own. What she really taught me is the value of slowing down and of deep contemplation.
I read every reading three times through, throughout completing my bachelor’s. These days I am not shy about taking my time reading a book or a chapter twice or thrice.
Friedrich Nietzsche knows tensions.
One of his greatest contributions was also one of the most controversial:
(Mom, if you’re reading this, don’t be mad—please read on.)
“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”
Nietzsche’s famous claim “God is dead” is a marker for when Western thought pivoted along with the advancement of science, philosophy, and reasoning. As divine authority dissolved, the burden of creating meaning then fell onto each person instead.
This tension creates a moral void, which Nietzsche hopes compels individuals to build new ethical foundations. Creating new rules and standards for navigating life, that’s no longer tied and commanded by the church.
Nietzsche sees this crisis as an opportunity—ripe for self-determination—a call to action towards a more authentic evaluation of personal values and beliefs, while also rejecting inherited and imposed ideas.
