Quote:
Originally Posted by toretorden
When I read old philosophy, I often find myself criticizing it for a lack of understanding of who we are, where we come from, the basis for our morality etc. Modern biology and evolution explain so much of what they tried to explain back then. 
Sorry if that sounds pretentious and all-knowing. It's not just me, though, I think that view is probably shared by at least 90% of people who study or work in modern evolutionary biology/ecology. |
well, like others have said, Nietzsche wasn't really part of that category. his philosophy is difficult to understand and impossible to pigeonhole (though a countless number of people falsely call it nihilism). i don't pretend to even understand it now, but it's easy to see that he was way more than a social commentator.
OLD philosophers of the eighteenth century and prior were woefully inept, and when i read some of them (especially crapheads like Voltaire) i can certainly echo your lament. it's either common sense or a load of aphorism-laden garbage.