Friedrich Nietzsche was undoubtedly one of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century. He was a man who risked questioning all human beliefs. He was looking for life's important questions, not always the answers. Some consider Nietzsche to be one of the first existentialist philosophers along with Søren Kierkegaard. He was the inspiration for many philosophers, poets, sociologists and psychologists, including Sigmund Freud. His goal of seeking explanations for values commonly accepted by society was the inspiration for Freud's theory of psychoanalysis1. Nietzsche's life as well as his theories such as the will to power, the Übermensch, the eternal recurrence and his ideas on religion had an epochal impact on the philosophy of the 19th and 20th centuries. Friedrich (Wilhelm) Nietzsche was born on 15 October 1844 in Röcken bei Lützen, Prussia. His name comes from the Prussian king Frederick William IV, because he was born on the same day as the king's 49th birthday. Looking back on Nietzsche's life, it is clear that his family laid the foundation for what he would become, but not in the way they would have liked. Nietzsche's father, uncle, and grandparents were all Lutheran ministers. Religion played an important role in Nietzsche's early life and in the life of his family. However, the constant presence of religious people caused Nietzsche to become very critical of religion. His harsh words against religion would be published in many of his works throughout his career. When Nietzsche was five years old, his father died insane, and the death of his two-year-old brother followed shortly thereafter. The death of his father led many to speculate that the cause of Nietzsche's future madness was hereditary. Later in life, in 1864, he went and… middle of paper… was a building block of what would become existentialism. There is much to be said about this man whose life was unfortunately cut short by madness. His theories were revolutionary, one of a kind ideas and had a very distinct and difficult writing style. He was able to ignore objective truths and falsehoods, right and wrong, and focus on the individual society and what it is made of. It laid the foundation for numerous other great thinkers, a new movement called existentialism, and even, mistakenly, the Nazis. His name is still spoken every day around the world in school buildings, in books, in debates and in magazines, not just because of what he said, but because of the impact what he said had on the world. Friedrich Nietzsche to this day is, unsurprisingly, considered one of the greatest thinkers of his time and will remain so for centuries to come..
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