The Will of Power by Friedrich Nietzsche, in which Nietzsche stated, “Christian morality is slave morality.” which refers to the way that Nietzsche compared Christian morality and slave morality which referred to the utility system of morality. In this essay, I will be explaining the actual intent argument that Nietzsche was making, as well as comparing how the master and slave morality compared to Nietzsche’s Ubermensch theory as well.
, as quoted by Nietzsche,, it is important to understand that Nietzsche believed that there was two type of moral system that really was based on many things such as income class and as well as status in the community. Nietzsche believed that depending on whether a person was a leader or a follower there were
…show more content…
It is obvious just by the names that according to Nietzsche master-morality is superior above people with “slave-morals”. Nietzsche said that slave-moralities were, “The good man must, in any case, be the safe man; he is good-natured, easily deceived, perhaps a little stupid. Everywhere that slave-morality gains the ascendancy, language shows tendency to approximate the significance of the words “good” and “stupid”. A list fundamental difference: the desire to freedom, the instinct for happiness and the refinements of the feeling of liberty belong as necessarily to slave-morals and morality, a arfice and enthusiasm in reverence and devotion are the regular symptoms of an aristocratic mode of thinking and estimating (Nietzsche, 409).” To Nietzsche, he considered those of slave-morality different from those who held master-morals, What made those with “slave-morals” different is that according to Nietzsche people with slave morals were are from nature not because of an overflow of wealth and powers. Those of slave-morality are really those who are good by nature and will help others because it is the good thing to do but also are dumb and naive. There's also something else that makes those with slave-morals different according to Nietzsche those people also are seeking freedom, by that he means that they seek a sense of independence which they do not have because of lack of wealth and …show more content…
Well, it must be noted that Nietzsche did not have a good relationship with Christianity, that is clear when Nietzsche express how he feels about Christianity “I regard Christianity as the most fatal and seductive lie that has ever yet existed (Nietzsche, 409).” It was obvious that to Nietzsche Christianity was a lie and he did not agree with the Christian belief. Now knowing what he felt about Christianity it is much clearer he meant with his comparison of Christian morals and slave morals. Nietzsche meant that since he believed that Christianity was a lie, Christians were exhibiting a lot of the same states of someone with slave morals to Nietzsche those with Christian beliefs were naïve as well as easily deceived for believing what they believed. Edwin Dodge Hardin author of Nietzsche’s Service to Christianity states his interpretation of Master-morality and Slave-morality, “ Nietzsche built up from history two standards of human conduct, calling the one the “master-morality” of the free and independent man who has at all times constituted the small minority in society, and the other the “slave-morality” developed by the great bulk of humanity who are deficient and feeble in the body and mind and whom he regards as the legitimate instruments and even, should the necessity arise victims of their rightful master( (Hardin).” Hardin is
However, Nietzsche’s idea of the powerful forcing their will on common people resonates with me. It is something we see in our modern society, wealthy people seem to have a higher influence over the average American. Examples of powerful people controlling others are found in politics, economy, media, and religion. Common people are lead to think in certain ways that the powerful need them to. Nietzsche said that people will only be equal as long as they are equal in force and talent, people who have a higher social group are more influential in decisions because average people look to them for information. The thing I do not agree with Nietzsche on his view as Christianity as a weakness because religion is a main cause of people’s decision
“On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense” is an unfinished work written by Friedrich Nietzsche in 1873. In this work, Nietzsche takes an approach to explaining the truth in a way that we would all find very unusual, but that is merely the Nietzsche way. In this essay I will analyze how Nietzsche views the truth, as explained in “On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense”
The terms of Master and Slave Morality are easy to misunderstand. First of all, the assumption that there is master morality vs. slave morality already makes you believe master morality is the superior one, just by the words itself. Master morality is overall shaping slave morality. Following one another causes a misguided idea of the terms good and evil replacing the idea of “good” and “bad”. But, some would say few people disagreed with Nietzsche because no one really knew Nietzsche existed during his own time, his impact came later and his message became clear in fact
Nietzsche argues that there are two ultimate types of morality. That's is ‘Master Morality' and ‘Slave morality'. He argues that Master morality weigh actions based on a scale of good or bad consequences, whereas ‘Slave Morality' weighs more on good and evil intentions. He is basically stating that slave morality values kindness, sympathy and humility and master morality values pride. Nietzsche believes that master morality is that of the strong-willed and criticizes the views the good is everything that is helpful and bad is everything harmful. He agrees that we the people are basing everything on the acceptance of
The theory behind The Will to Power is incredibly well supported despite the fact that it is simply a collection of notes from Nietzsche's later years. It is a wonderful compilation of the premise behind all of his other works and the summary of their individual points. The most amazing aspect of the book and the philosophy is the incredible validity of it even now, over a hundred years after it was written. The social order of his new world needed to be addressed more, but the principles proposed stand sturdily on their own two feet confident in their own will to power.
