Though when most people think of superheroes they think of the type with super powers, the original idea of the ‘superman’ was developed by Friedrich Nietzsche in the 1800s. The ubermensch (literally overman in German) never had extra-ordinary powers and wasn’t developed as the protector of man. Instead, the superman is a person who has overcome all the flaws of mankind and is essentially ‘perfect.’ This idea, though it was thought of as an ideal goal that all people should strive for, has almost completely been used for less-than-good agendas. The details of what Nietzsche’s superman is supposed to be and how that compares with how it was used to the advantage of many dictatorships and other oppressive leaders is amazing and in many ways disgusting. What Nietzsche tried to create with his idea of the superman was human perfection, but what it actually created was fuel for evil in the world.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) developed his idea of the superman after many years of studying and teaching philosophy. It was a culmination of many ideals that Nietzsche felt were the ideals a person should follow to lead a perfect life. The superman is essentially his own society, determining his own values, finding his own happiness, and finding joy in being the one to control all of this himself. He doesn’t believe in a God or a soul or an afterlife, and therefore makes the most out of his life since he has no one else’s morals to follow. One interesting aspect of Nietzsche’s superman is his lack of compassion for the weak. Nietzsche believed that any pity felt for the less-abled only hindered the growth of the superman. This is very much like survival of the fittest that has allowed animals to evolve into better and better creatures. Though it seems uncaring and thoughtless, in some sense the idea makes sense because the superman is a type of evolution of man. Without the need to support the weak, the superman can rise above the common man and evolve into a greater being. These ideas are strictly philosophical and were most likely not meant to be used in the real world.
There are many people and societies, however, who believed that Nietzsche’s writings should be followed strictly. These include Adolph Hitler, National Socialism, Fascism, and even the rock star Marilyn Manson...
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... the highest virtue is to be true to yourself; sexuality must be included in a healthy, rounded life; the goal of life should be to find yourself; a high self-esteem is needed for good growth; the mind and body make up a single whole; you can't love someone else if you don't love yourself; and challenge yourself and don't live passively. These beliefs, especially in the last fifteen to twenty years, have shaped America and many other cultures into what they are today. Nietzsche was in some ways a very modern thinker and can be credited at a minimum with creating change in the world. His idea of the ubermensch was very revolutionary from the ideas at the time put forth by the Christian church and other facets of society. Though it seems extreme, many of the ideas about how the superman should be are built into the core of modern societies. None-the-less, men such as Hitler used his ideas against the rest of the world and caused much mayhem and destruction based on these ideas. It is hard to say whether Nietzsche’s idea of the superman had an overall positive or negative impact on the world, but it is for sure that society would not be where it is today if it were not for Nietzsche.
... fall by the wayside, only to be mourned by those who knew them personally. This is not the way of the superhero, no, this is a selfish, monetarily-based endeavor to keep peace with those who are bringing the most "to the table". I agree with Alsford, the power of power can only be measured through its application, and if the hero's power is misused, it is futile and worthless. In summary, I think global efforts should be made to not only maintain balance as a whole, but also to begin viewing all humanity as one, and all of humanity worth saving. By changing our view on reality, we can change the world; violence and human monitoring are not the only ways to keep the peace, we can also start employing our wits and really start talking out our problems. The issue is not whether or not the enemy is defeated, but rather whether or not our species has learned to listen.
Why is it that in most superhero movies the good guys win? Because good always outshines evil. Characteristics, feelings, and actions which are commonly shared by most people is called human nature. One can easily make a statement about human nature by reading Lord of the Flies by: William Golding and Night by: Elie Wiesel. Lord of the Flies is about a group of well rounded group of British boys who survive a plane crash and find themselves the sole inhabitants of an island. Night is an honest, firsthand account about Elie Wiesel’s life in concentration camps during the Holocaust. Through these books, one can simply say humans are essentially good, even throughout the circumstances they face.
A hero can be anyone. The modern day hero does not need physical strength or have super human powers, nor do they need to be of royal decent or obtain a high-flying place in the government. Bernard Malamud explains, “Without heroes, we are all plain people, and don't know how far we can go,” suggesting that heroes are simply role-models we use to learn from. The first introduction to the concept of the Heroes Journey was through Joseph Campbell. In his book ‘A Hero with a Thousand Faces,’ he brings to light the idea of studying the human impulse to create stories that draw on universal themes which is highlighted in his theory of the Heroes Journey. He explains, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself,” which demonstrates the idea of portraying a hero as someone who gives without the need for repayment. Similarly the founder of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, talks about heroes in his essay ‘A Study in the Process of Individuation,’ through his concept of introversion and extraversion. According to him, archetypes are distinctive universal psychic temperaments, which form the substrate from which the basic themes of human life a...
