Essay on On the Genealogy of Morality - 1200 Words

Friedrich Nietzsche’s â€Å"On the Genealogy of Morality† includes his theory on man’s development of â€Å"bad conscience.† Nietzsche believes that when transitioning from a free-roaming individual to a member of a community, man had to suppress his â€Å"will to power,† his natural â€Å"instinct of freedom†(59). The governing community threatened its members with punishment for violation of its laws, its â€Å"morality of customs,† thereby creating a uniform and predictable man (36). With fear of punishment curtailing his behavior, man was no longer allowed the freedom to indulge his every instinct. He turned his aggressive focus inward, became ashamed of his natural animal instincts, judged himself as inherently evil, and developed a bad conscience (46).†¦show more content†¦Man’s development of â€Å"bad conscience† is a complicated process that sees its beginnings in slave morality’s doubling of the doer and the deed. According to Nietzsche, the slave (the weaker man) had developed ressentiment towards the noble (the stronger man), labeling the noble as evil and blaming him for slave’s suffering (20-22). The slave separated the noble (the doer) from his instinctive actions (the deeds) and claimed the noble possessed â€Å"free will;† the slave believed â€Å"the strong are free to be weak† (26). The slave set up the ideal of his own weak and passive instincts being â€Å"good† and the strong and active instincts of the nobles being â€Å"evil† (26-27). As stated by JHarden, when defining his weakness as good, â€Å"the slave turned [his] natural condition of suffering at the hands of others into a condition which should be desired† (JHarden). As religions developed, and the slave morality became dominant, this ideal of good and evil prevailed and forced man to become conscious of his instincts as separate from himself, something he cou ld control. In Nietzsche’s account, the original free-roaming man lacked memory. To be happy and to not hold on to the pain of unpleasant memories, man possessed an â€Å"active ability† to forget (36). Man’s memory developed as he formed relationships and began making promises to repay debts to his creditors. He had to remember to repay on time or face the pain of punishment – a pain that the creditor of this relationship tookShow MoreRelatedThe Book On The Genealogy Of Morality1423 Words   |  6 Pageswork, but the connection between them is discussed best in his book On the Genealogy of Morality. The first of the three essays outlines two alternate structures for the creation of values, which is credited to masters and the other to slaves. These two structures are controlled by different intangible themes. The first is ‘good/bad’ in terms of master morality and the second is ‘evil/good’ in terms of the slave morality. Noble classes and races, according to Nietzsche, started by defining theirRead MoreIn essay two of Nietzsche’s ‘On the Genealogy of Morality’, ‘Guilt’, ‘bad conscience’ and related700 Words   |  3 PagesIn essay two of Nietzsche’s ‘On the Genealogy of Morality’, ‘Guilt’, ‘bad conscience’ and related matters, Nietzsche seeks to explore the origins and constructs of guilt and in doing so, presents us with an account where the concept of guilt has been misconstrued by the evolution of society. This very shift in our understanding of guilt has subsequently led to, what Nietzsche claims to be, â€Å"bad conscience†. To understand this evolution of guilt and the entity of â€Å"bad co nscience† it is necessary toRead More Exegesis and Critique of Nietzsche’s Conception of Guilt In The Second Essay of On the Genealogy of Morality2429 Words   |  10 PagesExegesis and Critique of Nietzsche’s Conception of Guilt In The Second Essay of On the Genealogy of Morality In the Second Essay of On the Genealogy of Morals (titled â€Å"â€Å"Guilt,† â€Å"Bad Conscience,† and the Like†), Nietzsche formulates an interesting conception of the origin and function of guilt feelings and â€Å"bad conscience.† Nietzsche’s discussion of this topic is rather sophisticated and includes sub-arguments for the ancient equivalence of the concepts of debt and guilt and the existence of anRead MoreExamining Good and Bad Conscience in Friedrich Nietzsches Genealogy of Morals1625 Words   |  7 PagesFriedrich Nietzsche is recognized for being one of the most influential German philosophers of the modern era. He is known for his works on genealogy of morality, which is a way to study values and concepts. In Genealogy of Morals, Friedrich Nietzsche mentions that values and concepts have a history because of the many different meanings that come with it. Nietzsche focused on traditional ethical theories, especially those rooted in reli gion. Not being a religious man, he believed that human lifeRead MoreMaster Morality vs. Slave Morality: Neiztche867 Words   |  4 PagesMaster Morality vs. Slave Morality: Neiztche Wikipedia defines morality as â€Å"a system of principles and judgments based on cultural, religious, and philosophical concepts and beliefs, by which humans determine whether given actions are right or wrong.† (Wikipedia Morality) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, a German philosopher thought up of the idea that there are two moralities; The master and slave morality. These define a person by there actions to there world around them and how they handle certainRead MoreMorality And The Origins Of Morality852 Words   |  4 PagesNietzsche understands â€Å"morality† as the set of values typical of the European society of his days. In this sense, it is safe to say that Nietzsche opposes morality and that genealogy serves the ultimate goal of undermining it. However, it is legitimate to envision for genealogy a scope for application which goes beyond the particular morality of 19th century Germans. Accordingly, my claim is that in Nietzsche European morality represents ju st one possible form of morality. Nietzsche himself seemsRead MoreChristian Morality Has Become A Tale Of Shame930 Words   |  4 Pages According to Nietzsche genealogy of Christian morality has become a tale of shame – wherein the weak promote the propagation of a lie and foster a mistaken explanation for suffering. By overlooking the will to power that occurs naturally in all the people, Christianity cages, and dulls the will preventing it from expressing itself. This in turn creates problems by removing the individual’s ability to master their own life – turning them into puppets under the guidance of the government. From theRead MoreMost Of The Times Nietzsche Understands And Uses The Word744 Words   |  3 Pagesand uses the word morality as the set of values and ideals typical of Christian western society. In this sense, it is safe to say that Nietzsche opposes morality and that genealogy serves the ultimate goal of undermining it. However, genealogy h as of course a scope for application beyond the particular morality of 19th century Germans. Accordingly, my claim is that in Nietzsche Christian-western morality represents a particular instance of a more general concept of what morality is. So for exampleRead MoreNietzsche : Genealogy Of Morals854 Words   |  4 PagesNietzsche: Genealogy of Morals going to tell us about these morals that will show us that what we do is more about those humanly principles rather than legal principle? Nietzsche: Genealogy of Morals is consisted of 3 essays about morals. I will be talking and summarizing the first essay that he wrote for the Genealogy of Morals. Nietzsche expresses his dissatisfaction with certain English psychologists. He s not too happy with them because they try to explain the origin or morality and claim toRead MoreThe Dependency On God s Opinion Essay1496 Words   |  6 PagesAdditionally, while it makes sense that punishment is given to those who fail to pay their debts back to their creditors, many people now will shy away from the idea of cruelty despite the fact that â€Å"making-suffer felt good†¦ a true festival† (Genealogy of Morality, 41). Suffering is still necessary to teach and bind others to obligation, which is another reason why the concept of a god is quite readily accepted – said god/creditor will be the audience to human suffering. When our inherent sense of indebtedness