Central existential question: What is the meaning of my life?
We’re not born with an innate, obvious answer to this question; so why are the majority of people not nihilistic? Nietzsche’s answer to this is that the concept of “true world theories” gives an easy alternative for people, which is often less depressing than nihilism.
True World Theories
-
A good example of this is the “ideal world of forms” from Plato’s Ideal World of Forms:
-
A newer and more practical example is Abrahamic religion like Christianity
- You are an eternal spirit temporarily in the world of the flesh as a test to determine whether you go to the “true world” of heaven.
-
This also applies to other religions like Hinduism:
- The individual self is an illusion, everyone in the universe is one
- Like the other 2 examples above, there is a distinction between the real world and a “true world”
Nietzsche’s “formula”: there is something about this world that we don’t like, so to make us feel better, we manufacture a true world theory saying that this world is only temporary or an illusion; focus on the true world, this current world is messed up anyway. Thus, the true world can serve as a kind of coping mechanism to deal with real life.
Nietzsche’s thought was that the central existential question above is an universal human experience; just like how different cultures have found different ways of dealing with other universal human problems (like inventing wheels to deal with the problem of transporting stuff), people come up with various true world theories to deal with the universal existential crisis. Nietzsche is not necessarily trying to prove/disprove any true world theory, he’s just pointing out the psychological usefulness.
This is where Nietzsche’s famous quote comes from:
Nietzsche's "God is Dead"
God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it? - The Gay Science (1882)
Here, Nietzsche expresses his terror that with the improvement of science and abolishment of true world theories, the psychological crutch that humans have relied on for centuries is disappearing. Despite this, Nietzsche still believes that it is better to accept reality instead of relying on true world theories; he believes that true world theories breed complacency (“Lord works in mysterious ways”, etc.).
Nietzsche dislikes Christianity due for a couple reasons:
- Artificial moral high ground created through belief in true world theory
- ”Slave morality”: He thinks Christians become part of a herd, removing individuality and justifies shortcomings
- Nietzsche believes in the motivational power of envy, which Christianity discourages
- ”Thou shalt not covet”
- Pacifity is justified — “The meek shall inherit the Earth”
An interesting tangent to this is Nietzshe’s views on alcohol. He sees alcohol as a similar psychological crutch as true world theories — drinking alcohol “solves” your problems.
Nietzsche on alcohol
There have been two great narcotics in the history of Europe — Christianity and alcohol.
Nietzsche thinks that the inner monologue subdued by alcohol is a valuable catalyst for becoming a better person; drinking makes you run away from opportunities to go.