Nietzsche’s Superman: A Philosophical Overview
Nietzsche’s Concept of the Superman
The Will to Power and Eternal Return
The concept of the Superman arises from the will to power and its reflection on the eternal return. This eternal love for life allows humanity to constantly surpass itself. The Superman embodies new virtues and values. We prepare for the Superman’s arrival through politics, the training ground for his emergence.
Zarathustra’s Three Metamorphoses
Zarathustra’s first speech describes the spirit’s transformation: camel, lion, and child. The camel symbolizes blind obedience to tradition. The lion, representing the nihilist, rejects all traditional values. Finally, the child, free from prejudice, signifies a new beginning.
The Superior Man’s Morality
This new morality seeks to transform the mediocre individual. The superior man rejects equality, embracing hierarchies. He is not swayed by popular opinion or market forces. With God’s death, only humanity remains, a possibility open to becoming the Superman. He mocks the values of the supersensible world, embodying childlike innocence and the dancer’s playful risk-taking.
Dangers of the Superman’s Morality
The superior man’s morality presents two dangers. First, its criteria are primarily aesthetic. Second, Nietzsche saw a certain beauty in the “fury of the Germanic beast.” The superior man stands as a prophetic image of post-capitalist society.