F I S H I N G

18th century

Kant is considered the basis of Protestant self-reliance.

He established that philosophy cannot resolve the ultimate mysteries about God, the soul and man’s nature, but offers a way to deal with bogus knowledge. His “Critique” is a truly great thing, but impossible to read except in bits and pieces.

Quote :

– Happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of the imagination.

— Metaphysics is a dark ocean without shores or a lighthouse

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

19th century, first half:

Schopenhauer is considered the origin of Romantic nihilism.

He said that our intellect is not sovereign, but is the puppet of deeper whims and wishes. His “Aphorisms” are more fun than philosophy, but easy reading. He truly hated women all his life.

Quote :

— Men are by nature merely indifferent to one another; but women are by nature enemies.

– Compassion is the basis of morality.

– Hatred is an affair of the heart; contempt an  affair of the head.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

.

19th century

Karl Marx, at present still most famous of all. He taught that your thoughts reflect the class that you belong to.

Quotes :

– The ruling ideas of each age have always been the ideas of its ruling class.

– Greek philosophy seems to have met with something that a good tragedy is not supposed to meet with, namely a dull ending.

– The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

19th century, second half

Nietzsche taught that religion is hypocrisy : God is dead and therefore the “superior human” has to take over to save culture from the spread of nihilism. That “superior human” is not defined by race, but by willpower.

Quote :

Is man simply God’s mistake? Or is God a mistake of man’s?

.

.

.

.