An Enduring But Often Confusing Theory of Morality

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	• On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo Friedrich Nietzsche Vintage, 1989 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An Enduring But Often Confusing Theory of Morality

This is a complex, often confusing, yet a very important book, because it gets at the bottom line of one of the thorniest conundrums ever to face man: The problem of where his morals originate. Although several books have readdressed this issue in light of new findings in psychology (Freud in his Civilization and its discontents), social psychology (Robert Wright's Moral Man), and Anthropology (Ernest Becker, Angel in Armor) just to name my three favorites, none have done so with either the emotional intensity or philosophical depth as has Nietzsche.

In this, Nietzsche last book, he locates the origins of morality at the intersection of man's transition from hunter-gathers to agrarian societies. With the advent of agrarian societies, there was a crossover in the survival value of violence versus that of cooperation: man's instinct for violence cease to have the survival value equal to that of cooperation. And as a result, he was forced to learn to outwardly suppress his violent instincts by more and more turning them inward. This conversion of outward violence into an inner struggle, allowed man to use his conscience to carve out an inner life, which was a mixed blessing as there were both collateral benefits and penalties. Along with guilt and bad conscience, man also acquired a sense of beauty. The upshot of his inner struggles was that they eventually got resolved through the development of religion: Bad conscience and moral guilt could be redeemed or forgiven through the grace and mercy of a higher, morally perfect, being.

With this as introduction, Nietzsche's story of morality takes place in three parts over the span of three essays, each of which elaborates a different aspect of the details of his theory.

The first essay deals with Good and Evil, and examines the evolution of two different kinds of moral codes: that of the master and that of the slave. The second essay deals directly with guilt, bad conscience and related moral concepts and issues. Here, Nietzsche notes that initially guilt lacked moral overtones, and was more like a monetary debt, in which the debtor was due payment and the debtor, was punished. The third essay struggles with the question of: What is the meaning of Ascetic Ideals, or, with why different cultures pursued a life of self-denial. Nietzsche's answer is that self-denial gives the individual more power and control over himself and is therefore life affirming rather than life denying.

Nietzsche's writing is dense and not for the faint-hearted, but ultimately rewarding. Five stars.

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Great gift!

I gave this to my coworker and he couldn't stop talking about how great it was!

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Astonishing Philosophy

Nietzsche's complex sequel to Beyond Good and Evil is a remarkable achievement of philosophy, philology, and history. It laid the groundwork for such 20th century thinkers as Foucault and Deleuze, though they would never reach Nietzsche's complexity and moral sophistication. In the preface to the book, Nietzsche proposes the project of investigating the origins of morality on the grounds that human beings are unknown to themselves. He is ultimately concerned with the development of moral prejudices, and the value of morality itself. He criticizes mankind in its acceptance of moral principles, and writes: "we need a critique of moral values, the value of these values themselves must first be called in question-and for that there is needed a knowledge of the conditions and circumstances in which they grew, under which they evolved and changed" (456).
Nietzsche begins the essay (Good and Evil, Good and Bad), with a philological examination of the words and roots of the words related to good and evil, and a delimitation of their evolution. He makes a connection between the creations of words and places them within the historical context of rulers and nobility. Linguistically, Nietzsche has discovered that the `good' is linked with nobility. He writes: "everywhere `noble,' `aristocratic' in the social sense, is the basic concept from which `good' in the sense of `with aristocratic soul,' `noble,'" (464). Alternatively, words associated with the `bad' invariably were linked with the `plain,' `simple,' and `low.' In this way, morality as a human construction is an extension of power, wealth, and civilization. The origin of evil is intertwined with priestly aristocracies.
Nietzsche moves into a discussion of a shift in the history of morality, in which the morality of the priestly aristocracy is superceded by Jewish morality. For Nietzsche, the Jews inverted the morality of nobility and established a system which places value on the lower order of mankind. He indicates that the Jews believed "the wretched alone are the good; the poor, impotent, lowly alone are the good; the suffering, deprived, sick, ugly alone are pious, alone are blessed by God" (470). Nietzsche describes this turn as `the slave revolt' of morality. He describes the triumph of Judeo-Christian morality over the previous system of values, and indicates that this turn is a triumph for the herd instinct, and for ressentiment. He writes: "The slave revolt in morality begins when ressentiment itself becomes creative and gives birth to values: the ressentiment of natures that are denied the true reaction, that of deeds, and compensate themselves with an imaginary revenge" (472). Noble morality develops as an affirmation of itself, while slave morality always says No to what is external to it. For Nietzsche, the need to constantly turn outward to an external `other' and place judgment on it is the essence of ressentiment.
In the proceeding section of the treatise, Nietzsche discusses civilization's taming of man the animal. Here he writes: "Supposing that what is at any rate believed to be the `truth' really is true, and the meaning of all culture is the reduction of the beast of prey `man' to a tame and civilized animal, a domestic animal, then one would undoubtedly have to regard all those instincts of reaction and ressentiment through whose aid the noble races and their ideal were finally confounded and overthrown as the actual instruments of culture" (478). Nietzsche insists that Europe's taming of man is a tremendous danger, for we are made to be weary of our own being. For Nietzsche, this weariness and fear of man has compelled us to lose our love for him, to turn our backs on our instincts, to reject affirmation.

