Showing posts with label Eddie Murphy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eddie Murphy. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

In The 21st Century: Enters Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Have you ever heard of a great philosopher named, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (last name pronounced 'Knee-chee')?

The first time I heard the last name of this person it was in an Eddie Murphy movie titled, Coming to America

Actor Eddie Murphy quoted Nietzsche while on a date in this particular film. Years later I would come across this infamous name 'Nietzsche' again, but this time, I decided to research this often referenced individual. In doing so, I discovered that my greatest fear was something that was studied and documented over a century ago. 

Funny how the behavior of individuals from the past carry all the way through into the present, and resurfaces at such an extreme rate that it becomes historical, therefore, calling into question past historical events to compare too.

In fact on September 24, 1886, Friedrich Nietzsche stated in a letter almost as if he had a psychic prediction, that "People will be allowed to read [my work] in about the year 2000", as if he knew his work would be of great importance in the 21st century -- hence, the political extremism that's been taking place all over the world. 

It isn't just military wars erupting, it's election wars, federal government wars, social movement wars, technological wars, corporation wars, propaganda wars, disease wars, and I'm sure many more left unsaid. The uprisings of these individual wars are causing many people to question what's happening in our society?

Some people are content with relaying today's current
events as a "sign of the times", relating of course to biblical terms. And there are others who are jilted from their complacency of interpreted news, and who branch out seeking as much full disclosure of historical and current trends in order to make sense of it all; enters Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. 

Through Nietzsche's work which is so profound it often left me gasping for air, he takes us on a journey through his self-taught empowerment, curiosity, comparisons and teachings; stripping completely bare the flesh that is us in order to expose the multiple spirits that make up our soul. 

He breaks down our human connection/instinct to animals, while displaying our inner battles of good nature verses aggressive nature (good verses evil), and how only by learning one's self completely through the dynamics of culture can we control a darkness (evil) that is very much real.

"Thus Spoke Zarathustra" a 19th century poetic texts written by Friedrich Nietzsche (1883-85), in my opinion is an alter-ego of Nietzsche who only understands it as such because through his life experiences he has lived it; the good side and the bad side. 

Nietzsche recreated the historical figure Zarathustra the ancient Iranian prophet and founder of Zoroastrianism, and teaches the difference between the "eternal return" and the "Overman", the new meaning of existence in order to overcome the morality of good and evil. Nietzsche understood human behavior in such a way that he contemplated the "eternal return", which simply means history repeating itself until the right/correct/original lessons are learned.

In 1887 "On the Genealogy of Morals" was written by Nietzsche, and through analyzation of soul configuration he discovered that the world order is shaped by morality, and exposes its make-up as ressentiment; rejection of, or contempt for that which is "different" or "greater than one." Bad conscience and guilty feelings are linked to the syndrome of crime and punishment, and the self-disciplined denial of the body, sensuality and sexuality. Sound familiar?

Much of Nietzsche's work was deemed controversial due to the bluntness and boldness of his rhetoric, which I feel such boldness is necessary. The fact that Nietzsche calls us to question our own character and morality in terms of how the world works, shows a fundamental understanding that we all have a part in molding the world with our minds but it would behoove us to mold with the good parts and not the bad -- which Nietzsche expresses is attainable. 

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche's literary works, have become my new passion!

2013 LA