Friedrich Nietzsche

German philosopher and cultural critic (1844–1900)

A revolutionary thinker and master disrupter, Friedrich Nietzsche is often described as having altered the course of Western thinking. “God is dead,” perhaps his most famous idea, laid the intellectual groundwork for a new worldview that challenged traditional Christian values, urging autonomy and authenticity.  Nietzsche’s intellectual acumen was evident from...

A revolutionary thinker and master disrupter, Friedrich Nietzsche is often described as having altered the course of Western thinking. “God is dead,” perhaps his most famous idea, laid the intellectual groundwork for a new worldview that challenged traditional Christian values, urging autonomy and authenticity. 
Nietzsche’s intellectual acumen was evident from an early age. Born in 1844 in Germany, he began composing songs at age 14, and by age 25, he had earned a doctorate and was made a professor at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Throughout his influential works, including his masterpiece Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883) and Beyond Good and Evil (1886), Nietzsche championed individualism and self-expression, encouraging the pursuit of personal excellence. In 1889, after years of declining health, Nietzsche experienced a debilitating mental health crisis. He spent his last years in the care of his mother and later his sister, who went on to edit and promote the philosopher’s works after his death in 1900.