Human and society in Friedrich Nietzsche

This study concerns Nietzsche's thoughts on human beings and society. Nietzsche's general philosophy will be examined to evaluate the contributions he can make to contemporary human and social thought. Throughout the history of philosophy, there have been reflections on society and human beings long before the sciences of sociology and psychology emerged. These studies continue to this day. Nietzsche's potential contributions to social science in terms of philosophy of society have often been neglected. The claim that he is the father of postmodern thought itself demonstrates the extent of this neglect. He identified the problem of nihilism, which can be described as the erosion of values, alongside feelings of emptiness and meaninglessness brought about particularly by urbanization and capitalism, before the early twentieth century and sought remedies. The first part of the study briefly touches on Nietzsche's life stages to ground his philosophy and then focuses on his key concepts. In the second part, we will attempt to explain the concepts of Culture, Mass Culture, and Popular Culture. In the third part, we will explore Nietzsche's philosophy in relation to the phenomena of mass culture, popular culture, and nihilism, which are important contemporary social debates within the capitalist world order. We will discuss how Nietzsche's philosophy can contribute favorably towards the free individual, and in this direction, we will illustrate how Nietzsche's philosophy serves as a philosophy of self- development, aiming to realize human's ultimate potential, incorporating a mystical dimension, and providing a foundation for existentialist views, promoting the emergence of creative free individuals against mass culture. In conclusion, Nietzsche's ideas have been identified as potentially beneficial for addressing contemporary social and psychological issues. Keywords: Mass Culture, Popular Culture, Nihilism, Estrangement