Hypocritical Nietzsche

Nietzsche said that in order for a philosopher to deserve our respect, they must preach by example. I disagree with this completely for many reasons.

1. Everyone gets dealt a different hand to play. Some people get put into really rough situations which are nearly impossible to understand. We are all human and it may be that a philosopher is dealing with a rough situation as optimally as any human could possibly do it. To evaluate the example they are setting, accurately, is not realistic and therefore the example they set is irrelevant to their philosophy.

2. Nietzsche was incredibly mentally unwell later in his life. Does this mean his philosophy does not deserve our respect? No, it does deserve some respect, his ethics were awful though. Deterministic and biological factors are inevitable parts of the human experience. I am dealing with some rough health issues myself which have inevitably created angst and made me angry. Everyone's life is different and to think that indulging in someone's philosophy will turn you into that person is irrational and ludicrous.

3. I have another post on how role models are not real. Check it out. For mechanical tasks, emulating another person is beneficial. For non mechanical tasks such as philosophy and life in general, it is irrational to think that it is possible to emulate another person. We are all different and live different lives relative to the hands we are dealt.