By Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge M.D.In the consciousness of the truth he has perceived, man now sees everywhere only the awfulness or the absurdity of existence . . . and loathing seizes him. – Friedrich Nietzsche
(March 04, Ontario, Sri Lanka Guardian) Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) a German philosopher is considered as one of the significant free thinkers in the history. Nietzsche was a "naturalist who believed that nothing more than nature exists. Naturalism has invaded every area of human culture. Naturalists do not believe in the supernatural. Therefore divinity is not a viable option for the naturalists. If man is in need of salvation, he will have tosave himself. Buddhism promotes this idea.
Human capacity to ask "why" is one thing that makes us distinct as human beings. The primary component of a world view relates to the question "what exists. People understand the importance of the question "who am I?" Because we are conscious of our existence, we naturally ask such questions. What does it mean to be a human being? We form beliefs about whether or not there is a spiritual aspect to our nature. The prince Siddartha renounced his wealth and power in search of these truths.
World views are commonly defined by reference to the "reality" category. Naturalism, then, is a world view founded on some beliefs about nature. It is the belief that only the natural realm exists. Naturalistic world views include atheism, scientism, secular humanism, existentialism and nihilism.
Postmodernism is also heavily influenced by naturalism A naturalistic view of human existence includes an awareness of the transitory state of life. The existentialists deny the very existence of the omnipotent God. Dostoevsky once stated 'If God didn't exist, everything would be possible.'" In the universe of material objects, any attempt to erect an ethical system is, by definition, arbitrary fiction. For naturalists, ethical judgments are expressions of emotion. The ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras was the first to espouse humanism in his famous dictum, "Man is the measure of all things." Humanistic optimism is echoed in the famous words of John F. Kennedy, "All of man's problems have been created by man and can be solved by man."
The naturalistic view of reality is closely related to the nature.Since man is only a biological entity, knowledge is based on physical, sense experience. The sciences become the final arbiter of truth in the naturalistic world view. Atheism is the naturalistic view of reality. The naturalists consider that the life is pragmatic: seeking wisdom and liberation are necessary.
The Buddhist view is somewhat different from Friedrich Nietzsche’s understanding. The Buddhist world view is ‘naturalist' in the sense that it rejects explanations based on the concepts of God and soul or any concepts working as substitutes. Buddhist notions of 'nature' reveal insights into the 'nature of nature’ Buddhists perceives the world on four levels: existentially, morally, cosmologically, and ontologically.
Buddhism has developed a comprehensive theory of the nature of nature, encompassing all aspects of it and applying concepts of great depth and breadth to its analysis. All objects and conditions are regarded as being in a continuous state of change. Nothing finite is eternally fixed or unchanging.
Friedrich Nietzsche wanted to answer the reasons for human suffering. Nietzsche's arguments concur that human beings are supposed to undergo suffering. Does human suffering have meaning? The existential realization of the universality of suffering lies at the core of the Buddha’s teaching. He praised Buddhism for setting out to treat 'suffering as opposed to 'sin', but believed the treatment itself represented a surrender of life, and ultimately a weaker response to the human condition than his own. Nietzsche's interpretation of Buddhism is a life-negating philosophy that seeks to escape an existence dominated by suffering.
Buddha's view of reality—everything is interrelated but nothing has a stable essence. Nietzsche also has the answer to life that seems suffering. His answer, which is expressed in the same book of Zarathustra, is an attitude towards life that helps one overcome the feeling of its meaninglessness. It starts with the idea that life is an eternal recurrence with no beginning and no end but a repetition of the very same life over and over again.
The emptiness is the human condition to which both Buddhism and Nietzsche respond. Nietzsche saw nihilism as the outcome of repeated frustrations in the search for meaning. Nietzsche was interested in early Buddhism, he believed that Buddhism was superior to many beliefs in its psychological insight and understood its attraction for the West, but still considered it a form of passive nihilism.
The Buddha rejected both extremes of eternalism and nihilism. Buddha believed that nihilist view of existence is considered false because it is based on incomplete understanding of reality. Buddha did not teach annihilation after death. Nihilism and emptiness have two different meanings. Nihilism means that nothing really exists and emptiness means that nothing has independent existence.Nietzsche saw nihilism as the outcome of repeated frustrations in the search for meaning. He diagnosed nihilism as a latent presence within the very foundations of European culture.
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