How one philosopher single-handedly rescued Nietzsche from a reputation of madness and brutality

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: When Walter Kaufmann arrived at Princeton in 1947, even Albert Einstein recoiled at the mention of Nietzsche, associating the thinker with Nazi ideology. Kaufmann spent his career dismantling these misconceptions, transforming Nietzsche into a respected pillar of modern thought through his rigorous translations and provocative, high-energy scholarship.

Born in Freiburg, Germany, in 1921, Walter Kaufmann escaped Nazi persecution as a teenager, arriving in the United States alone at age 17. After serving in the US Army from 1943 to 1946 and earning his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1947, he joined the Princeton University faculty. He remained a fixture there for over three decades, eventually holding the Stuart chair in philosophy.

Kaufmann’s reputation was cemented by his 1950 study of Nietzsche, which challenged the prevailing view that the philosopher was a precursor to fascist brutality. He argued that Nietzsche was a thinker of profound importance, not a madman. His work was deliberately provocative, as he believed that challenging established orthodoxies was the most effective way to force people to think for themselves. This approach extended to his 1958 volume, Critique of Religion and Philosophy, where he attacked fundamental religious dogmas in favor of a pursuit of truth and perfection.

Beyond his philosophical writing, Kaufmann was a dedicated photographer and translator. He viewed photography as a means to allow subjects to speak, and he applied a similar philosophy to his translations of figures like Buber, Goethe, and Nietzsche. He sought to remain invisible, capturing the unique voice of each author. By the time he completed his final trilogy, Discovering the Mind, shortly before his death in 1980, he had touched thousands of lives, encouraging a life defined by intensity, honesty, and the courageous pursuit of one’s own ideals.

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