...Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher who was born in the Prussian city of Rocken. He was the son of a clergyman and became influenced by the ancient Greco-Roman civilization and the principle of “survival of the fittest.” He also strongly believed that those who do not deserve to live should perish. He attended the University of Bonn and Leipzig. There he found his new philosophical learning to be extremely meaningful and interesting. At the Age of 24, Nietzsche became a professor at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Nietzsche, later in life, emphasized the idea of “transvaluation of values”. By emphasizes this idea, Nietzsche tried to make people look beyond the traditional values and undergo the transformation that was vital in obtaining new and true values. Nietzsche also understood that there were two types of morality that existed in society. The two types of morality that Nietzsche emphasized are called master-morality and slave-morality. Master-morality is when the master is the judge and creator of all values. This is what determines the values and dominates strength. On page 214 in Great Traditions in Ethics by Theodore C. Denise, Nicholas P. White, and Sheldon P. Peterfreund Nietzsche states, “He honors whatever he recognizes in himself: such morality is self-glorification. There is a feeling of plentitude, of power, which seeks to overflow, the happiness of high tension, the consciousness of a wealth which would fain give and bestow.” In other words...
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...Friedrich Nietzsche conveys his view on freedom in short, provocative statements dispersed throughout his writings. In this essay, I will discuss Nietzsche’s conception of freedom as presented in two of his works: The Genealogy of Morals and The Gay Science. To begin, in Section 12 from The Genealogy of Morals, Nietzsche introduces to us the term, “will to power” (GM, pg 78) with which he uses synonymously with the term, “instinct for freedom” in latter sections of the essay. Although Nietzsche never clearly defines what he means when he says, “will to power,” he provides the reader a depiction of this concept through the origin of punishment. According to Nietzsche, the concept of punishment contains an aspect that is enduring and an aspect that is fluid (GM, pg 79). In other words, the act of punishing remains the same, but the meaning of the act changes radically over time. For example, while the barbarians of ancient time may have used punishment as a “festival, namely as the rape and mockery of a finally defeated enemy,” modern morality uses punishment as “a means of rendering harmless, or preventing further harm” or even “as the isolation of a disturbance of equilibrium (GM, pg 80). Thus, Nietzsche shows that the significance of punishment is not the act itself, but the meaning that we attach to it. Because the meaning of punishment is independent of the act itself, we can essentially understand...
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...Daybreak and The Gay Science Nietzsche, in both Daybreak and The Gay Science, seems to be interested in the examination of society. Society is a very vague notion; in an attempt to define, or at least reduce the area of examination, I will make the claim Nietzsche is particularly interested in the evolution of morals, customs and cultures, and the “purpose” of advancing and preserving the human race. Even more specifically, Nietzsche is examining the way in which the evolution of these different concepts has unintentionally affected the progression of the human race as a whole. Nietzsche accuses religion, Christianity in particular, of creating a sense of pride in suffering. “Cruelty is one of the oldest festive joys of mankind. Consequently it is imagined that the gods to are refreshed and in festive mood when they are offered the spectacle of cruelty – and thus there creeps into the world the idea that voluntary suffering, self-chosen torture, is meaningful and valuable.”[1] The story of Job from the Bible is a great example of how religion has helped to ingrain this notion in the human experience. This idea that suffering, and voluntary suffering at that, is a necessary part of the moral human experience is sick. Nietzsche goes onto state that once this sort of notion or custom, any custom for that matter, is accepted and followed by members of a society it tends to be passed on to the next generation; this new generation typically accepts the custom without questioning...
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...Kierkegaard vs. Nietzsche Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche are known to be two of the greatest nineteenth century existentialists of all time. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe. It regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts. Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche both felt that life is irrational. They were problem thinkers who chose not to follow the systematic approach to philosophy as their predecessors did. In this regard, they stood on common ground. Both realized that no system of philosophy operates in isolation of its creators inherent prejudices. Any subjective viewpoint is biased; therefore, objectivity is impossible in any moral example. They both recognized that God no longer exists in religion in present-day expression. Men and women go about their daily lives in a manner irreverent of the possibility that there is an all-powerful God governing their affairs. Surprisingly, they proclaim their devotion to God when questioned about it. However, in their attempts to resolve this moral affliction Nietzsche and Kierkegaard are different in their quest for a cure. The very foundations of their moral constitutions were built upon conflicting ideologies: Kierkegaard put his in Christianity, while Nietzsche’s in individualism and self-determination. Kierkegaard...
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...Priests, having dedicated and to an extent sacrificed their lives for something they believe in these men are often held in high esteem; even by those who aren’t religious. However, in the Anti-Christ Nietzsche paints these men in a new light. For Nietzsche these men are sick, and beyond this contagious. Unlike the Christian herd these men are not Christian out of ignorance, rather, they are aware of the falsehoods they teach. “A priest, not merely is wrong in every sentence he speaks, but lies—that he is no longer at liberty to lie from ‘innocence’ or ‘ignorance’. The priest too knows as well as anybody else that there is no longer any ‘God’ any ‘sinner’, any ‘Redeemer’—that ‘free will’ and ‘moral world order’ are lies: seriousness, the profound self-overcoming of the spirit, no longer permits anybody not to know about this.” (p. 611)....