Adolf Hitler’s political goals and social philosophies can be seen vividly through a brief excerpt of his autobiography/exposition entitled “Mein Kampf” or “My Struggles.” Hitler’s thoughts seemed to arise from a mind that blamed the German
...d of a Buddhist koan, which is intended to break the hold of logic on the mind. However, rather than breaking the hold of logic on the mind, Nietzsche, with his jibing remarks, swashbuckling writing style, self-contradictions, and secrecy, is intending to break the hold of socially determined "masks," or Isms, from the perceptions of the new philosopher who will arise the day after tomorrow. Nietzsche shows us how to philosophize without Isms. The only question remaining is whether we are strong enough to take his advice.
For example, history will, one would hope, never forget the atrocity that was the Holocaust. The notion that a civilized nation could choose to hate one group so much, to the point of barbaric genocide, seems unconscionable to most. However, the anti-Semitism that prompted the Holocaust had a fairly long history in Europe as a whole. Nietzsche, though he wrote of rethinking or rejecting the values and beliefs of the society, held to a fierce anti-Semitic viewpoint. Nietzsche, in "Beyond Good and Evil," quotes Tacitus in saying that the Jews were born for slavery, and claims that Jews as a whole have inverted any and all proper values. Indeed, he seems to blame Judaism for what he would call the upside-down values of the world, saying:
The difference between a superhero, as we know from movies and comics, and a traditional hero is rather unclear for many people.. In modern times, a superhero is often a being with supernatural abilities. For example, the movies depict them as individuals with super strength, night vision, the ability to climb walls, and so on. The majority of audiences have been spoiled with these unrealistic depictions and are unable to recall the real or “traditional” hero. In the texts, The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Book of Job, and Bhagavad Gita, heroes are not “as seen on television”, but something more. The heroes in these stories carry great strengths such as wisdom, patience, and pride. To illustrate these characteristics, the protagonists themselves
We have grown weary of man. Nietzsche wants something better, to believe in human ability once again. Nietzsche’s weariness is based almost entirely in the culmination of ressentiment, the dissolution of Nietzsche’s concept of morality and the prevailing priestly morality. Nietzsche wants to move beyond simple concepts of good and evil, abandon the assessment of individuals through ressentiment, and restore men to their former wonderful ability.
Everyone dreams of being a hero however the path is narrow. The mantle of responsibility is important aspects and the presence of the heroic traits must be shown in some form. However, there will always be outliers and deemed delusional who attempt to be heroes. In Watchmen, Moore creates an omnipotent hero who lacks humanity in the portrayal of the Dr. Manhattan as a psychopathic anti-hero.
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.
...mind and domination by external stimuli, where the values of society are contaminated in both of the author’s viewpoints by the status of the individual. The final breaking point of both authors copes with the subject of self sufficiency and the role of professional occupations in weakening the minds of individuals within civilization. Although separate problems arise in both works, Gandhi and Nietzsche have a similar conclusion. They see the cure for society as lying in revolution; a complete shift in the direction of government and thought. For both authors, their revolutionary finales include an upheaval of values, spiritual strength, and an actual transition in the standing governmental position.
When reading Nietzsche, we can pick up from him that he was very educated often better than most philosophers. Or so he thought. Although he had a very poor outlook on his culture and everyday society, he had very strong opinions when it came to humans and their actions. He made strong assumptions whether people agreed with him or not. An assumption such as, he believed most philosophers and researchers were not as educated as he was, which we pick up in his writings. Nietzsche’s main goal in his essays are to educate those on morality. First, Nietzsche believed that specific words and human actions have evolved over time to things they were never intended to become. Nietzsche
Nietzsche’s ideas are most clearly reflected in Roy Cohn: a power driven, “heterosexual” lawyer, “who fucks around with guys” (Kushner 52). Nietzsche’s writings emphasize mankind’s natural desire to gain power. This desire serves as a driving force behind all of man’s actions. Nietzsche also asserted that traditional morality was an institution established to curb society’s scramble for power. Due to this belief, Nietzsche claimed man must cast aside traditional morality, as it is serves as a roadblock, in order to be more successful in his quest for power. The superman was a concept he introduced, meaning a type of man who is able to access great power as a result of releasing himself from social restraints. This was the ultimate form of mankind, and only is possible when he releases moral obligation and restraint completely, and it can be argued that Roy Cohn is Kushner’s superman.
...ot resent during Nietzsche's lifetime. However his ideas of how individual perspectives and will are shaped or influenced within a given culture are very much observable in these media forms. Mass culture as propagated by the media has imposed certain moral considerations and values on individuals that they may not necessarily have subscribed to. In effect this has led to individuals how function like zombies, following blindly concepts carried by the media as the only real issues. The mass culture advanced by the media has advanced some form of complacency that has restricted issues under consideration and that need attention by human beings. The scope of human thinking, as well as their autonomy in making decisions, has been taken away as individuals continue to operate like robots being directed by other entities, perhaps for easy political and social management.
In this essay I will first look at several reasons for the necessity of a revaluation of all values. Then I shall look at Nietzsche?s conception of the ?noble? and how through egoism, they can undertake the revaluation of all values.