Friedrich Nietzsche | Was That Life? Well, Then! Once More! 1844 GERMANY 1900 GERMANY
Nietzsche is a philosopher of self-creation. He asks us to be better versions of ourselves by following our instincts, to become who we are without apology—to become the Übermensch (overman). A self-proclaimed psychologist of the soul who provocatively refers to himself in his book Ecce Homo as the “Antichrist,” Nietzsche inspires us to philosophize with a hammer. He asks us to throw away all inhibitions and moral guides and embark on a path of our own self-creation. Trusting in the forces of our instinct and will, he calls upon us to take leave of faith and the desire for certainty and instead to dance near the abyss. What is most ours is what makes us feel beautiful and strong. What does not belong to us is what weakens and drains us of our power. For Nietzsche, what does not kill us makes us stronger. “He enjoys only what is good for him; his pleasure, his desire, ceases when the limits of what is good for him are overstepped. He divines remedies against injuries; he knows how to turn serious accidents to his own advantage; whatever does not kill him makes him stronger.”