Today I would like to introduce the German philosopher Nietzsche’s “Zarathustra” here.
As for what kind of work it is, it is a world-famous book that gives you the power to live life positively and positively.
“First, let me tell you what kind of people the content is likely to be useful for.”
“I can’t find meaning in my life”
“I want to blow away my weak self and start my life over again”
“I want to do something about my low self-esteem”
If even one of these applies to you, even if you don’t know anything about Nietzsche, I think it’s worth watching this content.
In recent years, many people have been worried about their self-esteem, and books in that genre have not sold well.
However, if you have acquired various techniques and knowledge and have not seen much effect, one solution is to rely on the powerful drug Nietzsche.
This is because the theme of Nietzsche’s philosophy is the affirmation of life, and it is based on thoroughly affirming one’s own life.
And Zarathustra, which I am going to introduce today, is the culmination of Nietzsche’s philosophy, the strongest powerful drug that forcibly terminates life’s negative loops.
Nietzsche said the following about this book.
“By writing Zarathustra, I have given mankind the greatest gift ever. With a voice that reaches thousands of years into the future, this book is the best possible book.”
Here, I think you will see why he uses such a unique expression and speaks full of confidence as you go to the latter half of his article.
“By the way, if you’re worried that this might be a difficult topic, don’t worry.”
“No knowledge of philosophy is included.” Empty-handed is ok.
“Please relax and enjoy yourself to the end with a cup of tea.”
“First, I would like to organize the flow of the talk.”
The themes are roughly divided into the following three.
background knowledge
Friedrich Nietzsche.
He was born in 1844 as the son of a clergyman in a small village called Recken in the eastern part of Prussia, the predecessor of Germany.
However, he looks like a child and has an adult mind, a so-called genius boy, and he can study. He can compose music, he can write poetry. Moreover, it is said that he was not an ordinary child from the beginning, as he has excellent sense.
In his mid-twenties, he became a professor at the University of Basel in Switzerland.
What’s more, at that time he did not have a teaching qualification or a doctorate, and was recommended by a professor as a mere student.
“You can clearly see how extraordinary Nietzsche was.”
However, it is his life that he does not always go up and down.
Nietzsche’s rapid progress came to a sudden halt when he was about 30 years old, and from then on he was faced with a flurry of challenges.
None of the books he worked hard to write sell well.
Even if he teaches, no students come.
He was abandoned by his teacher, who recommended him to the professor, and his friend, and in addition to chronic headaches, stomach pains and nausea.
On top of that, relationships with women aren’t going well either.
“I can’t stop feeling sick.”
And, in such a cursed state, he gave birth to a book with all his might.
“That’s Zarathustra.”
“However, the title of this book is a little too suspicious, and I don’t really feel like picking it up.”
And to be honest, the content is also difficult to understand.
So, contrary to his expectations, it didn’t sell at all at the time.
What’s more, it was divided into 4 parts and published with great effort.
As a result, he exploded.
In particular, the last part, Part 4, didn’t sell so well that he was handing it out to his acquaintances, asking, “Would you please get this for me?”
In such a situation, I thought that even Nietzsche would rot away saying, “I’m going to write a book!”
What’s more, most of these works are books that narrow down and explain the slippery Zarathustra. Great obsession.
“You can tell how much he put his soul into this work.”
However, even Nietzsche, who possessed such a powerful spirit, finally reached his limit.
In 1889, when he was 45 years old.
The incident happened in a square in Turin where he was staying in Italy.
According to one story, he ran to a horse that was plain and bang bang, cried and hugged the horse’s neck, went mad, and passed out.
Fortunately, he regained consciousness, but his mind was completely broken at this time, and he never returned to his original Nietzsche.
However, fate is an ironic thing, and in fact, at this timing, the evaluation of Nietzsche’s writings finally began to rise.
A publisher called Nietzsche Bunko was even established, and the books are selling like crazy.
However, no matter how much Nietzsche is told about the current situation, he cannot perceive anything.
About 10 years after he began to develop mental disorders, Nietzsche departed for heaven at the young age of 55.
“I’ve seen Nietzsche’s life at lightning speed, but are you satisfied with this?”
