[Serious] Absolutes and Atheism

[Rev. Rye]

Nietzsche's remark about the death of God is less against "any pretense of transcendant certitudes or absolutes" and more about how the absolutes and certitudes that Western man takes for granted are all up for grabs; something that Nietzsche pointed out civilization hadn't come to terms with. And, even then, all those values being up for grabs isn't even the end goal for Nietzsche. What he's looking for is a new system of philosophy. He wouldn't be opposed to any transcendent certitudes or absolutes that ended up resulting from this new philosophy, but the ones people are working under now just strike him as hollow.

What exactly this new system of philosophy would look like, he never made clear. He underwent a complete mental collapse before he could actually elucidate what the transvaluation of values would look like. That said, one thing is clear; he wanted a system that actually valued and celebrated life. And before you start saying that Christianity does value life (or start making potshots at Planned Parenthood), just read The Antichrist, because in it, Nietzsche explained exactly why he ultimately considered it nihilistic (for one thing, it ultimately treats Earthly life as secondary to a potential eternity in Heaven.)