Plot summary, “Nietzsche” by Peter Berkowitz in 4 Minutes - Book Review
0In Peter Berkowitz's biography, "Nietzsche: The Ethics of an Immoralist," the author challenges simplistic interpretations of Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy, particularly the notion that Nietzsche's ideas directly led to the atrocities of the Nazi Party. Berkowitz explores Nietzsche's upbringing, education, and intellectual development.
Born in 1844 to a Lutheran pastor and orphaned at a young age, Nietzsche's early exposure to theology and classical philology shaped his thinking. Influenced by Ludwig Feuerbach's "The Essence of Christianity" and Charles Darwin's evolution theory, Nietzsche rejected the idea of God as a human creation.
Berkowitz highlights Nietzsche's disdain for later Greek writers like Euripides and the Aristotelian school, viewing them as threats to an understanding of humanity transcending mere rationality. The author contends that Nietzsche's early work, "The Birth of Tragedy," foreshadows elements of his later philosophy, particularly the joyous exploration of human suffering.
Examining Nietzsche's major works, such as "Human, All Too Human" (1878), Berkowitz argues that Nietzsche sought to develop a philosophy divorced from the pessimism of contemporaries like Arthur Schopenhauer. The shift to aphoristic writing in this period, as seen in Nietzsche's famous quote, "What does not kill me, makes me stronger," is discussed, with Berkowitz noting the skepticism of postmodernists toward universal truths.
The concept of Perspectivism, central to Nietzsche's philosophy and developed in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," asserts that with the death of God, there is no objective truth; all truths are subjective and contingent on perspective. While rejecting the idea of universal moral truths, Nietzsche values the creative act of communities willing moral codes into existence.
Berkowitz argues that Nietzsche's philosophy promotes a celebration of creativity and counter-morality, aiming to bring individuals closer to their best lives. Contrary to the Nazi Party's misuse of Nietzsche's ideas, Berkowitz suggests that they selectively interpreted his philosophy to justify atrocities by claiming a lack of objective morality.
Lastly, Berkowitz notes Nietzsche's dual relationship with Socratic and Aristotelian thought. While anti-Aristotelian in rejecting absolute rationality, Nietzsche is seen as a great inheritor of the Socratic method, valuing questioning over fixed moral codes. The author suggests that acknowledging the lack of absolute moral codes allows for bettering and creating more fulfilling lives.