Nietzsche’s Philosophy: Rethinking Values and the Will to Power
Humanity
Using genealogical methods, Nietzsche investigates moral concepts from an etymological and historical perspective. Across cultures, “good” is associated with nobility, pride, and strength, while “evil” is linked to the plebeian, humility, and obedience.
According to Nietzsche, a transformation of values began with the Jews and continued with Christianity. This was a slave revolt fundamentally rooted in resentment.
Nietzsche saw a need for a revaluation of values, centered on the affirmation of life. He believed new values were needed, originating from a celebration of life rather than resentment towards it. Humanity has labeled as “good” all that is hostile to life, hence the need for revaluation. This revaluation is embodied in the Übermensch (Superman), the only one with the creative force to forge new values, driven by the will to power. The will to power is a creator of values, and only the Superman, as its bearer, can create them. The Superman emerges from three transformations of the spirit: the camel burdened by the past, the lion’s individual assertion and rebellion against the past and Christian morality, and the child, innocent and situated beyond traditional morality, possessing the willpower to create new values.
Society
Nietzsche believed Western culture was mired in nihilism, defined by a decline in the will to power within a civilization. He saw this as the impending fate of Western civilization.
Nietzsche distinguished between passive nihilism and active nihilism. Active nihilism has both destructive and creative aspects. Destructively, it actively dismantles obsolete values. Creatively, this destruction paves the way for the creation of new values.
Knowledge
Nietzsche advocated for accepting the testimony of the senses, embracing appearances as real. “Things-in-themselves” and other metaphysical concepts are mere linguistic deceptions arising from underestimating the senses and overestimating reason. Nietzsche argued that the great error of metaphysics, from Plato to Kant, was positing a real world separate from the apparent world, when only the apparent world is real.
Nietzsche connected all thought to the will to power, including the desire for knowledge. Being itself is a manifestation of this will, as is science. Science is an attempt to impose laws on ever-evolving nature for control and domination.
Knowledge, for Nietzsche, is interpretation, inseparable from life. This interpretation must be based on the necessities of life, with the ultimate goal of controlling and shaping the future. Absolute truth is a fabrication of reason, unable to withstand the movement of the future. Some beliefs, more necessary for survival, are considered absolute truths, while others, deemed useless, are labeled errors or falsehoods. These “truths” become embedded in language, creating a problematic situation where they are mistaken for accurate representations of reality.
God
According to Nietzsche’s nihilism metaphor, Western civilization is losing its values. He argued that it has lost its guiding star, represented by God and the values embodied by this figure. Western culture is engaged in self-destruction. Christianity, as the source of Western cultural manifestations, is presented as the carrier of nihilism and the enemy of life. Therefore, Christianity is the primary target of Nietzsche’s cultural critique.