Nietzsche’s Philosophy: Knowledge, Morality, and the Superman
Nietzsche’s Epistemology: The Problem of Knowledge
According to Nietzsche, traditional metaphysics considers reality as static, fixed, and immutable. Compared to the true reality of becoming and multiplicity, philosophy has posited essences, substances – something immutable, static, and permanent – as the true reality of things. This distinction, originating with Plato, between true and false, apparent reality, is, according to Nietzsche, a product of resentment and fear of life. Philosophers, in their pursuit of this ‘other world,’ are driven by resentment. This impulse to life, which Nietzsche terms the “Will to Truth,” uses reason to assert the primacy of static essences, a form of revenge against the dynamic reality of life that cannot be mastered.
Nietzsche, however, posits becoming as reality itself, without purpose or goal. This changing reality is perceived through multiple perspectives, both individual and momentary. Thus, there is no single, true reality, and the “Will to Truth” is false. Nietzsche champions the “Will to Power,” which embraces the changing reality, affirming temporary perspectives to live more fully. By acknowledging the impossibility of capturing a stable reality, individuals can utilize perspectives to enhance their lives.
From the perspective of the Will to Power, concepts are merely metaphors. These metaphors are produced through a process that moves further and further from the original, real thing. The first metaphor is the mental image formed by our perception. This image then becomes a word, expressing our individual way of capturing it, making it a metaphor of the first metaphor. These concepts become metaphors when they no longer express the original personal experience and are fixed by custom and practice, driven by the need to live in society. This leads to a conventional language, with established names and meanings, not seeking truth but future security. Over time, we forget the metaphorical origin, wrongly asserting universal concepts (essences) as true reality. Thus, philosophy, dealing with abstract concepts called “truth,” is far from reality: the end product of thinking, an imaginative construct. Even the positive sciences, which mathematize reality, are criticized by Nietzsche for only quantitatively expressing reality without addressing real, qualitative differences.
For Nietzsche, there is no absolute truth; only that which favors life can be considered “truth.” The criterion of truth is the “Will to Power,” which accepts and justifies the necessity of living with error. Therefore, Nietzsche exalts the power of metaphor as a perspective to be recognized as such, a tool that selects and plays without ever being identified with reality. The metaphor is a known perspective that helps us live fully.
Nietzsche’s Anthropology: The Problem of Man
Nietzsche’s anthropology presents a pessimistic view of man, an animal whose only weapon is intelligence to defend itself against the world. Man is weak, delicate, and destitute, yet believes himself to be the center of nature. Nietzsche believes that man must be merely a bridge to the Superman. Man is an evolutionary process, something changing (like life itself), and after a series of transformations, will surpass himself, becoming the Superman, one who embodies the Will to Power, not the Will to Truth.
Nietzsche’s Ethics: The Problem of Morality
Man, before becoming the Superman, is weak in the face of traditional morality. This morality is unnatural, denying life instincts. Its foundation has been God, whom Nietzsche rejects. God has been the major objection to life; to affirm life, it is necessary to deny God. This has happened in modern times, where “God is dead.” Thus, all traditional values are crumbling, leading to an era dominated by nihilism. This can have two meanings: one negative, where the collapse of traditional values leads to passivity and meaninglessness, and the other positive, where the death of God is an opportunity for the transmutation of values and the emergence of the Superman.
We must therefore transmute values, creating new values from the “Will to Power,” from the instincts that enhance life. This transmutation will be accomplished by the Superman, a product of evolution from the weak man, dominated by reason and the Will to Truth, to a strong, instinctive being with Will to Power. The Superman is a destructive and constant operator, accepting the tragedy of life, becoming, multiplicity, and their different perspectives. This development goes through three stages: the camel, which still assumes rational duty; the lion, the nihilist who rebels against everything but is unable to create new values; and the child, who makes life a game. The child is the Superman, who possesses the Will to Power and embraces life as an eternal return.