The role of Christianity plays an extensive part in a slave’s life. Christianity gives the slaves a sense of belonging and faith. They feel that they can depend on God for their fortunes and that He will guide them out of their misfortunes. How does religion play a role in their lives and their views on “good” and “bad” masters? The slaves that are Christian has a better and wholesome perception of life while slaves that are not Christian look at life in a pessimistic way.
Friedrich Nietzsche’s On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense represents a deconstruction of the modern epistemological project. Instead of seeking for truth, he suggests that the ultimate truth is that we have to live without such truth, and without a sense of longing for that truth. This revolutionary work of his is divided into two main sections. The first part deals with the question on what is truth? Here he discusses the implication of language to our acquisition of knowledge. The second part deals with the dual nature of man, i.e. the rational and the intuitive. He establishes that neither rational nor intuitive man is ever successful in their pursuit of knowledge due to our illusion of truth. Therefore, Nietzsche concludes that all we can claim to know are interpretations of truth and not truth itself.
In his narrative, Frederick Douglass shows how Christianity was used as a major justification for slavery and for the actions of slave masters, but he also shows how the religion provided hope for slaves themselves. In an appendix added at the end of the narrative, he draws a distinction between “the Christianity of this land” and “the Christianity of Christ,” saying that there is the “widest possible difference” between them. As he puts it, “I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.” In other words, Douglass thinks that Christianity has been corrupted in America, where people hypocritically use it to justify their injustices.
Explanation Nietzsche’s conception of the “social straightjacket” and the history of morality in relation to selfhood and social norms.
Christianity is that slave revolt. The problem for Nietzsche is the New Testament - the introduction of Jesus. He thinks that linking the Old Testament with the New Testament is very cheeky. They are two different books with complete different ideas and so should not be linked together. The Old Testament is full of power - Nietzsche likes that.
Douglass makes the distinction between the true and false forms of Christianity clear in the Appendix of his Narrative. He first characterizes the Christianity of Christ, practiced by himself, his fellow slaves, and non-slave owners in general, as genuine and peaceable. This sort of ideology is true to what Douglass interprets as the actual teachings of the Bible, and adherents are humble, kind, impartial, and nondiscriminatory. Douglass then distinguishes this proper ideology from the “corrupt, slave-holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial, and hypocritical Christianity of this land” (430). Douglass believes that slavery and Christianity are opposing forces. The teachings of C...
Nietzsche describes two types of people on different ends of the spectrum, the higher of the two being masters. Master morality is associated with being good, powerful, wealthy, and pure. Having master morality means someone is more wealthy than another, more noble than another, and better than their counter parts. On the other end of the spectrum, slave morality is associated with being bad, weak, poor, and impure. There are different traits associated with both sides, for example, masters are considered wealthy, but corrupt; while slaves are considered kind, but weak. Unless a person has reached the state of master morality they will never be as good as those who have, to understand how to make that transition, we must understand which traits are considered good and which traits are considered bad.
Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals can be assessed in regards to the three essays that it is broken up into. Each essay derives the significance of our moral concepts by observing
Volksgeist in German means the “national character” or the spirit of the people, while zeitgeist the spirit of time. Nietzsche, a fighter against his own age, eventually becomes the emblem of his time. He dislikes equality and freedom in democracy, saying they are the remnant of Christian weakness and a squelching of the best of human nature. He’s against Kant’s concept of duty contending that the love of following a strict moral rule is a symptom of obedience and the rejection of the 'will to power'. He opposes Bentham’s utilitarian contentment for the pursuit of 'happiness', a passive denial of life and a state more like that of a herd-animal than a human being. Nietzsche advocates Master morality that issues from a self-reinforcing, self-governing, creative and commanding mindset that label everything like oneself as “good” and other plebeian trait “bad”; as opposed to the one of reactive subordinate “ressentiment” of slave morality that excuse one’s inferiority and failure on a noble and powerful external object as the scapegoat and label it as “evil”, while the opposite of it like oneself as “good”. Nietzsche claims that to be a truly free agent is to be causa sui, the cause of oneself, not the reactive response to the outside stimuli. Only the Ubermensch, or over-human, could achieve that. Nietzsche begins his premise with the assumption that God does not exist, thus objective morality and inherent value are not possible since there is no ultimate being. Nietzsche's Ubermensch will act as one’s own God, giving oneself morality. The Ubermensch is neither slave or master of others. The Ubermensch is an independent individual who has the power to banish herd instincts from his mind and become a master with self restraint and di...
Nietzsche, Friedrich W., and Walter A. Kaufmann. Beyond Good and Evil. New York: Vintage, 1989. Print.