Nietzsche: Morality, Metaphysics, and Nihilism
Nietzsche’s Critique of Western Philosophy and Thought
Nietzsche’s primary concern is the philosophical conception of the world. He felt that Plato (and Socrates) were wrong to prioritize eternal truth and goodness, denying the concept of becoming. Nietzsche’s critique of the Western tradition can be divided into several key areas:
Critique of Morality
Nietzsche refers to traditional morality as “contra-nature,” laws against natural instincts. He argues that this morality, rooted in Platonism (and flowing into Christianity), is justified by God, not man. He sees it as a symptom of decadence, of nihilism (believing in nothing, in an error). Nietzsche believes that humans do not need an absolute guide to be free, as there is no transcendent law that compels them. Nietzsche’s morality exalts life; it is the becoming of being original.
Critique of Metaphysics
Nietzsche’s ontological view is that the dogmatic philosopher is dedicated to finding truth outside of this world. However, he believes there is no separate “apparent” and “real” world, only the constant evolution of being, creating and destroying the only existing world. The “real world” is created in opposition to the “apparent world,” but this is merely a moral-optical illusion.
In his epistemological critique of metaphysics, Nietzsche states that the role of the categories with which we perceive reality is unclear. A word becomes a concept when it ceases to serve the unique and individualized reality from which it originated. Humans create concepts to survive the constant development of the world. However, we must not forget the metaphorical nature of concepts, as they do not approach truth; they are our own creations.
Critique of the Positive Sciences
Nietzsche opposes the mathematical conception of the world, which transforms the differences between things (qualities) into quantities. He considers this approach to be fundamentally flawed.
Nihilism
Nihilism, for Nietzsche, has two meanings:
- A negative consequence of Platonism and Christianity.
- A positive force, acknowledging that Western Europe is nihilistic and seeking change.
Nietzsche’s view of nihilism can be seen in three stages:
- Nihilism as a consequence of the destruction of existing values.
- Nihilism as a turning point towards a new understanding of being and humanity.
- The concept “God is dead” (referring to the monotheistic God of the metaphysicians), leading to the rebirth of multiple, finite gods that give humans freedom.
Becoming, Perspective, and the Will to Power
Reality is becoming and perspective, and a single, definitive conception of it is impossible. The conception of being as becoming points to constant movement and the result of an eternal process. Since Nietzsche’s morality exalts life, examining judgments should not focus on whether they are true or false, but whether they support life or not. The will to power is the understanding that everything is becoming and that our knowledge is knowledge of appearance. “The truth is that kind of error without which a species could [not] survive.”
Apollo and Dionysus
Nietzsche contrasts the Platonic concept, which hinders the development of the world, with metaphor. He considers the concept to be derived from art, not mathematics, Kantianism, or Christianity, as these are merely different manifestations of human reason. With the metaphor of Apollo and Dionysus, Nietzsche suggests that humans create individuality (Apollo) to survive multiplicity (Dionysus).
The Eternal Return and the Superman
The new meditation on being comes from the will to power and is based on the eternal return: “One must live life as if we were to repeat it, because, in effect, it repeats itself.” Nietzsche believed that man is a bridge to the Superman.
In Zarathustra’s first speech, he presents three metamorphoses of the spirit:
- The camel represents those who blindly obey.
- The lion represents the nihilists who oppose traditional values.
- The child, represents the one who creates a new table of values.
The new morality is based on the Superman and centers around life instincts. According to Nietzsche, the Superman knows that their interpretations do not truly approach reality; they create more places to search for it, and so on. This encompasses all aspects of the errors to which the Western tradition has led humanity.