In the history of mankind, two philosophers have been of exceptional repute & standing:
Benedict d'Spinoza (1632-1677) & Freidrich Nietzsche(1844-1900). Both were rebels & either excommunicated or declared as heretics for their revolutionary ideas. Fine expression sprung with sattire & irony here & there and a deep study of Human Morality led them to produce treatises like Ethics, Beyond the good & evil, Thus Spake Zarathustra, Improvement in Human Understanding etc.
Both remained unmarried throughout.
Nietzsche lived the life of a true rebel envisaging a Superman eutopia & emphasizing on "Power" & "Will" as the only worthwhile pursuits in human life. However, he not only lived very painfully he also died a tragic death. All through his life he broke up relationships one after the other, getting disillusioned with everybody... friends, companions, relations, fellow philosophers (Esp. Arthur Schopenhauer, who was a trusted friend & mentor) et all. Finally, in isolation, he went out of his mind & died tragically while trying to hug an enraged horse.
On the other hand, Spinoza lived a life of exceptional Serenity though he was threatened & charged for 'Heresy'. He worked as a 'Silent Lens Polisher' in his day job & contemplated & accomplished his writings in nights. Though constantly under the threat of attack from fanatics or his jewish countrymen under the influence of religious authoroties, never for a moment Spinoza lost his composure or compromised his beliefs.
He died young, yet, till the last breath he was working on his heitherto unfinished treatise on polytical understating.
What was the major difference between these two extraordinary personalities. WHY OR WHAT MADE THEIR LIVES TAKE SO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS ? THOUGH, BOTH WERE EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED & INTENSELY 'WILLED' YET ONE PERISHED & THE OTHER THRIVED. WHY SO?
I propose the difference between them was: 'God' !
Whereas Nietzsche constantly denied one, even declared God as dead, Spinoza equated God with the Nature as a whole.
Nietzsche believed in the Supremacy of the "Individual" & Therefore his capability to cause anything through his 'free will'.
Spinoza saw Nature & its infinite attributes as a 'true cause' & individual's 'Will' being only a representation of the higher Truth.
N.'s vision narrowed, becoming the doctrine of separation & finally got him isolated.
S.' vision broadened, merging all the boundries & making him more & more peaceful & expansive.
N. got 'exclusive' & disintegrated whereas S. became 'inclusive' & 'accommodative' & hence Integrated.
The God is "Integration".
Whether or not there is one, we need one for our own sake. And that instantly reminds me of Mark Twain who quipped in such a succint manner: If there weren't any God, humans would have invented one!
Benedict d'Spinoza (1632-1677) & Freidrich Nietzsche(1844-1900). Both were rebels & either excommunicated or declared as heretics for their revolutionary ideas. Fine expression sprung with sattire & irony here & there and a deep study of Human Morality led them to produce treatises like Ethics, Beyond the good & evil, Thus Spake Zarathustra, Improvement in Human Understanding etc.
Both remained unmarried throughout.
Nietzsche lived the life of a true rebel envisaging a Superman eutopia & emphasizing on "Power" & "Will" as the only worthwhile pursuits in human life. However, he not only lived very painfully he also died a tragic death. All through his life he broke up relationships one after the other, getting disillusioned with everybody... friends, companions, relations, fellow philosophers (Esp. Arthur Schopenhauer, who was a trusted friend & mentor) et all. Finally, in isolation, he went out of his mind & died tragically while trying to hug an enraged horse.
On the other hand, Spinoza lived a life of exceptional Serenity though he was threatened & charged for 'Heresy'. He worked as a 'Silent Lens Polisher' in his day job & contemplated & accomplished his writings in nights. Though constantly under the threat of attack from fanatics or his jewish countrymen under the influence of religious authoroties, never for a moment Spinoza lost his composure or compromised his beliefs.
He died young, yet, till the last breath he was working on his heitherto unfinished treatise on polytical understating.
What was the major difference between these two extraordinary personalities. WHY OR WHAT MADE THEIR LIVES TAKE SO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS ? THOUGH, BOTH WERE EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED & INTENSELY 'WILLED' YET ONE PERISHED & THE OTHER THRIVED. WHY SO?
I propose the difference between them was: 'God' !
Whereas Nietzsche constantly denied one, even declared God as dead, Spinoza equated God with the Nature as a whole.
Nietzsche believed in the Supremacy of the "Individual" & Therefore his capability to cause anything through his 'free will'.
Spinoza saw Nature & its infinite attributes as a 'true cause' & individual's 'Will' being only a representation of the higher Truth.
N.'s vision narrowed, becoming the doctrine of separation & finally got him isolated.
S.' vision broadened, merging all the boundries & making him more & more peaceful & expansive.
N. got 'exclusive' & disintegrated whereas S. became 'inclusive' & 'accommodative' & hence Integrated.
The God is "Integration".
Whether or not there is one, we need one for our own sake. And that instantly reminds me of Mark Twain who quipped in such a succint manner: If there weren't any God, humans would have invented one!
