Outline
Thesis Statement: Nietzsche is often considered to be the first existentialist; is this simply good timing, or was Nietzsche really the first to question whether there really is an afterlife and whether or not we should focus our attentions on this reality rather than the next.
I. His Life
A. Father died when he was Four
B. When he was Fourteen he went to Schulpforta Boarding School
C. Went to The University of Bonn in 1864 as a Philology student
D. In 1867 Nietzsche entered his required military service
E. Began teaching in 1869 at the University of Bastel in Switzerland
F. Until his death in 1900 Nietzsche wrote many famous works of literature
II. His Beliefs
A. Generally challenged the foundations of traditional moral and Christian thought
B. Was more or less an Atheist
C. Nietzsche's central theory was one of "self affirmation"
D. He believed in life, creativity, health, and the realities of the world that we live in, rather than that of the world beyond.
Friedrich Nietzsche
The Nietzsche Archives in Weimar, Germany.
Nietzsche, 1864III. His Writings
A. Early writings
B. Mid writings
C. Late writings
IV. Nietzsche's influence on Modern Thought
Existentialism, for some it is just a big word, for others it is something worth studying and learning about, and for the rest it is a way of life. Freidrich Nietzsche definitely falls into the later category. To many scholars and philosophers, Nietzsche is often considered to be the first existentialist; is this simply good timing, or was Nietzsche really the first to question if there is an afterlife and whether we should focus our attentions on this reality rather that the next. Through the main purpose conveyed by this paper, the reader will agree that in fact Nietzsche was the first man to call himself an existentialist.
His Life
To understand why...