Nietzsche would easily note that in the decades since he wrote the Genealogy of Morals, moral codes have continued to evolve, propelled particularly by the will to power. The theme of resentment can be easily witnessed in the rabid state of international affairs that keeps our world teetering nearly on the brink of self-destruction. The slave mentality clings to a notion of a solid enemy. Throughout human history, individuals and societies have viewed their enemies with resentment, as the embodiment of evil. Nietzsche notes that the person enslaved by resentment will view any opposing viewpoint as inherently evil. The strong dualism evident during the Cold War and now in the War on Terrorism is a prime example of the primacy of resentment in guiding world affairs toward dangerous and destructive ends. Less fearsome examples of the evolution of resentment in human consciousness include simple everyday affairs, such as the preference for certain foods. For example, the noble vegan will look the other way when someone in their family eats meat. Self-contained and self-confident, the noble vegan does not need to defend his or her food choices by launching into a diatribe about animal rights or cholesterol. The noble vegan can engage in fruitful discussions about the merits of a vegan lifestyle without labeling meat, eating meat, or producing meat as being evil. The resentment-filled vegan, on the other hand, is the shrill person at the table, the one who refuses to cohabit with anyone who eats cheese, the one who won't out at restaurants that do not have separate vegetarian kitchens. His or her resentment against the meat industry transforms into a more generalized resentment that damages his or her social life. By applying Nietzsche's teachings to this example, we can see how easily any moral system becomes stifling and dogmatic. The evolution of Christian morality,...
In this case, morals that relate to the treatment of animals become codified in similar ways as Church doctrine.
However, Nietzsche is keen to observe that the fact that there are varying standards of morality or different moralities does not mean that there is no form of biding morality. If this is the case therefore, then it is logical to argue that there are as well varying kinds of 'binding' originating from the varying moralities, for instance, the Christian binding cannot be deemed the same as the binding
Nietzsche and Nihilism "Nihilism" was the term used by Friederich Nietzsche to describe what he considered the devaluation of the highest values posited by the ascetic ideal. The age in which he lived was viewed by the German philosopher as one of passive nihilism, which he defined as the unawareness of the fact that the religious and philosophical absolutes had dissolved in the emergence of the 19th century Positivism. Since traditional
Nietzsche, what is the difference between master morality and slave morality? Which does he prefer and why? The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's seminal document The Genealogy of Morality attempts to chronicle the history or 'birth' of morality, which for Nietzsche does not originate within the innate human character but as a result of social impositions. In pre-Christian, pagan times, the strong were naturally considered to be the 'better' of the two
The slave revolt happened through creativity and through the desire for the once-weak and lowly to find happiness. In the parable of the lambs and the bird of prey, Nietzsche begins by explaining that it is understandable that lambs, being weak, would hate birds of prey because they know that birds of prey kill and eat lambs. So for the lambs, everything that is not a bird of prey can
Life: Purpose The meaning for life has illusively evaded humans for centuries. Theories abound, yet the hunger remains as mankind seeks to identify a purpose for their existence. The question of our purpose is often unknowingly based on two other unanswered queries. While some seems to construct on a meaning of life from their accomplishments, basing personal value, purpose, meaning on what he or she builds to leave behind after
Nietzsche's Woman is by turns simply a reflection of common attitudes of the time, although he occasionally sees her in a more sympathetic view. In a modern light, the understanding of Nietzsche's philosophy has often been tainted by the view of his writings as racist and misogynist. Indeed, a cursory look shows that Nietzsche's perception of women is largely negative and unflattering. Nonetheless, the great philosopher is sometimes clearly sympathetic
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