Based on the above story, I would like to take a look at his masterpiece “Zarathustra”, which he gave birth to with all his might.
“Zarathustra” Part 1 and 2 Superhuman Thought
First of all, what is the story? An uncle named Zarathustra has been living in the mountains for 10 years, accumulating wisdom in solitude, and leaving the mountain saying he wants to share it with other humans.
In the process, he meets various people and talks with them, sharing his position with them.
By the way, this Zarathustra is the German reading of Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism.
However, Nietzsche’s philosophy and Zoroastrianism have nothing to do with each other, so you can ignore this.
The important thing is that the uncle Zarathustra is Nietzsche’s alter ego.
Therefore, what Zarathustra, who came down from the mountain, said to the people should be understood as Nietzsche’s words.
“Let’s take a quick look.”
After coming down from the mountain, Zarathustra meets an old man at the foot of the forest.
And he asks, “What are you doing in the woods?”
Then the old man sings a song and replies, “I’m praising God,” and Zarathustra is shocked by this.
Then, in my mind, I muttered the following.
“Impossible. Hasn’t this old man heard about that from anyone yet? God is dead.”
“Yes, I will stop here.” A famous line came out immediately.
“God is dead”
Even if you don’t know Nietzsche, you’ve probably heard of this power word.
Then, this word “God is dead”. What does this mean?
To put it simply, he says, “There is no such thing as absolute truth or value in this world anymore.”
Before the development of natural science, humankind understood and understood things that they could not understand with their own minds, as God’s work and God’s intentions.
However, in an attempt to elucidate the profound thread of God, mankind developed science and technology and destroyed the worldview that assumed the existence of God.
For example, the Ptolemaic theory.
This theory that “the earth is the center of the universe, and other celestial bodies are just revolving around this earth” was an absolute truth in the medieval Christian world.
“If you express an opposing opinion, you’re in trouble.”
However, with the emergence of a new interpretation based on science called the heliocentric theory, the worldview that assumed God was gradually crumbling.
“Human existence is the same.”
The theory of creation that “God created the heavens and earth, and created men and women in his own image.”
This is also a story pasted from the Old Testament, but it was shaken by the new theory of evolution.
In other words, Nietzsche asserted, “Humans have proved with their own hands that ‘there is no absolute truth.’ To put it more roughly, they have killed God with their own hands.” It turned the conventional wisdom of the Western world upside down.
Then, its influence extends to philosophy.
Philosophy before Nietzsche was based on the premise of the existence of God and the existence of absolute truth.
For example, Socrates, the father of philosophy.
When he talked to the townspeople, he kept asking them, “What is goodness?” and “What is virtue?”
And his disciple Plato tried to explain the answer to that question using the concept of an idea.
In short, philosophers before Nietzsche have different explanations and interpretations, but they assume the existence of absolute truth, such as There is universal goodness'' andThere is also universal virtue”. I was thinking about things.
However, Nietzsche insisted, “No! There is no such thing! Absolute value, absolute standards, absolute truth…there is no such thing!”
“Therefore, he is the person who destroyed the philosophy of the past.”
“Now let’s go back to the original topic.”
“Then, what would be wrong if there were no absolute values and absolute truths in this world?”
“What kind of problems will arise?”
“I don’t believe in any religion, and I don’t live thinking about such difficult things as philosophy or absolutes, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe some people think so, but in fact, as long as humans live as humans, this is an important issue that will affect everyone.”
“The absence of absolutes means that there is nothing to believe in.”
“Imagine, for example.”
Japan at the peak of the bubble economy during the period of high economic growth.
In this era, even 21st century capital did it, but it was an era in which if you worked hard, you would be rewarded for your efforts. If you study a lot, enter a prestigious university, and enter a first-class company, you will have peace of mind for the rest of your life. If you hire a lot of people and make a lot of things, your sales will go up. The more you work, the higher your salary.
“It’s that kind of time.”
“In other words, there was definitely a path where if you worked hard, you could somehow manage your life.”
Therefore, I was able to endure hardships and hardships for my own dreams and hopes, as well as my family’s career advancement, and I was able to grit my teeth and work hard.
“How about now?”
