The "death of God".

[ceelo]

Would anyone be able to help me understand the political significance of this phrase? (Nietzsche) and why he considered it to be a significant "event"?

I have a loose understanding of it, but not so much politically, views would be appreciated.

[lowradiation]

This is strange, as I've just chosen my module options for my third year in my English and History degree.

One of the more popular modules was 'Literature and the death of God'. It's supposed to be a reflection of a period in literature (1850-1950) in which Western philosophy as well as atheism, bloomed. I'm no expert but I'll be able to explain more next year!

For your interest the texts covered throughout the module include:

Hardy - Jude the Obscure
Dostoevsky - Notes From The Underground
Chekhov - Plays
Conrad - Lord Jim
Camus - The Stranger
Beckett - Waiting for Godot
Mann - Death In Venice

[lobanw]

Hmmm, although I would count myself as an atheist, I would say that God is far from being dead. Neither in the West, nor elsewhere.

[lowradiation]

No not at all. It's just using a quote from a great philosopher to represent a period of literature (moreso a streak in literature) in which authors questioned life's philosophical questions leading to existentialism, nihilism etc etc.

[shift decimal]

Happy Good Friday heathens!!!

[PeterL]

Which god?

[Gregory Samsa]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_is_dead

"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?" - Nietzsche.

[PeterL]

Nietzsche had a very restricted view of what "god" meant. He might have been better off, if he had asserted that his source of moral weight had dried up.