Nietzsche and Heidegger
Nietzsche, an atheist, made his sentiment about God very well known by his phrase: God is
dead. Nietzsche’s phrase was misinterpreted as he did not mean that God is actually dead
but rather that our idea of God was dead. He believed that with human beings following so
much of the laws of others, following so much into science and technology, trying the whole
time to understand the world as best as they wanted to, they killed God. Heidegger on the
other hand stated that God is a presence, the ultimate ground of being. One reaches the
closest to God when they reach the stage of divinity. Heidegger who prophesised holy
atheism, used the term onto-theology which expressed the idea that God and being was
thought of as being the same thing. He characterises the holy as the essential sphere of
divinity which in turn alone will afford a dimension for a God.
Nietzsche believed that with people starting to emphasise on new ideas, it could take away
all human value and possibly bring out the worst in human beings as they would find
themselves always trying to better the system. He also said that people would start to lose
their core values along with their life’s meaning. People started to realise that not everything
revolved around them, so even if there was a belief in a God, people started to become
pessimistic hence leading to a life or a world in which they felt nothing. Heidegger on the
other hand implies that the term God is meaningless for most people, which included people
who use it religiously. He makes mention that non-theological options have replaced God as
the center of value and meaning. Nietzsche said that it is not impossible for people to
change and if people start to believe and create their own values, it will inevitably allow them
to tap into their own consciousness.
Nietzsche went on to say that even though people got more and more educated, they
tended to have less and less belief in God. Nietzsche predicted Nihilism (absence of all
values), he stated that people undermine their current values and beliefs and cannot think of
putting anything with value in their place. Even if a person says they belong to a religion, it
does not mean that they have any value.
Nietzsche implied in a passage in The Mad Man: should we not become God in order to
become worthy of this deed. Whilst Nietzsche felt this way, Heidegger criticised
metaphysics as the thinking lead to a deity that is not scared, mysterious or worthy of faith.
Dasein (the presence) gave the impression of Being as a being, the all highest as a ground
that gives grounding to everything. He states that nobody can pray or sacrifice to this God,
neither can they fall to their knees in joy, dance or play music. Heidegger criticized
Nietzsche, an atheist, made his sentiment about God very well known by his phrase: God is
dead. Nietzsche’s phrase was misinterpreted as he did not mean that God is actually dead
but rather that our idea of God was dead. He believed that with human beings following so
much of the laws of others, following so much into science and technology, trying the whole
time to understand the world as best as they wanted to, they killed God. Heidegger on the
other hand stated that God is a presence, the ultimate ground of being. One reaches the
closest to God when they reach the stage of divinity. Heidegger who prophesised holy
atheism, used the term onto-theology which expressed the idea that God and being was
thought of as being the same thing. He characterises the holy as the essential sphere of
divinity which in turn alone will afford a dimension for a God.
Nietzsche believed that with people starting to emphasise on new ideas, it could take away
all human value and possibly bring out the worst in human beings as they would find
themselves always trying to better the system. He also said that people would start to lose
their core values along with their life’s meaning. People started to realise that not everything
revolved around them, so even if there was a belief in a God, people started to become
pessimistic hence leading to a life or a world in which they felt nothing. Heidegger on the
other hand implies that the term God is meaningless for most people, which included people
who use it religiously. He makes mention that non-theological options have replaced God as
the center of value and meaning. Nietzsche said that it is not impossible for people to
change and if people start to believe and create their own values, it will inevitably allow them
to tap into their own consciousness.
Nietzsche went on to say that even though people got more and more educated, they
tended to have less and less belief in God. Nietzsche predicted Nihilism (absence of all
values), he stated that people undermine their current values and beliefs and cannot think of
putting anything with value in their place. Even if a person says they belong to a religion, it
does not mean that they have any value.
Nietzsche implied in a passage in The Mad Man: should we not become God in order to
become worthy of this deed. Whilst Nietzsche felt this way, Heidegger criticised
metaphysics as the thinking lead to a deity that is not scared, mysterious or worthy of faith.
Dasein (the presence) gave the impression of Being as a being, the all highest as a ground
that gives grounding to everything. He states that nobody can pray or sacrifice to this God,
neither can they fall to their knees in joy, dance or play music. Heidegger criticized
