This opinion of Nietzsche’s most grandiose aim is shared by many other Nietzschean commentators, to the extent that it is basically an orthodox opinion. For instance, Willam Mackintire Salter agrees with this interpretation arguing that, for Nietzsche, “man is something to be surpassed” and that Nietzsche’s goal is to help foster a new transcendental being. Similarly, Richard White argues that Nietzsche is not calling for a return to the master but for the sublimation of the master and slave into a man who is “master of his own future” . Commenting upon his method an aim Richard writes that the Genealogy and Nietzsche’s “analysis of history is itself an attempt to force the direction of the future” . To force the direction of the future into …show more content…
This relationship to the future highlights why nearly all philosophical interpretations of Nietzsche do not regard ‘The Genealogy’ as a literal historical account. Furthermore, Zimmerman’s analysis of Nietzsche as having a Hegelian notion of negation seems to be supported by Nietzsche’s method of analysis in the Genealogy itself. In aiming to discover the origin of moral values Nietzsche strips back the layers of interpretation which had condescended over older interpretations of Christianity until he is closer to the origin. In a process which could be considered as dialectical negation in reverse. Overall, therefore there are highly compelling reasons to regard this to be the dominant aim of Nietzsche in writing the Genealogy.
Why, however, should this be regarded as the ultimate aim of Nietzsche when writing the Genealogy of Morals? After all the primary focus of the book is upon the development of slave morality, bad conscience and the value of the ascetic ideal. The reason that helping to create a new higher man should be regarded as his highest aim is because it was, in colloquial terms, his end game. It was the culmination towards which he was working. Nietzsche’s exposition and critique of slave morality and the
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Firstly, Nietzsche was aiming to force a re-evaluation of moral values, specifically the moral values he thought resulted from the re-evaluation of morality achieved by the slaves and priestly caste. His method to achieve this was to look back upon the origin of good and evil and to pose them as a problematic phenomenon in need of an explanation. By re-interpreting good and evil as a socio-historical phenomena Nietzsche sought “to offer a re-evaluation of existing values” in order to limit the negative effects of those values. Nietzsche explained the development of these moral values by providing a naturalistic account of their emergence. This account relied upon psychological mechanisms to explain their victory, the victory of the concept of good and evil, over alternative systems of moral valuations, such as conceptions of good and bad. Thus, this was re-evaluation of moral values was a crucial preliminary objective of Nietzsche. Inherent to this objective was a critique of the value of ascetic ideal, an ideal he regarded as hostile to the enhancement of life and humanity. By repeatedly critiquing the ascetic ideal as an obstacle to human flourishing and development Nietzsche aimed to weaken these moral values and ideals, not necessarily for all of humanity but, so that future higher man would not find themselves imprisoned by those ideals and values and could instead rise to their full potential.
The first-rate admirable people follow a master morality emphasizing power, strength, egoism, and freedom. While slave morality focuses on weakness, submission, love, and sympathy. For Nietzsche, the Will to Power is the distinguished as the dominant principle of biological function, without the Will to Power abusing the weaknesses of everyone being equal, with that society cannot and will not develop. The Will to Power is also defined as the Will to Life.
... to whom the light of knowledge does not mean anything. So, the white society directed a man into a slave. However the reader of this Narrative knows that the slaveholders’ attempt to convert a man into a slave was unsuccessful in Douglass’ case. His kind hearted mistress sparked a fire within Douglass when she taught him to read. That fire of manhood eventually raised within his heart and his manpower erased his slave like attitudes, and made a slave into a powerful man. Next he was ready to escape from South which was further a big turning point in his life. His desire for freedom was as strong as his desire to read. He said, “This was what I wanted” (92). Douglass tried to save others from abusing by writing “several protections”(94). At the end of the book, Douglass’ huge change of position made him a powerful speaker, teacher, and saver from a passive slave.
Nietzsche’s society depended more on the human’s strength, human nature was seen weak if someone lacks to specific strength. And so because of the society’s stresses and pressures, humans were seen as machines. There was the sense of frustration to be original and creative and that’s why Nietzsche thought that human should be led by a hero.
