Welcome to Episode 30 (Part I of II) on Friedrich Nietzsche with Mark Linsenmayer and Dr Gregory Sadler.

Born in Rocken, in Prussia in 1844, Nietzsche set out his career in philology but later turned to writing idiosyncratic philosophical treatise and collections of aphorisms. He directed these against the pious dogmas of Christianity and traditional philosophy. He saw both as self-serving veils drawn over the harsher realities of life. He felt we needed not a high moral or theological ideals but a deeply critical form of cultural genealogy that would uncover the reasons why we humans are as we are and how we have come to be this way. He believed that every great philosopher actually a kind of involuntary and unconscious memoir rather than conducting an impersonal search for knowledge. Studying our own moral genealogy cannot help us escape or transcend ourselves but it can enable us to see our illusions more clearly and lead a more vital, assertive existence.

There is no God in this picture. The human beings who created God have also killed him. It is now up to us alone. The way to live is not to throw ourselves into faith but into our own lives, conducting them in affirmation of every moment, exactly as it without wishing anything was different and without harbouring resentment for others or our fate (Sarah Bakewell, The Existentialist Cafe, p.19-20).

This week in Part I, we'll be looking at the thinkers who influenced Nietzsche, as well as introducing you to his philosophy.

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