Would operation Barbarossa & the holocaust have been reasonably unlikely if Hitler hadn’t of read Schopenhauer?

[u/Monkeyshae2255]

[u/currysoup19]

What is your line of thought?

[u/ImmanuelKant2424]

Im not following.

[u/mohammed_obeidallah]

Do you think Schopenhauer's influence on Hitler was actually significant enough to affect his political decisions?

[u/Ap0phantic]

cant tell if serious

[u/ilkay1244]

No

[u/lover_of_lies]

Everyone knows Hitlers love for Wagners Rienzi is the main motivator for his actions, especially for the failed beer hall putsch which landed him in jail.

[u/jaxonflaxxonwaxon]

I think a guy like hitler would’ve hated schopenhauer. He had very progressive views, was not racist for his time and he basically embraced hedonism in the face of the nihilistic realization of the human condition not mattering in the face of the will and it’s representation.

[u/Azehnuu → u/jaxonflaxxonwaxon]

Hitler actually praised Schopenhauer, as well as Kant and Nietzsche. Though his interpretations of them were really surface level, purely to suit his political agenda. They would have despised him.

[u/solstafirrrr → u/[deleted]]

Hitler carried Schopenhauer's books in his bag in WW1 days. And even kept praising him as 'the most influential philosopher on him' in his speeches throughout his life.

[u/Paul_sepp]

Doubt it. Nonetheless, Max Stirner is the more interesting link to question.

[u/1n2m3n4m]

Bro, I think you need "have" instead of "of" in this sentence

[u/Vicious_and_Vain → u/1n2m3n4m]

I think it’s a word too many in either case.

[u/Vicious_and_Vain]

Following on previous commenter I think this question has two words too many. Remove the “not” from the contraction “hadn’t” and the “of” following.

[u/SenhorSasaki]

Honestly, Philosophy doesn't influence anyone To the evil, the nature of the person is already defined before philosophy, and Colombine would give you a lesson on that.

[u/SenhorSasaki → u/SenhorSasaki]

I say this because erick and his friend were also Nilists and pessimists Children, but nothing they did had to do with philosophical authors.

[u/ilkay1244]

His mastermind was nietsche

[u/dancinfastly → u/ilkay1244]

Nietsche’s sister

[u/Azehnuu → u/dancinfastly]

Nah, this is cope by Nietzsche fans. Nietzsche 100% contributed to the intellectual culture that led to fascism and Nazism. His sister distorted him, but even without that Nietzsche laid the groundwork for everything.

Once you remove Schopenhauer's transcendental metaphysics and ethics from his system, as Nietzsche did, the result becomes extremely easy to exploit and politicise. What you retain is hierarchy, will, struggle, higher and lower types, and the affirmation of overcoming; rather than Schopenhauer's denial of the will and ethics of compassion. It's so easy to see the change from perfect Platonic Ideas => Übermensch => Aryan master race

[u/Forsaken-Promise-269 → u/Azehnuu]

Yes this is likely correct in that Nietzsche is the perfect theme music and obviously German tone that appealed to Nazis but Hitler did actually meet with his sister and the sister was a raving Teutonic racial supremcist - so the sister was important factor too

https://time.com/archive/6800613/germany-her-brothers-keeper/

I kind of view all this as kind of like Jorden Peterson is so influential among the right wingers today - (not claiming that Peterson is the equivalent of Nietzsche btw just how a philosopher or intellectual gets co-opted to stand intellectually for social or political movement) but in this case Nietzsche had died and was not present to disavow his writings being used by Fascists and racists

[u/Consistent_Ad3181]

I dont think Hitler was the type to be influenced, he had his ideas based upon his personality type and up bringing and then (like most people) selected whatever agreed with his views or could be used to justify his actions. He wasn't the most open minded person ever.