Enter here The ear splitting crackle from a whip is heard as a master shouts orders to a slave. This to most people would make them comfortable. The idea of slavery is one that is unsettling to most people. This is because most people feel it is unmoral or morally wrong to own another human being. However Nietzsche would not necessarily believe this because he did believe in a morality that fits all. Ethics and morality are completely objective and cannot be one set of rules for everyone. Ethics and morality that are more strictly defined are for the weak, the strong do not need a set of rules because they can take care of themselves.
...Hence he concluded that individuals of a society governed by capitalism risked falling into a state of nihilism bereft of meaning. Moreover, the solution he believed was that of a superhuman. A superhuman understands life’s lack of intransience and consequentially looks within for meaning. However, life’s transitory quality results in the superhuman having to constantly recreate in order to overcome the continuously new obstacles thrown at him. Correspondingly, Nietzsche ascertains the quest for satiation of one’s hedonistic insatiable desires, is the greatest strength for a superhuman. This is chiefly due to it being the underlying source for man’s insatiable desire to overcome. Coincidentally, the syntax, as noted by Ginsberg, is one of a pyramidal structure. The monotonic crescendo, symbolizes Solomon’s growing madness and its correlation with a heightened joy.
While critical of the attitude found in the ressentiment of slave morality, Nietzsche’s includes it as an important factor contributing to the bad conscience of man. Even though Nietzsche dislikes the negative results of bad conscience – man’s suppression of his instincts, hate for himself, and stagnation of his will -- Nietzsche does value it for the promise it holds. Nietzsche foresees a time coming when man conquers his inner battle and regains his “instinct of freedom.” In anticipation of that day’s eventual arrival, Nietzsche views the development of bad conscience as a necessary step in man’s transformation into the “sovereign individual.”
September 10, 2009. Cambridge Critical Guide to Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morality, Simon May, ed., 2010. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1473095>. Nietzsche, Friedrich.
I also think that the difference between the two types of moralities mentioned in the text book by Nietzsche are that the master morality makes its personal values and stands beyond good and evil, whereas, slave morality values kind-heartedness, meekness, and compassion. The master exceeds the weakness of the ordinary individual. Dylan, I do agree with you that in the long time you find yourself with more master morality and some slave molarity as well. As for me I would say I am a mixture of the two because under slave morality I hold to the standard that are advantageous to the feeble or powerless and under master morality I create my own values out of strength. On the other hand, Co-occurrence of the two moralities is not possible because
The aim of this paper is to provide a detailed explanation on Nietzsche’s concept of eternal recurrence, and then proceeds to determine whether such a concept results in the betterment of a free spirit’s life, or whether this is not the case. Before determining whether the concept has a positive outcome or not, it is important to provide a detailed...
Firstly, Nietzsche stated that life is death in the making and all humans should not be determined by an external force rather, he believed that humans should have the incentive to think for themselves. Nietzsche claimed the future of a man is in his own hands. Simultaneously, humans are phased with struggles in the attempt to self-create themselves. Nietzsche proceeded with his argument affirming
By looking at one of Nietzsche’s specific postulations of perspectivism, we can get a better idea of precisely how this term applies to his philosophy and how it relates to the “tru...
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.
The church told them that they had original sin and that by focusing on God, Heaven, and one’s soul, the church can fix the sin inside one. This is Nietzsche’s theory called Metaphysical. The Metaphysical theory says that the church has one pay attention to their internal instead of having the followers focus on the life they live now. By focusing just on God, Heaven, and Soul, one is deemphasizing the importance of the religion itself. With the revaluation of values, Nietzsche focused on morality, more specifically, Master Morality and Slave Morality. Master Morality is when one is concerned with strength and competition, and achieving goals is an accomplishment. Slave Morality deals with concepts of good and evil with the Evil representing the Master morality. The slave morality lives within the master’s shadows and will reject what the master stands for, this morality will suffer from resentment also, both moralities can be found in the same person. In a person, the Master morality vision has gone beyond the concepts of good and evil and has looked into a deeper meaning in themselves, but the master morality is not an end
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the brilliant mind behind the 17th century’s epic poem “Faust”, illustrates a combining structure of desire and self-indulgence. His idea was to capture the ideal image of good vs. evil and how easily it can be misconstrued. “Of all the great dualities of hum an experience 'good and evil' have been the most instrumental in shaping the beliefs, rituals, and laws, of Homo Sapiens.”(Argano)
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