The Renaissance was a rather intriguing time period in the progression of human history. It was the first instance in history where people stopped relying on anything transcending their own lives such as God. The prosperity of humanitarianism and science during that age of creation were the leading factors of creating inspirational technology.
 
        However, the next “renaissance” would not come around until the 19th century. On the dawn of 19th century, 1882, a German philosopher set off a new wave of atheist beliefs. His name, was Nietzsche, and he claimed the death of God. As one of the most influential contemporary philosophers, Nietzsche was most well-known for his thoughts regarding atheism and the idea of “Ubermensch”, an ideal, superior human being who passed above traditional religious values and is able to impose his/her own values. Nietzsche claimed that: “God is dead. God remains dead, and we have killed him.” He believes that people should not be relying upon anything transcending one’s own life, and one should strive to achieve one’s full potentials through independent effort and the pursuit of self-actualization. This statement was time-changing; people started to reflect upon their belief in the Almighty being “responsible” for all their doings known as God. Under this circumstance, almost all fields of arts and professions were undergoing profound changes of ideologies. People started to contemplate on how they should change their attitudes and their ways of life in the “post-God era” created Nietzsche.
 
        A new branch of thought that developed after Nietzsche worth mentioning is theosophy and the struggle between religion and science. Theosophy was found by Helena Blavatsky in the late 19th century; its central dogma was that everything in the world can be reasonably explained by spiritual beings instead of scientific methods. This kind of extreme claims certainly raised some objections from people who are in favor of science, or materialistic. However, this did also raise the question of whether if all entities and phenomena on Earth are a product of physical reactions or spiritual might, the struggle between idealism and materialism. Although by the time a lot of mysterious phenomena were “decoded” by the endeavours of scientists, there still exist plenty of unexplained things. This brings up the question regarding the most fundamental principles of existence: is reality based on “I think, therefore I am” or people’s physical desires regarding physical, tangible entities. Religion has an infamous reputation throughout history in terms of merely serving as a placebo and some hope during times of crisis. One example of such instance would be during the 13th century in Europe, when black death was rampaging in the streets of Venus and Paris. People looked up to the church, but the clergies were not able to ask God to cure their diseases. Even the most pious faith people with the strongest belief in God got killed by the deadly pneumonic disease. Therefore, most people started to lose faith after Nietzsche’s statement; there is no evidence suggesting the existence in God in any shape or form. Though there are still strong believers, most people’s attitude towards life and religion changed drastically in the post God ages.
 
        Lastly, Nietzsche’s ideas became one of the most influential driving forces behind the second industrial revolution. Although the second wave of major technological advancements lasted shorter than the first, it did contribute some creations less concerned with basic laws of science but has more practical values such as telegraphs and railroad roads. Creations derived along this line of thought can certainly trace their roots to pragmatism, which is born under Nietzsche’s philosophy. The part of his statement about “people not relying on anything transcending their current lives” deeply influenced people with great ideas, and John Dewey was one of them. He subsequently came to the conclusion that the truth or meaning behind any entity and theory must be tested and measured by its practical values. The prevalence of this belief, alongside utilitarianism, in the early twentieth century in America is arguably one of the most important driving forces of technological advancements. The new creations in this revolution are heavily based on practical values. For example, the prosperity of railroad systems was one of the biggest achievements during the second industrial revolution, and a large part of what made this possible and useful are the steam engines that power the trains running through these tracks. To put in an analogy, the first industrial revolution is like science and research while the second is more like engineering; the former innovating, and the latter more practical. All of which born from a single idea, the idea that God is dead and people are on their own.
 
        Nietzsche did have a bad reputation for his potential belief in nihilism, but it cannot be denied that his contributions toward the development of new ideologies were significant. It cannot be denied that his ideologies acted as a promoter of new technologies. It cannot be denied that Nietzsche almost single-handedly shaped people’s beliefs in the “post-God” era.