Friedrich Nietzsche One of the Greatest Thinkers of All Time

Friedrich Nietzsche was without a doubt one of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century. He was a man who ventured to question all of mans beliefs. He was out to seek the important questions in life, not always their answers. Some consider Nietzsche to be one of the first existentialist philosophers along with Sà ¸ren Kierkegaard. He was the inspiration for many philosophers, poets, sociologists, and psychologists including Sigmund Freud. His goal to seek explanations for societys commonly accepted values was an inspiration for Freuds psychoanalysis theory1. Nietzsches life as well as his theories such as the will to power, the ÃÅ"bermensch, eternal recurrence, and his thoughts on religion all had a momentous affect on 19th and†¦show more content†¦He went on to the University of Leipzig in 1865 where he started to gain a reputation for his essays on 6th century poets. In May of 1869, Nietzsche was offered a position as a professor at the University of Basel altho ugh he met none of the formal qualifications usually required. He took the position and was named a university professor at the young age of 24, showing his astonishing brilliance and intelligence. At 25, he served as a hospital attendant during the Franco-Prussian War. It is thought that he may have contracted a syphilitic infection from the war. His poor health throughout his life reached a climax in January 1889 when he collapsed in a street in Turin. After this collapse he entered a vegetated state where he suffered from strokes until finally he died on August 25, 1900. During Nietzsches period of insanity he was taken care of by his sister Elisabeth. She is thought to have looked over Nietzsches works closely and even tampered with them. After his death she even published a book from his notes called The Will to Power. Some do not regard this publication as authentic Nietzsche thought, but some ideas in it, including his view of power, appear in other authentic publications. W hether he died of syphilis, an inherited insanity, or another unknown cause, there is little debate that his lifetime accomplishments set the stage for a long list of influential thinkers and events includingShow MoreRelatedNietzsche: Human, All Too Human973 Words   |  4 PagesNietzsche has had one of the greatest and most profound impacts on philosophy and modern thought. Nietzsche was one of the first existentialism thinkers who coined the phrase â€Å"God is dead.† In other words, Nietzsche realized that all human beings wrestled with certain difficulties and existentialist in life that is all apart of being human. 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