Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher and writer who produced critical works on religion, morality, modern culture, philosophy, and science, employing a distinctive style rich in metaphor, irony, and aphorism. He introduced fundamental concepts such as “eternal recurrence,” “amor fati,” “will to power,” and the “Übermensch” into the philosophical canon. Regarded by many literary circles as one of Europe’s greatest writers, Nietzsche became one of the most frequently quoted philosophers of all time, including the 21st century. Among his most influential works are Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Ecce Homo, The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music, and The Twilight of the Idols.

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844, in the small Prussian town of Röcken. His father, Karl Ludwig Nietzsche, a Lutheran pastor at the Röcken Protestant Church, named him after King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, as they shared the same birthday. His mother, Franziska Ehler Nietzsche, also came from a family of clergy, which ensured that religion played a dominant role in Nietzsche’s early upbringing.

The declining health of his father deeply troubled Nietzsche during his childhood. Karl Ludwig suffered from severe migraine attacks, the cause of which remained undiagnosed at the time but was later identified as a rapidly progressing brain tumor. In 1849, when Nietzsche was only five years old, his father died after losing his sight, a loss that profoundly affected him. In 1850, Nietzsche moved with his mother, sister, grandmother, and two aunts to Naumburg. Growing up in a household dominated by women, strict moral codes, and intense religious discipline contributed significantly to his introspective and withdrawn personality.

Nietzsche completed his primary education at the Bürgerschule in Naumburg, where he excelled academically. From an early age, he began questioning the adequacy of religion in addressing life’s fundamental problems. He pondered existential questions concerning suffering, justice, and the nature of God. During these formative years, he also developed a deep interest in music, composing romantic pieces influenced by Robert Schumann.

At the age of thirteen, in 1857, Nietzsche wrote his first autobiography, already preoccupied with the problem of evil. He questioned how a benevolent God could be reconciled with the immense suffering and injustice present in the world. These doubts matured over time and inspired his earliest poetic works, including his first poem written in 1861.

In 1858, Nietzsche earned a scholarship to attend Schulpforta, one of Germany’s most prestigious Protestant boarding schools. There, he received a rigorous education in Greek and Roman classics. Nicknamed “the little Protestant pastor” by his peers, he graduated in 1864 and initially followed family tradition by enrolling at the University of Bonn to study theology and philology. However, his faith continued to erode, and he soon abandoned theology, choosing instead to focus on classical philology under the influence of his mentor, Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl.

Nietzsche later transferred to the University of Leipzig to continue his studies with Ritschl. During this period, two events proved decisive. The first was his contraction of syphilis, a diagnosis concealed from him by his physician, as the disease was incurable at the time. The second was his discovery of The World as Will and Representation by Arthur Schopenhauer, a work that profoundly transformed his intellectual outlook. Nietzsche embraced Schopenhauer’s pessimism and openly identified himself as a follower of his philosophy.

Although deeply engaged in philology, Nietzsche grew increasingly disillusioned with the discipline, criticizing its detachment from urgent existential questions. Despite these doubts, his academic brilliance earned him a remarkable appointment: in 1869, at the age of twenty-four and without a doctorate, he was offered a professorship in classical philology at the University of Basel, based solely on his publications and Ritschl’s recommendation.

At Basel, Nietzsche taught both philology and philosophy, seeking to examine civilization’s weaknesses through the intersection of the two disciplines. He formed a close intellectual relationship with the cultural historian Jacob Burckhardt, whom he deeply respected. Around this time, Nietzsche also forged a pivotal friendship with the composer Richard Wagner, whom he admired intensely. Wagner, significantly older and reminiscent of Nietzsche’s late father, became a powerful influence on him.

During a Christmas visit to Wagner’s residence in Tribschen, Nietzsche began working on his first major book, The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music. However, the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 interrupted his work. Driven by patriotism, Nietzsche volunteered as a medical orderly despite his fragile health. Witnessing the horrors of war left a lasting impression on him and contributed to the development of his concept of the “will to power.” He fell seriously ill with dysentery and diphtheria and was forced to return to Basel after two months.

Nietzsche completed and published The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music in 1872, analyzing Greek tragedy through the interplay of Apollonian and Dionysian forces. Between 1872 and 1876, he published a series of essays, including David Strauss: the Confessor and the Writer, On the Use and Abuse of History for Life, Schopenhauer as Educator, and Richard Wagner in Bayreuth.

In 1878, Nietzsche published Human, All Too Human, marking a decisive break from both Wagner and Schopenhauer. His health deteriorated steadily, culminating in his resignation from the University of Basel in 1879. Thereafter, he lived as an independent writer, traveling frequently across Switzerland, Italy, and France in search of climates conducive to his fragile health.

Between 1881 and 1882, Nietzsche published Daybreak: Reflections on Moral Prejudices and The Gay Science. During this period, he met Lou Salomé, with whom he fell deeply in love, though his proposal was ultimately rejected. Emotionally devastated, Nietzsche retreated to Rapallo, where he wrote the first part of Thus Spoke Zarathustra in just ten days.

Despite its originality, Thus Spoke Zarathustra was poorly received during Nietzsche’s lifetime. Financial difficulties and critical indifference plagued him, yet he continued to write prolifically. His later works included Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals, The Case of Wagner, The Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, and his autobiographical reflection, Ecce Homo.

On January 3, 1889, Nietzsche suffered a complete mental collapse in Turin after witnessing a horse being beaten, an incident that symbolically echoed themes found in Crime and Punishment. He never recovered his sanity. After periods of institutional care, he lived under the supervision of his mother and later his sister, Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, who controversially edited and published his unfinished works.

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche died on August 25, 1900, in Weimar, following complications from pneumonia, and was buried in Röcken beside his father. Though misunderstood during his lifetime, his ideas profoundly influenced later thinkers and writers, including Albert Camus, Michel Foucault, Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, Hermann Hesse, and many others.

Source: Biyografiler.com