Amor Fati
To love our fate, that is what Nietzsche believes will give us meaning in all that we do. This concept appears simple on the surface – after all, we should love all that we do to derive the greatest amount of happiness, isn’t it? – but the philosophical underpinnings go further than that. For Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), a German philosopher famously known for his criticism of religion and responses to nihilism, Amor Fati is an attitude that one can have while one goes through life. It is not just being happy with what happens to us, but a deeper acceptance of everything that happens in our life as necessary, if not good. This includes ‘good’ things which give us pleasure and ‘bad’ things that give us suffering.
Why Amor Fati?
One of Nietzsche’s well-known concepts was the idea of the eternal return. He believed that time repeated itself in an infinite loop, and that everything that has happened will reoccur over and over again for eternity. This formed the basis for his belief that we have to accept everything that happens in our life as necessary, since it is bound to repeat itself indefinitely. This means that we wish nothing in our life to be different, instead embracing every moment of joy and pain as necessary. In Nietzsche’s unpublished notes, he claimed that “The question which thou wilt have to answer before every deed that thou doest: 'is this such a deed as I am prepared to perform an incalculable number of times?'” When applied to modern lives, this means that our choices are crucial. Before opting to spend time undertaking a project, we have to evaluate what we stand to gain from it. Our experiences ought to give us opportunities to develop ourselves, hone our skills or meet new people. When we face challenges, we should take them in our stride, understanding that challenges will help us improve our resilience and learn from our mistakes. Most importantly, we need to be brutally honest with ourselves by ensuring that everything we do today will be something we are proud of tomorrow. This is what Nietzsche means by suffering being a necessary part of life. Without suffering today, we will not grow as individuals. Without individual growth, it will be impossible to clinch greater achievements tomorrow.
Criticism of Amor Fati
The attitude that Amor Fati encourages is one of acceptance. Some people may argue that it could lead to a passive acceptance of everything that happens to us in our lives. This may lead people to become apathetic individuals, losing their individual agency by simply letting time take its course. When we see others facing challenges, we may become hesitant to help them, instead believing that everybody’s suffering is a necessary part of their life. This means that if we abide too closely by Amor Fati, we may end up doing nothing about our life, except let it happen to us. This is problematic too, for it renders us individuals as useless beings without any agency.
Nietzsche himself was aware that there is no one correct way to live one’s life. Every person has his unique circumstances and hence his way of living would be unique too. This was reflected in Nietzsche’s critical stance towards universality, in which he championed for perspectivism – the belief that there is no universal truth, only interpretations of reality. Nietzsche’s stance shows us that we have to take everything we see and hear with a pinch of salt. Amor Fati may be a good way to help us deal with sadness, reminding us that pain and suffering is necessary for growth. However, we should not resign to our fate so easily, but instead try our best in life to do things that we will not regret.
Conclusion
Nietzsche proposed Amor Fati as one response to nihilism, for he was responding to a time when he believed Christianity (and religion as a whole) was insufficient in helping people make sense of their realities. He claimed that religion was no longer able to assuage the suffering people faced and the ascetic rules proposed by religion assumed that the virtues espoused were the be all, end all of life. He was afraid that people would become nihilists, thinking that all life has no meaning, there was nothing that mattered, and it would lead people to live their lives aimlessly. Nietzsche was also sceptical of utilitarian modes of living, which prioritised pleasure and minimised suffering, causing people to live hedonistic lives he found to be devoid of meaning. Having this context in mind helps us understand Amor Fati better, for we know that Nietzsche was offering a solution he felt best captured the human essence, embracing both pleasure and pain as necessary parts of life.
Whenever we do something, we always have a reason for doing so. Whether it be because of an instruction from one’s superior, teacher, elder in the family etc. or because we tell others we want to try something new, to gain a new experience, or that we enjoy doing it, we must never forget to ask ourselves this question: If I had to relive this day of my life for eternity, would it be worth doing what I am doing now? This is a strong reminder that we need to evaluate why we do the things we do. It is easy to say that we are forced into doing something as mandated by an institution or superior, or that we do something because an expert tells us to do so, but all these “reasons” are mere things we use to explain our actions to others. When it comes to the stories we tell ourselves, the narratives we constantly revise in our minds, these are the rawest principles we live by and the truest reasons why we do what we do. For example, we can tell the world that we attend school or work because we are forced to, but the real reason in our hearts (which may differ from person to person) is that we have decided to accept the instruction of authority, that we are living under the rule of a greater authority who has the power to influence our actions. We can tell people that we enjoy exercising but the deeper reason why we go to the gym could be to look attractive to other people. Everyone should find that true reason in his heart and make sure that it is something he finds worthwhile, or someday in the future, he will not be able to look back at his past and proudly proclaim, “Amor Fati.”
Sources:
https://youtu.be/AMFkSM5bHMo?si=RjWrzdzP-9Dnslic
https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/nietzsches-advice-for-how-to-find-meaning-in-your-life/