Friedrich Nietzsche On the Genealogy of Morals Nietzsches

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals �Nietzsche's complaint � Philosophers do not adequately take into account the history of moral terms.

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals �Nietzsche's complaint � Philosophers do not adequately take into account the history of moral terms. � Because of this, they assume that unegoistic actions were always regarded as good.

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals �Nietzsche's complaint � Philosophers do not adequately take into account the history of moral terms. � Because of this, they assume that unegoistic actions were always regarded as good. �Nietzsche's genealogical method � By tracing the history of our ethical concepts and showing how they have changed over time, Nietzsche hopes to undermine the conventional moral values they support.

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals �The origin of “good and bad” � “The ‘good’ themselves—that is, the noble, the powerful, the superior, and the high-minded—were the ones who felt themselves and their actions to be good. . . and posited them as such. ” � They did not regard unegoistic actions as good, but approved of actions that enhanced their power. � It was only the resentiment of the weak that brought about a transvaluation of these values.

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals �Master and slave morality � Master morality: Originally created by the strong and powerful, who regarded themselves as “good, ” and the weak and powerless as “bad. ”

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals �Master and slave morality � Master morality: Originally created by the strong and powerful, who regarded themselves as “good, ” and the weak and powerless as “bad. ” � Slave morality: Created by the weak and powerless out of resentment for the strong and powerful, who they labeled “evil. ”

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals �Master and slave morality � Master morality: Originally created by the strong and powerful, who regarded themselves as “good, ” and the weak and powerless as “bad. ” � Slave morality: Created by the weak and powerless out of resentment for the strong and powerful, who they labeled “evil. ” �Thus, while the master morality begins positively with a concept of the strong and noble and labels it “good, ” the slave morality begins negatively with a concept of that which is hated and labels it “evil. ”

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals �Guilt and bad conscience � Our idea of conscience is the product of a long history of transformations. � It did not arise from the practice of punishment. � Bad conscience originally arose from our transition to civilized society, which required the increased use of conscious reflection, and the inhibition of our instincts, which we then turned on ourselves. � Guilt reaches its peak with the sense of indebtedness to the Christian God for sacrificing himself.

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals �Asceticism � Asceticism is born of ressentiment, when an unsatisfied instinct leads one to try to repress it. � “The ascetic ideal is derived from the protective and healing instinct of a degenerating life. ” � Ultimately, asceticism represents “a will to nothingness, an aversion to life, a rebellion against the most fundamental preconditions of life, but which is and remains none the less a will. . . man would rather will nothingness than not will at all. ”

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals �Asceticism � Asceticism is born of ressentiment, when an unsatisfied instinct leads one to try to repress it. � “The ascetic ideal is derived from the protective and healing instinct of a degenerating life. ” � Ultimately, asceticism represents “a will to nothingness, an aversion to life, a rebellion against the most fundamental preconditions of life, but which is and remains none the less a will. . . man would rather will nothingness than not will at all. ” �Becoming the author of Value