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On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo.

_On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo_ consists of translations by Walter Kaufman and R. J. Hollingdale of the works _On the Genealogy of Morals, A Polemic_ (_Zur Genealogie der Moral, Eine Streitschrift_), first published in 1887, and _Ecce Homo_, written in 1888, by the tormented German thinker Friedrich Nietzsche. _On the Genealogy of Morals_ was Nietzsche's eighth book and consists of three essays which reveal his opposition to Christian morality. _Ecce Homo_ was an autobiographical work which consists of several chapters detailing Nietzsche's philosophy. Nietzsche's philosophical viewpoint may be described as that of aristocratic radicalism, in which he sets up an opposition between the morality of the masters and what he terms "slave morality". It is this "slave morality" motivated by a spirit of ressentiment that Nietzsche seeks to overcome by a return to the morality of the masters. Nietzsche is firmly opposed to the Judeo-Christian tradition, which he views as the culmination of slave morality. Indeed, according to Nietzsche the slaves sought to revolt against their masters by supplanting the morality of the masters with their own which glorifies the weak, meek, and sickly. Instead, Nietzsche advocates a revaluation of all values with a return to the morality of the masters, who are proud, strong, and heroic.

_On the Genealogy of Morals_ consists of a preface followed by three essays and an appendix which consists of aphorisms from his various writings. The preface notes the slave rebellion in morality, in which a morality of pity came to replace the morality of the masters. Nietzsche references the work of Schopenhauer, his great teacher, who he believes has made possible a new Buddhism for Europeans - nihilism. The first essay of this book is entitled ""Good and Evil", "Good and Bad"" and it details Nietzsche's opposition to Judeo-Christianity and Christian morality as well as Platonic philosophy. Nietzsche argues that the Jews, a slave people, began a great revolt in morality which resulted in the inversion of moral values in which what previously had been called "good" and "noble" came to be replaced by the lowly, weak, and sickly. Nietzsche argues that with Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish slave revolt was accomplished in which Europe became under the sway of a Jew. Nietzsche contrasts this with the "blond German beast", the primitive Aryan tribesman, and his morality of the conquerer. Nietzsche quotes extensively from the church fathers, including Tertullian, regarding the "kingdom of God" and offers in opposition to the sign on the entrance of Dante's hell, "I too was created by eternal love", the sign "I too was created by eternal hate", instead. Nietzsche offers the opposition "Rome against Judea, Judea against Rome". In addition, Nietzsche shows how the Jews have come to conquer Rome through the slave revolt in which today in Rome they bow before three Jews and a Jewess (Jesus, Peter, Paul, and Mary). Nietzsche claims that the Renaissance represented a return to the classical idea; however with the Reformation motivated largely by ressentiment and the French Revolution the slave revolt was made complete. The second essay in this book is entitled ""Guilt", "Bad Conscience" and the Like". This essay focuses on the meaning of guilt and ressentiment showing the cruelty of punishment and torture. Nietzsche shows himself to be a primitive psychologist in his understanding of "bad conscience" and "guilt" and his theories were an important precursor to modern day psychoanalysis. The third essay of this book is entitled "What is the Meaning of Ascetic Ideals?". Here, Nietzsche focuses on Richard Wagner with whom he had a complicated relationship. Nietzsche also expresses his disgust with the German anti-Semites of the time (though only with a certain type of anti-Semite, the kind who still retained adherence to the Christian tradition). This essay ends with the following line: "man would rather will nothingness than not will", an expression of Nietzsche's nihilism. This book concludes with an appendix, "Seventy-Five Aphorisms in Five Volumes", containing various aphorisms from Nietzsche's writings.

_Ecce Homo_ was Nietzsche's last work and was not published during his lifetime. The book is subtitled "How One Becomes What One Is". _Ecce Homo_ contains a preface and three chapters, followed by discussions of several of Nietzsche's books, and then a final chapter. The chapters attempt to show Nietzsche's philosophical progression as he began his career as a philologist, the influence of Wagner on his early life, his subsequent break with Wagner, and his later writings. Nietzsche also includes commentary on his own writings, particularly his _Zarathustra_ and shows the opposition between the Dionysian and the Appolinian. Nietzsche entitles his chapters brazenly: "Why I Am So Wise", "Why I Am So Clever", "Why I Write Such Good Books", followed by his discussion of his individual works, and then "Why I Am Destiny". It has been suggested that Nietzsche may have been experiencing the early symptoms of his mental decline at this point and his complete mental collapse was to occur soon thereafter (rumored to be the result of syphilis, though probably wrongly). Nietzsche claims that he is wise because of his aesthetic sensitivities. He claims that he is clever because he can choose the right nutrition, climate, residence, and recreation for himself. He claims to write such good books because they open up a series of new, delicate, and noble experiences. And, he claims to be destiny because his anti-moral truths serve as intellectual dynamite which can topple the sickness inherent in Western culture. Indeed, Nietzsche writes, "I am no man, I am dynamite." Nietzsche opposes Dionysus to "the Crucified", as his new god of life's exuberance to overcome the god of the heavenly otherworld. Nietzsche claims that he wants no believers and that he fears that he will be worshipped and pronounced holy in the future. He wants to assure that his publishers will prevent his book from doing "mischief". Nietzsche ends with the pronouncement that he is the great immoralist and that Dionysus has come to supercede "the Crucified".