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...Phil 1010 – 930a Prof. Michele C. Evans Final Exam Essay Barry Bishop II Nietzsche's assertion that 'God is dead' is not simply a theological statement. Nietzsche hasn't come up with the definitive argument to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that God could not possibly exist-except in the minds of men. This statement, although it certainly does have its theological aspect, is essentially a statement proclaiming the plight of modern Western culture. Succinctly stated, the 'Death of God' refers to the complete loss of belief in the accepted religious and metaphysical world-view along with the system of values it upholds, in particular its moral values. The 'Death of God' announces the advent of the age of nihilism, an age of cultural barrenness arising from this loss of belief, and which may well end in catastrophe as far as any truly human existence is concerned. Yet, to Nietzsche, this demise of God, this loss of belief in all that we esteemed as the highest and most valuable, is simply the natural and logical outcome, within the history of Western culture, of the accepted religious and metaphysical world-view. It all begins with the original premise of the framework of Platonism, which, according to Nietzsche, became the ground of all subsequent metaphysical, religious, moral, historical and political views on man and his place in the universe. Broadly, that original Platonic or Socratic premise claimed that existence is bifurcated into two separate asymmetrical...
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...Nietzsche v Plato Nietzsche’s Three Metamorphoses and Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave,” are both similar and vastly different. Nietzsche speaks of three phases in which we as humans traverse in our lives towards a kind of enlightenment. Plato speaks of how we as humans need to open our minds in order to attain a better knowledge towards enlightenment. Both express ways towards accomplishing an understanding of life around us. The difference between the two is the journey towards finding ourselves. Both Nietzsche and Plato highlight important factors and way to towards enlightenment and a better self. In the Three Metamorphoses, Nietzsche describes the first phase as a camel. In this phase, we as humans are ready to prove ourselves. We bring on the heaviest and hardest ideas that we can comprehend. We try to understand everything around us and take it all on. In this phase, we are trying to find ourselves, we seek out and absorb as much as we can. Humans test the waters of different ideas in an effort to mold ourselves in a way that we deem worthy. This is a time in our lives where we The second phase Nietzsche speaks about is when the camel becomes a lion. Here, we realize what is important to us as individuals. We become lions and strike out ideas that we do not see fit. Whatever we took on as camels, we now reflect back and weed out certain things that aren’t truths to us. As we grow older and experience in our lives has granted us wisdom, we realize...
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...Kant vs. Nietzsche One of the most fundamental questions in philosophy is what the most important thing we are looking for is and what effects it has on our lives. There are different views related to such a fundamental question. The treatment of people is the question of morality. We are going to take a look at positions taken by great German philosophers Kant and Nietzsche on the question of morality and the way people should be treated, based on their arguments presented in theories developed by them. Kant’s philosophy is based on the assumption that there is a metaphysical dimension which implies that there are some absolute things that do exist outside of human beings and which are the ends in themselves (not intended to promote an achievement of any other end). Kant calls these abstract absolute things the categorical imperative. The categorical imperative in his view is something that is not dependent on anything else and, therefore, should be something that we should strive for. The concept of the categorical imperative is important because we can use it to determine whether our actions are being moral through the application of the universal law, which implies the categorical imperative. The universal law says that we should never act except in such a way that we can also will that our maxim should become a universal law. The whole system of Kant’s morality is based on the assumption that there is an autonomous will, which is the source of moral action and decision-making...
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...Friedrich Nietzsche is a famous philosopher whose works have made him one of Germanys most profound scholars to-date as well as an interesting character in the history of philosophical thought. Nietzsche was well known for challenging Christianity as well other monotheistic religions for their apparent suppression of the poor and the working classes. In the context of the 1800’s, the philosophical movement of the enlightenment was helping Europeans move away from structural monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church by use of reasoning. (Anderson, 2007, p510). Being raised in a Catholic household, his Grandfather and father were both pastors who encouraged a young Friedrich down a religious route. However, at the age of 14 he surprised them all after he decided he was not going to confirm as a catholic (Hill, 2007, p6). One major contribution of work by Nietzsche is his concept of the death of God. This came as a reaction to the Enlightenment era- understanding reason to reject the Church in favour of liberty. Probably his most famous contribution to philosophy (Nietzsche, 1882/2006, p90) ‘God is dead’ uses a parable of a madman accusing the atheists of killing God without realising. He calls this...
