Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher in the late 19th century. His fame and influence runs through many of the present day philosophies like existentialism. However, Nietzsche still remains as one of the most misunderstood, and consequently, most criticized by philosophers who do not appreciate his work. He is known by his critics and haters on many philosophical themes that are not actually central to his philosophy. In this blog, I will explain the two central themes that characterize Nietzsche's philosophy. These are "amor fait" ("the love of fate") and "eternal recurrence," the endless repetition of one's life.
First, with amor fait, Nietzsche tells us to affirm one's own life. This means to live one's life, and accept what ever happens and may happen to one. It is common, that at least once in your life, you have something that you regret to happen. Or something that you resent and/or feel remorse about your life. It may be, that you became old and were not able to achieve your dreams. Or it may be, that you were born poor and struggled to live life. Or it may be that you had loved the wrong person for a long time and had been cheated upon. Or it may be that you are suffering from serious illness like Covid-19 or cancer. Or it may be losing someone you love the most like a family member, a friend, or a partner. There could be many things, many happenings, that might make you feel deep regret, resentment, and remorse throughout your life. And, this may differ from person to person. But, Nietzsche's philosophy of life, suggests that us should live a life of affirmation. We should accept our fate as it is. Why? Because that is our life, our fate. And, the only way to live it happily and meaningfully is to affirm or accept it.
Accepting life here, for Nietzsche, means accepting with equanimity and even enthusiasm. Not just to bear all the pains and sufferings it gives you. But, to really and truly love your own life, your own fate. For example, some terrible thing happened to you, like you got a serious illness, or you got into an accident. Affirming or accepting life (amor fait) means not just to bear the pain of an accident. Or to just bear the pain and suffering of a serious illness. Instead, accepting means to actively find ways to go on with life despite what happened. Whatever happens, you just continue to live life as before - with the same equanimity and enthusiasm. Continue to enjoy it, to nurture it, to love it. Whatever activity it may be that colors your life, continue to do it despite the many downsides. Accepting is not a passive sitting back and relax. But, an active standing up and moving on.
Now, with eternal recurrence, the idea is that the sequence of events throughout your entire life recurs again and again and again. It is like living the same whole life - from the beginning to the end - again and again for all eternity. Here, Nietzsche poses a test - a thought experiment - for us to determine whether we really have lived a happy and meaningful life or not. Simply, it asks us the question "Will you be willing to live your life, in its same exact sequence of events, - with all its pains and pleasures - again and again for all eternity?" If, you can confidently say yes in response to the question, then, it means you have indeed lived a happy and meaningful life, a life of affirmation, a life that you loved for the sake of itself - with amor fait.
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