Abstract

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th century German philosopher and classical philologist. He wrote critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy and science which display a fondness for metaphor, irony and aphorism. Nietzsche's philosophy remains a substantial influence within Western philosophy, notably existentialism and postmodernism. His style and radical questioning of value and objectivity of truth have resulted in commentaries and interpretations, mostly in the continental tradition. His key ideas include the death of God, perspectivism, nihilism, the Übermensch, the eternal recurrence, and the will to power. His central philosophy is the idea of “life-affirmation” which involves a honest questioning of all doctrines that drain life's expansive energies. Keywords: the death of God, perspectivism, nihilism, the Übermensch, existentialism and postmodernism.