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...Morality As Anti-Natural: Nietzsche believes life and nature are either ascending or descending and the descending line of life favours anti-natural practices and slave morality. Humans are susceptible to temptations motivated by drives. The descending line of life cannot channel energy from these negative drives into something more positive, since this is only a property of the strong. They must excise the passions or drives out of their lives completely by denying their bodies, self-mortification and the body soul separation idea. However, Nietzsche believes that the drives in their raw form should be transformed rather than exterminated, as this would be anti-natural. The idea that the counter tyrant to drives is reason, is hostile towards...
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...Nietzsche declared that God was dead and believed that people would be completely lost after this realization. He also proposed the two major aspects of human nature, the Apollonian and the Dionysian. Jung proposed that the collective unconscious, information reflective of human experience as a whole, was the most important component of personality. Kierkegaard stressed faith and having a personal relationship with God. Batson formed the three-dimensional model of religion, which characterized how people view and use their own religion. Nihilism is the belief that any search for the truth will fail because what is considered true will always vary. Nietzsche made the statement that “God is dead”. This was not meant to be taken literally, and...
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...Nietzsche’s Truth and Lies Nietzsche’s belief of the truth is that we in fact have no clue whatsoever of the actual truth, but have merely decided on some choice metaphors and phrases to give us the illusion of what the truth is. This, as well, as the self satisfaction of giving ourselves the idea that we know what the truth in fact is. According to Nietzsche all knowledge and truth is anthropomorphic. By this idea not a single point of truth is true in itself or valid except under the eyes of humans. Truth is an idea that came from the human’s need to designate things and communicate. However, just because we as humans call or designate something as such doesn’t mean that is in fact what it is. If you show someone what we call a dog, and call it a dog, they will designate it as such, but not because that is what it is, but because we have decided that that is what we should call it. This whole process involves taking a stimuli and creating an “image metaphor” for it and then a sound metaphor to it, which results in the creation of language. The human brain categorizes the stimuli into specific areas and different concepts that represent the idea of individualized objects and then rejects everything that isn’t that as not true. The thought is that we as humans have created our own thoughts of what we call truth and turn against anything we decide to be a lie, even though we have engineered what truth is without it actually being so. In being human, we don’t actually...
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...Taylor Dordick Philosophy 320.19 December 11, 2013 Final Question 3 Friedrich Nietzsche and Hannah Arendt both wrote extensively about the foundations of moral philosophy and the formation of the ethical self. Nietzsche, in “On the Genealogy of Morals”, centers his own moral philosophy on the concept of a supra moral individual, which he specifically defines in terms of someone who is effectively free and sovereign, not bound by the bourgeois “morality of custom”. Defined as acting autonomously, capable of “measuring value” and being “entitled to make promises”, such an individual gains the cherished freedom of “responsibility” which is ultimately internalized as “conscience”. Arendt, in “Responsibility and Judgment”, focuses on the notion of a moral individual who is in “harmony” with his or herself, a state of mind that is gained from independently considering and arriving at fundamental moral guidelines. Like Nietzsche, Arendt asserts that moral beliefs and decisions must stem from this sense of internal harmony and justice, as opposed to simple obedience to demands imposed from outside. However, Arendt anchors her own portrayal of moral autonomy in more Kantian terms of a categorical imperative and ultimately a sense of dignity and self respect that derives from acting with conscience. Nietzsche begins his second essay titled “‘Guilt’, ‘Bad Conscience’, and Related Matters”, with a mixture of observation and sarcastic wit, “The breeding of an animal which is entitled to...
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...How might Nietzsche be considered the ultimate critical thinker? In order to determine if Nietzsche could be considered the ultimate critical thinker, it might be necessary to ascertain whether or not critical thinking is a system that could be used as a framework with which to validate data against a set criteria. Proceeding upon the determination of whether or not critical thinking is a system of principles containing specific criteria, and perhaps defining its principles, it may be possible at that point to begin deducing the pertinent data in order to make a judgment of whether or not Nietzsche qualifies as meeting the criteria. The word critical is derived from the Greek term Kritikos which translates to - discernment or the ability to judge. Further, critical thinking is said to be analytical skills, effective communication, research and inquiry skills, flexibility and tolerance for ambiguity, and open-minded skepticism. I will posit that concerning the first three, hardly anyone will argue the fact that Nietzsche was very well adept at these. It seems as though the last skill is very important in the attempt to qualify Nietzsche as being the ultimate critical thinker. In consideration of Nietzsche following the principles of critical thinking, it could be argued that the skill of open-minded skepticism, or skepticism in particular and particularly in Nietzsche's case, might apply most accordingly with what Nietzsche was attempting to accomplish with his philosophies...
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...disadvantageous. Philosophers have looked to offer insight and understanding to the idea of a higher power, aiming to try to grasp its complex nature. Friedrich Nietzsche a 19th century philosopher takes a different approach to the idea of religion in his literary narrative “The Gay Science”. In this narrative Nietzsche makes the bold statement that “God is Dead” (Nietzsche 95), claiming that we are responsible. This is rather extreme statement in any context, however considering the time period in which he was writing, a time where...
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