The myth of lifelong employment, which regards companies as absolute entities like gods and takes care of them until retirement, has become a thing of the past.
“I don’t know when I’ll lose my job or when I’ll run out.”
“I don’t know what to aim for in the future, what to hope for, and what to do”
Only this kind of vague anxiety is growing day by day. That’s how it is now.
“Nihilism” refers to the state in which people have absolutely no one to believe in, and cannot find the meaning of what they are living for.
And Nietzsche warned that if nihilism spreads, a large number of people called “last people” will emerge.
The last person is also translated as the last human being, but to put it simply, it is a person who has no longing or hope for the future, and is happy to live comfortably and safely.
Of course, I don’t think this is due to me alone.
However, “Don’t be the last person!” This is Nietzsche’s unwavering stance.
“No, no, I don’t lose hope because I like you too.”
“If you don’t want me to become a Matsuto, how many people should I become?”
“I’m already tempted to dig in, but the conclusion is…
“Please become a superhuman!”
“This is Nietzsche’s answer.”
And now I will introduce Nietzsche’s superhuman thought.
This is the first half of Zarathustra…the main theme of parts 1 and 2. This is a very important and interesting theme, so I would like you to hold it down.
Now, let’s take a look at the scenes in the work that talk about superhumans.
After Zarathustra had spoken with the old man earlier, she went through the forest to the city.
“Then, it turns out there’s a lot of commotion at the town market.”
Wondering what it was, I approached it and found that a tightrope walking show was being held at an event in the town, and people from all over the city were gathering.
“I’m looking forward to it.” “Not yet.” Amidst these voices, Zarathustra, desperate to spit out the wisdom he had accumulated in the mountains, staggered and approached the crowd.
“I wondered if he would pick up a suitable person and start preaching, but that’s not the case.”
“How did he yell at all the people?”
“Everyone, listen carefully. I will now teach you about superhumans. You were once monkeys. However, humans are still more monkeys than monkeys.”
“This sounds like a suspicious uncle yelling something incomprehensible.”
“Of course, the people there didn’t care about him at all.”
However, Zarathustra ignores it and continues his strange speech.
And he had just finished talking about superhumans when one of the crowd yelled out.
“Okay! This is a perfect introduction to a tightrope walking game. Then, let’s have a superhuman appear and show off his superhuman skills.”
“Then, this person’s ignorance exploded!” As a result, Zarathustra was ridiculed and laughed at by everyone.
Meanwhile, the tightrope-walking performance began.
“People are also watching with bated breath.”
At this point Zarathustra would have fallen silent in shock of being ridiculed, but he is still speaking.
And here he says a very important line.
“A human being is a rope that is strung between an animal and a superhuman. It’s dangerous to scoop.”
“Yes, let’s stop here for now.”
“I’d like to think about what he’s trying to say.”
First of all, he talks from “What is a superman?”
In conclusion, he has an indomitable spirit and a strong will, and affirms his own life while trying to reach higher heights.
“That’s the image of a superhuman.”
The reason why I mentioned the image is that in Zarathustra, there is no specific definition of what a superhuman is.
If Nietzsche were to give a definition, he would have acknowledged his own absolute existence, so perhaps this is left to the reader’s imagination.
And he is saying that humans are such beings that overcome dangers like walking a tightrope towards superhuman beings.
“Then, how can you reach the level of superhumans?”
According to Zarathustra, the human spirit has three stages, and by increasing the level, it is possible to approach superhuman.
The stages have names, the first stage is “camel”, the second stage is “lion”, and the third stage is “child”.
“I’ll look at them in order.”
“The first camel stage is the stage where you endure carrying heavy loads.” You actively load yourself and acquire your strength there. Studying at school, working at a company, training your body, each person has a camel stage.
“And if your perseverance and strengths have been honed, the next step is to become a lion.”
This stage is the stage where those who are freed from cramped conditions and seek freedom progress. To be able to clearly and verbally say “no” to existing values, common sense, and authority. The stage with such an independent spirit, that is the Shishi stage.
And finally, in the third stage, the lion transforms into a young child.
