What did Nietzsche mean with "God is dead"?

[Meticulous Man]

I guess I thought the phrase would somehow have had more to do with why Nietzsche personally didn't believe in God... but now it's really pretty obvious what it means and I should have been able to figure it out myself.

[Elok]

What he really meant was, "the syphilis is beginning to take its toll on my mental functions. Soon I shall go completely wacko and die in a sanitarium. But you should still respect my opinions now for some reason."

Ignore all these other clowns.

[Whaleboy]

Mercury Elok, mercury

[GePap]

Originally posted by Elok
What he really meant was, "the syphilis is beginning to take its toll on my mental functions. Soon I shall go completely wacko and die in a sanitarium. But you should still respect my opinions now for some reason."

Ignore all these other clowns.

You still using this sad excuse? Do you realize, given your condition, how many people in the old days would have ignored and invalidate everything you said and decided: he has an issue, he is not "normal", anything he says is crap- don;t listen to him, and in that way would deny you the ability to make your points and show you do have intelliegence and wit.

And yet, you do it for Nietzsche, a man who far greater experts in philosophy treat as one of the very important thinkers of the modern times.

[Whaleboy]

*Suddenly realises a serious post is required*

I concur. Ad hominems abound. One would hope that people would separate the products of a philosopher and its worth from the man behind the mind. I find it perhaps to be an indication of somes desire to not understand (or inability to perhaps?), and simplistically take instead the disposition of the man and use it to ridicule his ideas.

Should my views not be taken seriously because as a person I am strange?

[Imran Siddiqui]

In its broadest sense "God is dead" means that transcendent explanations for traditional human values, like Theism or Kant's Transcendental Idealism, have been discredited.

Indeed! It isn't simply that the Christian God and its absolute morality is dead, but all metaphysical explinations for humanity's divinity (ie, that all mean are inviolable because of some X) are dead and discredited. Thusly, there is no absolute morality dealing with how inherantly divine every human is.

[Whaleboy]

Any enemy of Kant is a friend of Whaleboy

[self biased]

Main Entry: 1dead
Pronunciation: 'ded
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English deed, from Old English dEad; akin to Old Norse dauthr dead, deyja to die, Old High German tOt dead -- more at DIE
Date: before 12th century
1 : deprived of life : having died
2 a (1) : having the appearance of death : DEATHLY (2) : lacking power to move, feel, or respond : NUMB b : very tired c (1) : incapable of being stirred emotionally or intellectually : UNRESPONSIVE (2) : grown cold : EXTINGUISHED
3 a : INANIMATE, INERT b : BARREN, INFERTILE c : no longer producing or functioning : EXHAUSTED
4 a (1) : lacking power or effect (2) : no longer having interest, relevance, or significance b : no longer in use : OBSOLETE c : no longer active : EXTINCT d : lacking in gaiety or animation e (1) : lacking in commercial activity : QUIET (2) : commercially idle or unproductive f : lacking elasticity g : being out of action or out of use; specifically : free from any connection to a source of voltage and free from electric charges h (1) : being out of play (2) : temporarily forbidden to play or to make a certain play in croquet
5 a : not running or circulating : STAGNANT b : not turning c : not imparting motion or power although otherwise functioning d : lacking warmth, vigor, or taste
6 a : absolutely uniform b (1) : UNERRING (2) : EXACT (3) : certain to be doomed (4) : IRREVOCABLE c : ABRUPT d (1) : COMPLETE, ABSOLUTE (2) : ALL-OUT
7 : devoid of former occupants
- dead·ness noun
- dead in the water 1 : incapable of being effective : STALLED 2 : 1DEAD 6b(3)
synonyms DEAD, DEFUNCT, DECEASED, DEPARTED, LATE mean devoid of life. DEAD applies literally to what is deprived of vital force but is used figuratively of anything that has lost any attribute (as energy, activity, radiance) suggesting life . DEFUNCT stresses cessation of active existence or operation . DECEASED, DEPARTED, and LATE apply to persons who have died recently. DECEASED is the preferred term in legal use . DEPARTED is used usually as a euphemism . LATE is used especially with reference to a person in a specific relation or status .