Comparing and Contrasting the Philosophies of Nietzsche and Plato
Chelsea Long
Philosophy 100-005
Prompt 2
Final Essay Even though they were separated by thousands of years, hundreds of miles, and different cultures, the philosophical views of Friedrich Nietzsche and Plato can be examined and weighed against each other in many different ways. Friedrich Nietzsche, born in 1844, was a German philosopher whose main goal was to erect a new image for the people and to create a free spirit in them. Plato, born in 427 B.C., was a Greek philosopher whose main goal was to create a new way of thinking about the world itself, knowledge itself, philosophy itself, and the individual. Both philosophers have obvious similarities; their literary style of writing is perhaps the most apparent, but also their desire to create a new way of thinking for the people in which they hoped to influence. Nietzsche thought that by standing outside of society and looking at it from a different view, one could take on the ideal of a free spirit. Analogous to this view is Plato’s view from the allegory of the cave which illustrates humans as being completely unaware of what the actual world is. Even though they lived in completely different societies, both philosophers thought that the view of the world that society holds shelters the individual from seeing the true nature of reality. However, the nature of said reality was very different for both philosophers. Nietzsche believed in a “what you see is what you get” kind of view of reality. His “amor fati” view of reality posed that in order to achieve an optimistic view; the individual must learn to love fate. This also involves accepting reality for exactly what it is and not creating a false sense of “reality”—what the person would “like” to see. Because of Nietzsche’s opinion that ‘God is dead” he believed that this life was all there was, so the best way to live was to realize the true actuality of the world, and to also use the love of what is real and actual to enjoy life. Plato, on the other
Philosophy 100-005
Prompt 2
Final Essay Even though they were separated by thousands of years, hundreds of miles, and different cultures, the philosophical views of Friedrich Nietzsche and Plato can be examined and weighed against each other in many different ways. Friedrich Nietzsche, born in 1844, was a German philosopher whose main goal was to erect a new image for the people and to create a free spirit in them. Plato, born in 427 B.C., was a Greek philosopher whose main goal was to create a new way of thinking about the world itself, knowledge itself, philosophy itself, and the individual. Both philosophers have obvious similarities; their literary style of writing is perhaps the most apparent, but also their desire to create a new way of thinking for the people in which they hoped to influence. Nietzsche thought that by standing outside of society and looking at it from a different view, one could take on the ideal of a free spirit. Analogous to this view is Plato’s view from the allegory of the cave which illustrates humans as being completely unaware of what the actual world is. Even though they lived in completely different societies, both philosophers thought that the view of the world that society holds shelters the individual from seeing the true nature of reality. However, the nature of said reality was very different for both philosophers. Nietzsche believed in a “what you see is what you get” kind of view of reality. His “amor fati” view of reality posed that in order to achieve an optimistic view; the individual must learn to love fate. This also involves accepting reality for exactly what it is and not creating a false sense of “reality”—what the person would “like” to see. Because of Nietzsche’s opinion that ‘God is dead” he believed that this life was all there was, so the best way to live was to realize the true actuality of the world, and to also use the love of what is real and actual to enjoy life. Plato, on the other