Surrendering himself to his own creativity, playing freely as he pleases… the innocent spirit of a young child. That is the final stage. No matter how much adults lament the unreasonableness of the world, no matter how pessimistic the future is, young children have nothing to do with it. For them, the world is unconditionally affirmed, they play with their hearts, they play with their minds, they live freely and creatively in the present moment.
In other words, “the superhuman goes through these three processes, and in the end, a child-like spirit resides within them.”
Now, the story about superhumans, which is the main theme of parts 1 and 2, ends here, but this content will lead to the contents of parts 3, 4, and the latter half.
“Zarathustra” Part 3-4 Eternal Return
The theme of this second half is the central thought of Zarathustra called “Eternal Return”.
In other words, what I’m going to show you now is the most important part of this video, and it’s a theme that you absolutely cannot miss when studying Nietzsche’s philosophy.
“Let’s take a look now.”
“First of all, what exactly is ‘Eternal Return’?”
In conclusion, it refers to the hypothesis that the same thing repeats itself infinitely.
To put it a little more concretely, the hypothesis is that “you are repeating your current life forever, repeating the same life in your previous and future lives, and continuing to live in an infinite loop.”
Again, this is a hypothesis and it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not.
In the world of Buddhism, there is also a teaching called “Rinne thought”, but eternal recurrence is a completely different concept.
“Life continues to be infinitely reborn into various things” This is the thought of reincarnation.
For example, my next life could be a millionaire or a small jellyfish…that’s the story.
On the other hand, in the case of “eternal recurrence”, the same person continues to loop around the same life forever.
“Well, here’s a question.”
“Can you accept this idea of eternal recurrence?”
Or will you be rejected by saying, “Please don’t keep repeating the same life”?
Of course, there is no correct answer, and each person is different.
By the way, Nietzsche expresses this idea of eternal recurrence as “the greatest weight for humans” in another work.
In short, unless a human being is extremely happy and blessed, they probably have one or two past traumas, failures, and mistakes that they want to forget.
“Even though the memory of the past has been erased, no one wants to continue experiencing it endlessly.”
However, depending on how you perceive this idea, it can also be a powerful weapon that can change your life.
“If it really continues to loop, please imagine seriously.”
How about that.
“An eternally negative, negative, unhappy life?”
“Is it an eternally positive, affirmative, and happy life?”
“Two extreme options should emerge in front of you.”
“Now, which one do you want to choose?”
And if you choose the latter, you’ll have no choice but to face forward and live your life in a way that makes you feel like you can repeat it forever.
“In other words, Eternal Return is the world after God’s death.”
In a world where believers are absolutely lost, it can be said that it is a way of thinking to live life positively, powerfully, and positively without falling into a waiting person.
“Then, how can we accept the idea of eternal recurrence?”
Even if you can understand the reasoning in your head, it seems difficult to make it your own.
Therefore, Nietzsche preached that it was necessary to overcome nihilism as a condition to own the Eternal Return.
I think it’s hard to imagine, so from now on, I’d like to introduce an important scene from parts 1 and 2 of “Zarathustra,” which depicts a human being who has actually overcome nihilism and accepted the Eternal Return.
What kind of scene is Zarathustra and others discovering a young shepherd lying down? A shepherd is someone who takes care of horses, cows and sheep.
A dog is barking next to its master lying down. And when Zarathustra heard it, he said, “What’s going on?” and approached him.
There he sees an outrageous sight.
“Surprisingly, a black snake’s tail was sticking out of the fallen shepherd’s mouth.”
The shepherd was in so much pain that he writhed, gasped, and woke up.
Then, Zarathustra and others must help the shepherd, and he sighs closer, grabs the serpent by its tail, and pulls it out of its mouth with all its might.
“However, I can’t pull the snake out at all.” It was the same no matter how many times I tried.
Then Zarathustra screams.
“Bite the snake’s head off! Now, bite it. Bite it!”
Then, as instructed, the shepherd bites off the snake, throws up its head, and at the same time stands up.
And Zarathustra, who saw this situation, spoke as follows.
“The man before me was no longer a shepherd, no, no longer a man. He was a transfigured being, enveloped in light. And he laughed aloud. Now So loudly that no human being on earth has ever laughed.”
“What do you think of this scene?” It’s a very important scene, but do you understand what I’m trying to say?
