Nietzsche’s Philosophical Critiques: Reason, Morality, and the Two Worlds
Friedrich Nietzsche: Key Philosophical Critiques
The Critique of Platonism: The True and Apparent Worlds
Nietzsche critiques the philosophy of Platonism. This theory states that reality is divided into two worlds: one “true” and one “apparent” (appearances). This Western philosophy maintains a metaphysical optimism toward existence, denying its tragic aspects and taking refuge in an illusory world, namely, the world of ideas. According to Nietzsche, this is a major error, as it values the “true” world against the apparent one.
For Nietzsche, Platonism refers not only to Plato but also to Christianity and other theories, such as Kant’s (noumenon and phenomenon), which he considers forms of Platonism. Nietzsche’s philosophy affirms life, and therefore Platonism must be overcome to affirm the existence of a single world.
Nietzsche announced the end of the error committed by Platonism: the removal of these two worlds. This leads to the time of nihilism and the message of Zarathustra: God is dead, God being the ultimate symbol of the “real” world.
The Masters of Suspicion and the Tyranny of Reason
Nietzsche is one of the four masters of suspicion. As a highly critical thinker, he directs his attacks on the entire Western tradition. Western culture is conceived as a struggle between two forces, two principles symbolized by the Greek gods: Apollo and Dionysus. For Nietzsche, reason in the West has imposed itself upon life and has drowned it, effectively killing it. This desire for reason is mainly found in philosophy, but also in science.
Nietzsche calls this error “Egyptianism” (or “Aegypticism”): the commitment of Western philosophy to halt the evolution of life by trapping it in stable, rational, and universal concepts. But after nihilism, it is now time to end this error and see reason become a fable. Thus, we speak of the “yawn of reason.”
It is unclear whether this yawn announces that reason is going to sleep, or if it is rather a symptom of the awakening of reason that has been dormant—not a false reason, but a truly awakened understanding of reason. In any case, reason, for Nietzsche, should be subject to life. Therefore, reason (philosophy, science) is not a good path for the knowledge of life. It is, however, art and poetry (through which we champion Dionysus against Apollo).
Virtue and the Genealogy of Morals
In On the Genealogy of Morals, Nietzsche studies ancient Greece and concludes that the words “good” and “bad” initially had no moral significance. “Good” referred to noble blood or lineage, not spiritual quality. The characteristics of this nobility were strength, heroism, and the affirmation of their capacity in the face of adversity. They were admired for these characteristics by commoners who lacked those qualities.
However, a reaction arose from these commoners. For Nietzsche, morality is born as a reaction of ressentiment (resentment) from the commoners (vassals, ignoble slaves) against the nobles (lords, those who affirm life). This reaction established fixed values, universal standards, absolute and immutable rules that kill the creativity and spontaneity of life. What was once considered good becomes evil, and vice versa. Thus, morality is an invention of the slaves to counteract their helplessness and lack of affirmation of life.
The concept of virtue, inherited from Socrates, suffers a radical transformation. The concept is transformed by Platonism, Christianity, and Kant into an obligation aimed at achieving the “real” world. The task of the Übermensch (Superman) will be to overturn this concept of virtue through the revaluation of all values, placing humanity beyond good and evil.