This translation of two of Nietzsche's important works includes commentary by Walter Kaufman. Some of Kaufman's commentary is useful; however Kaufman was prone to his own understanding of Nietzsche which he interjected all too often. Nevertheless, these two books stand out as important works which must be understood by those who seek to develop an understanding of the rise of nihilism in the Twentieth Century.

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Two important works

This anthology of Nietzsche's writing is a marvelous work - Kaufmann's translations make the philosopher's unique style accessible and interesting to the English reader; it doesn't resort to false formality or dry academic prose as is often the case in translation of such material, but rather sets things in lively and dynamic tones, much as Nietzsche's own writing and tendency toward the dramatic was noted by his contemporaries.

Nietzsche's father was a Lutheran minister, but he died five years after Nietzsche's birth in 1844. Nietzsche was raised by his mother, grandmother and aunts; later in his life, his sister would become executor of his estate (after Nietzsche had become incapable of managing his own affairs) and reshape his philosophy and writings in her own idea - this becomes a running motif in later anthologies of Nietzsche; editors can quote and clip to fit their own agendas. In some ways, that is true of Kaufmann's text here, but in much less inappropriate ways than others, particularly Nietzsche's first editor, his sister.

Nietzsche was a star pupil from his earliest days at university in Bonn and Leipzig. His formal study was in classical philology, but his attentions turned in various directions quickly during his writing and professional life - he had an intense interest in drama and the arts, with Wagner's music and Greek drama in principal interest. His first book was devoted to these topics - 'The Birth of Tragedy'. It was not highly regarded at the time, but has since become much more appreciated as an anticipation of later developments in philosophy and aesthetics.

Nietzsche's life after this period was a very choppy one - he left the university, claiming illness, and while this developed later to be a true situation, at the time is was probably academic politics and difficulties fitting in with the establishment he was trying to break. He had a formal falling-out with Wagner, even writing later a piece entitled ' Nietzsche contra Wagner', finished just a few week prior to his going insane.

Kaufmann states in the introduction that Nietzsche's real career took off after his active life was over; under his sister's direction, many of the writings Nietzsche had managed to do and not get published, or which were published but forgotten, really took off in major directions. While his major works of Zarathustra, Ecce Homo, Will to Power and Genealogy of Morals were in various editions of disrepair (indeed, the Will to Power was never more complete than a series of notes), Nietzsche had a knack for language that made him very quotable, and his influence continued to grow well into the first half of the twentieth century, influencing art, philosophy, history, and politics in dramatic ways, if not always the ways in which Nietzsche envisioned.

For example, Nietzsche was not particularly impressed with the 'typical' German anti-semitism, which later erupted into the Nazi movement. He considered it rather bourgeois, and while he undoubted had his own issues with Jews (Nietzsche had issues with almost everyone, particularly any group, Christians included, who had a religious connection), the Nazi use of Nietzsche's work owes more to Nietzsche's sister's influence than anyone else.

Kaufmann states that 'Genealogy of Morals' is perhaps the closest in form to English-speaking philosophical discourse. This is a discussion that involves philosophy, psychology and linguistic theory, looking at morality in three different essays. The first essay explores the idea of good and evil as good and bad; Nietzsche develops the idea of master and slave morality - the slave resists the ideas of the master, and thus values things that are less likely to gain power - Nietzsche sees Christianity as an example of slave morality.

The second essay looks at the issues of conscience and guilt, and how these spawned the invention of gods. The third essay concludes the work with a look at ascetic ideas, how these relate to aesthetic ideas, and where in Nietzsche's opinion the great philosophers of the past have gone wrong.

Perhaps this later explains the second work in this collection, Ecce Homo. In this book (first published posthumously), Nietzsche analyses his own work piece by piece, as well as gives an overall assessment of his life. Nietzsche's insights into his own writings in hindsight is fascinating to behold. For example, his idea of his work in the first piece of this collection, the Genealogy, is as follows:

'Regarding expression, intention, and the art of suprise, the three inquiries which constitute this Genealogy are perhaps uncannier than anything else written so far. Dionysus is, as is known, also the god of darkness.'

Nietzsce is not easy reading, and this work is not the best for casual reading or the first-time reader of Nietzsche. However, for those who have already made some headway into understanding him, this is a good collection, for Kaufmann is one of the better translators and commentators. Kaufmann's notes here are especially valuable.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

The great philosopher's major work on ethics, along with ECCE HOMO, Nietzche's remarkable review of his life and works. Translated by Walter Kaufmann.

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