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After reading both to some extent (but Schopenhauer in great depth), IMHO Nietzsche is just wanna-be Schopenhauer. He even admits this in an essay dedicated to

by rofo1 8y ago

After reading both to some extent (but Schopenhauer in great depth), IMHO Nietzsche is just wanna-be Schopenhauer. He even admits this in an essay dedicated to Schopenhauer IIRC! He was a weird person, just like the article portraits him to be. He might have been unstable mentally, to say the least. Not sure if he was in a position to tell others how to live. He kinda reminds me of Weininger; I mentally group them together as "awkward philosophers with some insane ideas masquerading as deep thoughts" even though he was technically a philologist.

gcb0 8y ago
> He might have been unstable mentally it's widely accepted that he was very unstable. the last days in turin avant gard movie even focus on that.
cheeko1234 8y ago
As someone clueless about philosophy, can you give some examples of some insane ideas masquerading as deep thoughts?
pdsouza 8y ago
"There is a false saying: "How can someone who can’t save himself save others?" Supposing I have the key to your chains, why should your lock and my lock be the same?" (Nietzsche) ref: https://academyofideas.com/2017/02/nietzsche-psychology-become-who-you-are/ https://academyofideas.com/2017/02/nietzsche-psychology-beco...
- wu-ikkyu 8y ago
  >Supposing I have the key to your chains The road to hell is paved with good intentions. How do you know you have the key?
  - Sileni 8y ago
    You don't. You try the key on the lock, and if it doesn't work you keep looking for another key. Nietzsche is saying "I FOUND A KEY! Anyone care to try it in their lock?" Eh, that might be a bit more euphemistic than I meant to be, but the point is there.
freedomben 8y ago
> He might have been unstable mentally, to say the least. No doubt about it. He was clearly going mad as he got older. The cause of the madness is debatable, but a commonly accepted theory is that he contracted Syphilis from a prostitute early in life, and it killed him in the end. That said, I don't think his madness nullifies his ideas, or even discredits them. I haven't studied him in depth, but the works of his that I have read have elements of genius embedded in them. Some are boring and observational, but some are deep and profound. Regarding Nietzsche as a wanna-be Schopenhauer, this is not a fair representation at all IMHO. He was certainly influenced and had a lot of respect for Schope, but he contributed a ton of unique material and took some views very different from Schope. There is a lot of nuance in his criticism of Schope's nihilism that I think reflect his devotion to study and understanding, and respect for past thinkers, not just a pale imitation.
Lkjhmnbv 8y ago
He became a full professor of philosophy at 24. The youngest person ever. I'm stunned at your brilliance that you were able to reduce him to this comment. Thanks.
- dang 8y ago
  It was a bad comment of course, but please don't post a worse one. Personal attacks aren't allowed here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

by rofo1 8y ago

gcb0 8y ago

> He might have been unstable mentally it's widely accepted that he was very unstable. the last days in turin avant gard movie even focus on that.

cheeko1234 8y ago

As someone clueless about philosophy, can you give some examples of some insane ideas masquerading as deep thoughts?

pdsouza 8y ago

"There is a false saying: "How can someone who can’t save himself save others?" Supposing I have the key to your chains, why should your lock and my lock be the same?" (Nietzsche) ref: https://academyofideas.com/2017/02/nietzsche-psychology-become-who-you-are/ https://academyofideas.com/2017/02/nietzsche-psychology-beco...

wu-ikkyu 8y ago
>Supposing I have the key to your chains The road to hell is paved with good intentions. How do you know you have the key?
- Sileni 8y ago
  You don't. You try the key on the lock, and if it doesn't work you keep looking for another key. Nietzsche is saying "I FOUND A KEY! Anyone care to try it in their lock?" Eh, that might be a bit more euphemistic than I meant to be, but the point is there.

freedomben 8y ago

> He might have been unstable mentally, to say the least. No doubt about it. He was clearly going mad as he got older. The cause of the madness is debatable, but a commonly accepted theory is that he contracted Syphilis from a prostitute early in life, and it killed him in the end. That said, I don't think his madness nullifies his ideas, or even discredits them. I haven't studied him in depth, but the works of his that I have read have elements of genius embedded in them. Some are boring and observational, but some are deep and profound. Regarding Nietzsche as a wanna-be Schopenhauer, this is not a fair representation at all IMHO. He was certainly influenced and had a lot of respect for Schope, but he contributed a ton of unique material and took some views very different from Schope. There is a lot of nuance in his criticism of Schope's nihilism that I think reflect his devotion to study and understanding, and respect for past thinkers, not just a pale imitation.

Lkjhmnbv 8y ago

He became a full professor of philosophy at 24. The youngest person ever. I'm stunned at your brilliance that you were able to reduce him to this comment. Thanks.

dang 8y ago
It was a bad comment of course, but please don't post a worse one. Personal attacks aren't allowed here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html