Nietzsches Revaluation of All Values Essay - 2301 Words

In the nineteenth century, popular philosophy - particularly the Hegelian dialectic - professed that mankind was developing in an upward direction, becoming more angelic as it were. Mans moral laws were more advanced, as support for democracy and equal rights were beginning to become popular. However, Friedrich Nietzsche believed that mankind was entering a downward spiral towards complete decadence. Modern man, with its advanced morality, was, in truth, decaying on the inside. Claims of morality merely masked modern mans decay: he is veiled behind moral formulas and concepts of decency?. [not] to mask human malice and villainy?. [but] it is precisely as tame animals that we are a shameful sight?. The European disguises himself with†¦show more content†¦This guidance must be internal, from man himself: ?is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it (ibid.) On an interesting side note, Nietzsche seemed to imply, however, that not all men find God unbelievable. The Saint in Zarathustra who says, ?I make songs and sing them, and when I make songs, I laugh, weep, and mutter: thus I praise God? (Z Prologue 2), is spared the news of God?s death because he actually believed. The vast majority of mankind, though, is not like this. They are without God and need to become gods themselves in order to restore value and meaning to their actions. This need is a first indication of the necessity to revaluate all values and create new ones. Strangely enough, a second sign of the need for revaluation of values comes from Nietzsche?s doctrine of eternal recurrence. This is best described by the demon of the Gay Science: this life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every sign and everything unutterably small or great in you life will return to you, all in the same succession and sequence. [GS 341] As Arthur Danto relates, this was Nietzsche?s ?greatest weight? (ibid.), as Nietzsche himself only spoke of it in hushedShow MoreRelatedNietzsches Revaluation of All Values2314 Words   |  10 PagesNietzsches Revaluation of All Values In the nineteenth century, popular philosophy - particularly the Hegelian dialectic - professed that mankind was developing in an upward direction, becoming more angelic as it were. Mans moral laws were more advanced, as support for democracy and equal rights were beginning to become popular. However, Friedrich Nietzsche believed that mankind was entering a downward spiral towards complete decadence. Modern man, with its advanced morality, was, in truth,Read MoreThe Philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche Essay1003 Words   |  5 Pages and those who loved it loved it with a passion. Nietzsche’s works are widespread and his view is that God is dead. This is not meant literally but in the context that the Christians faith is not gaining followers but that there is an explosion of non-believers. In the Madman he states, â€Å"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death underRead MoreNietzsches Critique of Judeo-Christian Values2628 Words   |  11 Pagesï » ¿ Nietzsche’s critique of Judeo-Christian values As perhaps one of the most important pieces of work written by Nietzsche, â€Å"On the Genealogy of Morality† contains some of his most complex and provocative thoughts on the nature of morality and its origins. It is evident throughout his essays that Nietzsche has a profound discontent with modern society and its values, a discontent that Nietzsche attempts to explain through a thorough critique of the modern values that have stemmed from the riseRead MoreNietzsche s On The Genealogy Of Morals1668 Words   |  7 Pagesmy own beliefs of what is sought as â€Å"good† and what is â€Å"bad,† I chose to expand my ideas and compare them to Friedrich Nietzsche’s first essay in â€Å"On the Genealogy of Morals.† Nietzsche first debunks the ideas of Nietzsche sees two types of morality at play creating these original definitions of good bad and evil, master morality and slave morality. I will also use Nietzsche’s concept of â€Å"will to powerà ¢â‚¬  to evaluate each of these ideas. Nietzsche believes that the will to power is the force thatRead MoreNietzsche versus Gandhi Essay1378 Words   |  6 Pageshave parallel means of finding a cure to such an illness as the one that plagues society. Nietzsche’s vision of spiritual health correlates directly with Gandhi’s image of industrialism and the self-sufficiency. This correlation prevails by highlighting the apparent sickness that is ubiquitous in both of the novels. Nietzsche sees our past as replete with decadence and spiritual decay. Oftentimes the values that we blindly accept have a contemptible origin; such is the case with the foundationsRead MoreNietzsche and Gandhi, Society1414 Words   |  6 Pageshave parallel means of finding a cure to such an illness as the one that plagues society. Nietzsche’s vision of spiritual health correlates directly with Gandhi’s image of industrialism and the self-sufficiency. This correlation prevails by highlighting the apparent sickness that is ubiquitous in both of the novels. Nietzsche sees our past as replete with decadence and spiritual decay. Oftentimes the values that we blindly accept have a contemptible origin; such is the case with the foundationsRead MoreCare Theory Compare Contrast1602 Words   |  7 PagesFriedich Nietzsche Friedrich Nietzsche’s (1844- 1900) ideas on truth, religion, morality, history, nihilism, power, and meaning of existence have had an enormous influence on modern Western philosophy (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2009). His works remain highly controversial and there is widespread disagreement about their interpretation and significance. Some of the major concepts of his ideas in a very simplified way include Nihilism and the revaluation of values. Nihilism argues that lifeRead MoreNietzsche-Philosophizing with a Hammer Essay2032 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"sounding out idols† with his hammer. These are the eternal idols that have the capacity to disappear in the dark. My assumption is that he had a deliberate cause of using the paradoxical expression (Nietzsche, 1996). These idols include beliefs, ideals, values and truths and Nietzsche puts criticism on them as we tent to believe that they are eternal and that seem to rule our thought and action with a kind o f self justification. Through his philosophy, he has the intention of showing the historicity orRead MoreZarathustras Three Metamorphoses, Applied to Modernism Essay2213 Words   |  9 Pagesback into people’s daily lives, or by thinking about ways to overcome nihilism and go on without Him. This new era of modernism served as the backdrop to much of Nietzsche’s work, and had an undeniable impact on later writings such as Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The parable â€Å"The Three Metamorphoses† in that work is an outline of Nietzsche’s ideas about redemption in his contemporary period of Godless modernism. Though the title references three metamorphoses of the soul, one has already occurred whenRead MoreComparing and Contrasting the Philosophies of Nietzsche and Plato1896 Words   |  8 Pagesachieve an optimistic view; the individual must learn to love fate. This also involves accepting reality for exactly what it is and not creating a false sense of â€Å"reality†Ã¢â‚¬â€what the person would â€Å"like† to see. Because of Nietzsche’s opinion that ‘God is dead† he believed that this life was all there was, so the best way to live was to realize the true actuality of the world, and to also use the love of what is real and actual to enjoy life. Plato, on the other hand, had a completely different concept of