Atheistic existentialism: Difference between revisions

Considered one of the founding fathers of Existentialism, German philosopher [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] was a critic of Christian theology.<ref>Wicks, Robert, "Friedrich Nietzsche", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)</ref> Arguing that morality itself is a human construct, as opposed to the laws of nature which are inherently morally-neutral, Nietzsche divided morality into two types: herd morality and master morality.<ref>Wildman, Wesley. "Profound Atheism: Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)," Boston University</ref> It is this first type, herd morality, which he associates with religion, specifically, with Christianity.<ref>Wildman, Wesley. "Profound Atheism: Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)," Boston University</ref> In his book, ''[[The Gay Science]]'', Nietzsche utters his famous statement, "[[God is dead]]," which refers to his belief that morality can no longer be reasonably dictated by religion.<ref>Samual, Adrian. "Nietzsche and God (Part 1)," Richmond Journal of Philosophy (Spring 2007 Edition)</ref> It is for this reason that many associate Nietzsche's philosophy with [[nihilism]].<ref>Pratt, Alan. "Nihilism," The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy</ref> By contrast, others claim his assertion that nothing exists beyond this life merely requires us to rethink the tenets of morality, not to throw the concept of morality itself out the window. Indeed, they argue that while Nietzsche believed humanity was on track toward nihilism, he was not directly advocating it as the direction in which we should head.<ref>Michels, Steven. "Nietzsche, Nihilism, and the Virtue of Nature", Dogma: Revue de Philosophie et de Sciences Humaines (Oct. 2004)</ref>