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The Philosophical Corner is a monthly column dedicated to the exposure and discussion of philosophy.
Friedrich Nietzsche, born in mid-17th-century Germany, was a vain genius. From his numerous books to even more essays, Nietzsche supplied the world with just a glimpse of what his mind really held.
Though Nietzsche’s works are notoriously difficult to comprehend, the real challenge lies within his ability to influence.
As most of the philosopher’s theories branch away from mid-17th century German and current Western civilization ideologies, his works chiefly endeavor to cut off his readers from their preconceived notions.
In this month’s column entry, I will briefly introduce my perspective on Nietzsche’s views regarding ethics and human nature. If they are so inclined, I encourage students to research and read Nietzsche to establish their own perspectives.
Religious values
“The Iliad,” along with any Homeric epic, depicts protagonists fueled by desires like sexual gratification, glory and wealth.
Take Achilles — when confronted with the fate-sealing choice between glorious war or peaceful but unremarkable existence, he swiftly chooses renown. The subsequent atrocities, which range from arson to mass murder, seem of little importance to our hero.
The reason for this consistency throughout the Greco-Roman world is mostly due to paganism — hierarchical religions in which immortal gods are grasped by the same jealousy and need for ultimate power as humans. In this world, success, beauty and vengeance are worshiped.
Stripped of his mortal clothes as men grabbed their nails and hammers, Jesus proclaimed, “Forgive them, Father.” Pierced by four nails and a spear, he is then buried. At this, Achilles would have erupted in laughter.
The practice of absolute forgiveness, charity and chastity is born with Judea. Directly opposing the elitist structure of paganism, Nietzsche defined the battle of Judea and Rome as the turning point of Western civilization.
“To this point, there has been no greater event than this war, this posing of a question, this contradiction between deadly enemies,” Nietzsche wrote in his 1887 book “On the Genealogy of Morals.”
Slave morality versus master mentality
By analyzing the current social landscape, it’s clear that Judea won the war. Ever since Constantine’s conversion, the Christian ideals of pity and forgiveness gradually gained control of Western civilization.
This phenomenon is beneficial to many, but for Nietzsche, it can only be suffocating.
According to Nietzsche, the concept of morality can be called “slave morality.” In other words, believing and practicing ideals such as chastity and charity are only for societal slaves.
The slaves of society will flourish within this limited field, yet they will always be controlled by the masters of society. The masters of society are those who have an aim based in glory or material success and will do anything, despite ethical boundaries, to achieve these aims. The Beethovens, Michelangelos, Napoleons and Bismarcks of our history are prime examples.
Nietzsche values these men of brilliance and power above all, and believes that everyone else is merely an instrument to be played by their masters’ chosen melodies. In turn, the emergence of human equality through Judea seems to be only a hindrance for the masters of society.
The invention of free will and resentment
According to Nietzsche, where the fuel for the master is the desire for success and glory, the fuel for the slave is resentment. Resentment is solely based on the objects that one can never obtain — the things that masters want more than anything.
An unattractive man will take up the value of chastity or stay locked in his room philosophizing. The destitute man will value kindness and pity because he requires such pity.
Since these men cannot effectively change their lives, they simply change their perspective on life. The addition of resentment, then, lies within free will.
Nietzsche was a determinist who believed that humans are who they are, and they can never change that fact. The slave will always have slave morality, and the master will always have a master mentality.
In other words, the sheep will be sheep and the falcon will be a falcon. The illusion of free will was conjured for the sheep to have the ability to blame the masters.
“The lambs say among themselves, “these birds of prey are evil; and whoever is as little as possible a bird of prey but rather its opposite, a lamb, isn’t he good?” Nietzsche wrote in “On the Genealogy of Morals.”
How ridiculous would it be if the sheep blamed the falcon for killing them and then subsequently praised themselves for not doing the same? It is in the nature of the falcon to kill, and it is in the nature of sheep to be hunted. Moral blame and moral praise can only exist if one’s innate nature isn’t absolute, which is only possible with free will.
According to Nietzsche, Christianity has resentment embedded in the foundations of its teachings. He points out the blaring hypocrisy at the end of a man’s life — the concept of heaven and hell. It is the all-loving God who created an afterlife wholly dedicated to the constant and brutal torture of those who did not follow his “virtues.” The victims of mortal life who practiced charity, chastity, forgiveness and pure kindness can then live in serenity as they smirk down at their previous masters, the utmost form of resentment.
Ethics
To track Nietzsche’s line of reasoning, he deems the morality and ethics of Christianity as simply products of resentment.
Put differently, ethics are dependent upon emotional reaction. There is no objective morality because any ethical decision is made based on fleeting emotions.
If Nietzsche had the knowledge of evolution we have today, he would most likely agree that in the absence of religion, the foundation of ethics was formed through the evolutionary mechanism of natural selection. All the secondary ethics are then dictated by emotion.
The epilogue
Though Nietzsche was a literary and psychological genius, his ideas on human nature were nothing short of pessimistic.
Whether or not readers subscribe to Nietzsche’s ideas makes no difference, but simply being exposed to his distinct views of life will only broaden their knowledge and comprehension of the world.
