Masaryk and Nietzsche

While the standard view is that Masaryk and Nietzsche are radically opposed figures in the history both of philosophy and of modem political culture, there are in fact areas of their thought which touch-on essentially common philosophical themes. The most important are eternity, religion and particularly the force and cogency of christianity in modem times, an area in which both thinkers were deeply critical of their times. This essay looks at the religious (or pseudo-religious) bases of Masaryk's and Nietzsche's philosophical reflections, considering their attitude to christianity, the idea of eternity and the concept of the ''superman'' (a term first used by Goethe). Some of the basic ideas of Goethe's Faust are looked at and many of the insights of Patocka's philosophy of history are also used. In conclusion the article poses the fundamental question of the authenticity and cogency of christianity in the present ''post-modern'' culture.