And what about you liberals?

[domer]

Nietzsche provides pregnant, and consequential, thought when he intones, whether actually or metaphorically, that "God is dead, and we killed him." Ignorant of the particular context in which Nietzsche spoke and its direct intellectual antecedents, I note that according to Christian belief, mankind did kill God (Jesus) and, reversing the intended redemptive value of Christ's death into an indictment of his tormentors (us) -- a failure of mankind to be worthy of, to benefit from, the redemptive grace offered us -- the result is that God is dead.

[_JS]

Interesting look at it Domer.

Nietzsche's point is often prone to misconception. He uses the phrase three times. Twice in Die Fröhliche Wissenschaft and once in Also Sprach Zarathustra. The phrase in German is "Gott ist tot."

Nietzsche is not the easiest philosopher to understand because he really isn't a philosopher at all. He lacks the structure and theory that someone like Kant or Plato use. He's almost a literary figure with philosophical thoughts, similar to the existentialists. He's a bit like Ayn Rand, only more human . But, I certainly wouldn't consider him as a philosopher of the stature of say Immanuel Kant or Thomas Aquinas.

Having said that, his theme here is more metaphorical. It isn't so much that humanity literally killed God, but that humanity killed the notion that there is an source outside of humanity that provides moral law. More than that, man has killed his very purpose. But the madman has come too soon, and no one understands him. Nietzsche describes him as going to churches and singing requiems and the churches are simply tombs for God.

So the big question (for Nietzsche) is not if God is dead and who committed this heinous act - we know those answers. The question is - what now?

This is where a lot of Nietzsche gets attacked and taken strangely. Part of this has to do with people placing their own political and religious ideologies on his writings and part of it that Nietzsche, as I said, is not really a philosopher and his writing leads to odd interpretation anyway.

A lot has to do with the word "Ãœbermensch" which translated literally means "overhuman." It can mean superhuman, trans-man, superman, and has been translated to homo superior (i.e. as a new species). Personally, I don't see the sense in getting all worked up about it. It was simply Nietzsche's term for the people that overcome the stage of nihilism that comes after the realisation that "we murdered God" and "we have no purpose" finally hits humanity like a load of bricks.

One question is what was Nietzsche advocating?

For some it was a world ruled by rational people of science and reason.

For others it was a world of fascism, but that's mostly due to Nazi interpretation of his work.

Mostly what Nietzsche advocated was humanity. He advocated individualism and with that the power and abilities of an unschackled humanity to overcome anything. After all, if you can kill God, what can't you do?

[domer]

Very well done, JS. It could very well be that what Nietzsche intended was in the realm of his preconscious and not effectively formulated into an entirely coherent articulation. The various uses to which his thought have been put seem to be a function of his confusion creating a projective screen onto which others cast their own fears and aspirations. But the idea of the death of God, taken in its abstract form and decoupled from Nietzsche's peculiarities, is not only provocative, but apt. While your account of Nietzsche's thought, above, clearly implies the prescient quality of his thought -- indeed, God was put on trial at Auschwitz, the epitome perhaps in world history of the absence or death of God -- it also may be taken to state a relationship among God, us and the world. Indeed, if we can kill God or he can vacate entirely and absolutely (recall Auschwitz), then, perhaps, we could create him in the first place. Thus framed, the superman may simply be a Prometheum figure, one who dares to directly approach (to create, to destroy) the deity.

[Plane]

Libs are generous and compassionate while cons are greedy and evil . It is as simple as that.

Are Liberals self congradulatory , or sarcastic?