In short, this tumultuous shepherd depicts a human trapped in nihilism.
“To put it a little easier to understand…”
“Is there no point in living in such a hopeless world?”
“Even if you do your best, you won’t be rewarded anyway.”
“Why me?”
You are saying that if we fall into this kind of nihilism, we will lead a suffocating life like that shepherd.
However, the shepherd bit the snake that was tormenting him and cut it into pieces, putting him in a predicament.
“In other words, this is the way to overcome nihilism.”
To be more specific, I was trapped by various things such as anxiety, fear, jealousy, disappointment, and self-doubt, and I killed my weak self who could only see life in a pessimistic way.
Then, determined to be reborn as a new and powerful self, he succeeded in reconsidering his life from a negative perspective to a positive one, and laughed loudly.
This is the figure of a person who accepts the idea of eternal recurrence, puts it into practice, and affirms his entire life.
In addition, Nietzsche’s most important practical attitude for eternal recurrence is to have the courage to say, “This is life! If that’s the case, try again!” It is to stand up, I preach.
A person who can confidently affirm that “This moment I am living right now is my life” will be able to affirm that “I am happy with this” even when looking back on the past that I have walked so far. Masu.
And you can walk positively and positively toward the future without hesitation.
Furthermore, if this loops forever, it means that the world you live in, your life, your life…all of them will continue to be affirmed forever.
In other words, “If you just affirm this moment, an eternal loop of affirmation will be born.”
Therefore, Nietzsche named the idea of eternal recurrence “the highest attainable formula for affirmation.”
And the supreme realm that those who accept this idea can reach… that is the superhuman.
“Of course, the road to get there is by no means easy.” It entails great danger, like crossing a rope.
However, if you stubbornly believe that there is an absolutely safe path and just wait for the time to pass without doing anything, you will have no choice but to suffer like that shepherd.
“Then let’s break away from our weaknesses and move forward with courage.”
And I’m telling you to do everything you can and affirm everything about yourself.
“Well, how was it?” I’ve been going on and on and on, but that’s the end of Zarathustra.
Could you give us a rough idea of “Superhuman Thought” and “Eternal Return”, which are the core of the work?
Fate love
Finally, I would like to briefly touch on the fateful love advocated by Nietzsche.
In a nutshell, fateful love means “the attitude of accepting, affirming, and loving one’s own destiny.”
Based on Nietzsche’s thought, there is no absolute good or evil in this world.
That is why I taught the importance of loving all of the events in my life, instead of just accepting them partially, saying, “This was fun, so this was hard.” is.
However, it would be nice if we could organize our feelings neatly like that, but we humans are the ones who suffer when we can’t do that.
I can’t find value in my existence and my life, and if possible, I’d like to go back to the past and start over.
But Nietzsche says:
“Just once. If you truly experience the joy that makes your soul tremble, then that life is worth living. Even with all the pain and all the sorrow, you will want to live your life again, so love whatever your destiny is and live your life positively and positively.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
The theme of Nietzsche’s philosophy is the affirmation of life, and this destined love can be said to be a symbolic concept.
However, although Nietzsche was the owner of such a very positive and powerful thought, his own life was truly filled with anguish and sorrow.
Even though he is talented, his work is not appreciated, and he is suffering to the point of insanity, and he leaves like this, mentally ill.
“To be honest, I’m horrified to think that this will return forever.”
However, in his autobiography written in his later years, he looks back on his own life as follows.
“How can I not appreciate my whole life? And that’s why I’m trying to tell myself about my life.”
It is said that Nietzsche’s spirit collapsed only a few months after leaving these words.
In other words, he loved his own tormented destiny to the very end, stuck to his philosophy of affirmation of his life, and lived out his life.
And Nietzsche foresaw that “hundreds of years after his death, nihilism would surely overwhelm the world, depriving people of hope and the meaning of life.”
That’s why he created the personality “Zarathustra” with his own soul and voice, and made it a gift to the human race of the future, who stood before despair.
Friedrich Nietzsche, a genius philosopher who affirmed sexuality and loved fate.
“Maybe now is the time to open his gift.”
“I hope that today’s content will help make everyone happy.”
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