Nietzsches Revaluation of All Values - 2314 Words

Nietzsches 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, decaying on the inside. Claims of morality merely masked modern mans decay: he is veiled behind moral formulas and concepts of decencyÂ…. [not] to mask human malice and villainyÂ…. [but] it is precisely as tame animals that we are a shameful†¦show more content†¦Nietzsches favourite examples of decadent values were altruistic. An ‘altruistic morality, a morality under which egoism languishes - is under all circumstances a bad signÂ…. [because] to choose what is harmful to oneself, to be attracted by ‘disinterested motives, almost constitutes the formula for decadence. [TI Expeditions of an Untimely Man 35] In demonstrating the harmful effects of altruism, he attached little value to pity because pity, insofar as it really causes suffering Â… is a weakness, like every losing of oneself through a harmful affect (D 134). Pity promotes nothing of value, instead this depressive and contagious instinct thwarts those instincts bent on preserving and enhancing the value of life: both as a multiplier of misery and as a conservator of everything miserable it is one of the chief instruments for the advancement of decadence. [AC 7] Nietzsche believed that pity came from a mistaken notion that suffering is evil. However, the discipline of suffering, of great suffering - do you not know that only this discipline has created all enhancements of man so far? (BGE 225) Pity alters great suffering into pathetic group misery that has no value. Other values are decadent due to their universal requirement. Chastity, for example, is harmful to some: not a few who sought to drive out their devil entered into the swineShow MoreRelated Nietzsches Revaluation of All Values Essay2301 Words   |  10 Pagesthe revaluation of all values. We need a critique of moral values, the value of these values should itself, for once, be examined?. [What if] morality itself were to blame if man, as a species, never reached his highest potential power and splendour? [GM P 6] In this essay I will first look at several reasons for the necessity of a revaluation of all values. Then I shall look at Nietzsche?s conception of the ?noble? and how through egoism, they can undertake the revaluation of all values. 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. 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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