Nietzsche, Friedrich
Nietzsche, Friedrich (1844–1900)A German philosopher, one of the great (if not the greatest of) modern iconoclasts, Nietzsche has been read as the precursor of such varied phenomena as Nazism and post-modernism. Essentially, he appears to have been outraged by the lack of reflexivity (see ethnomethodology) among philosophers and scientists who failed to apply to their own thoughts the rigorous questioning they applied to those of others, a reaction which led him to dispute the supposed rationalism, scientism, and humanism of modern Western societies. Against this, he upheld the ideals of individualism, self-reliance, competition, and élitism. The three terms that summarize both the reasons for the continuing controversy over his thought, and the results of his own self-questioning, are ‘nihilism’, ‘will to power’, and...
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