Three questions assigned to me in History class two weeks ago... Only now do I do them.
What is Nietzsche's view on human nature?
...man must understand that life, which abounds in cruelty, injustice, uncertainty, and absurdity, is not governed by rational principles. There exist no absolute standards of good and evil, no timeless principles, whose truth can be demonstrated by reflective reason. The hgierh world of metaphysics is a myth; so too is the Christian heaven. Nothing is true. There is only naked man living in a godless, chaotic, meaningless, and absurd world. The strong must face this reality. The weak cannot, so they invent fables about a higher reality and a future life.1
Nietzsche seemed most unsatisifed with the current state of life, where logic ruled men's minds and hearts. He attacked value and tradition for their lack of insite towards his only ultimate truth: there aren't any ultimate truths.
A world bound by intellect and logic suffocated man's true calling to creativitiy, and creativity alone is most natural. Ironic how Nietzsche's philosophy, packed with insight and big words, calls for for the abandonment of "excessive intellect" and logic. And in the absent of this excess lie man's natural instinct, which Christianity sought to prohibit. Christianity, said Nietzsche, was "the religion of pity", used to amass the weak linked by their disdain for the strong.
Explain the concept of "God is dead".
Thus proclaimed Nietzsche, like a magician unveiling the truth behind the illusion. Religion is a social construct, no more, no less. Thus, man cannot make map anything religion offers to a sort of universal meaning or truth to life. There is nothing in life, and there is nothing in religion. With God away, there aren't any higher planes of existence.
Nietzsche cited this void as man's opportunity to take control, by indulging in instinct and creating values of his own.
What is the superman/ubermensch?
As he described Europe as a land with a vast herd and no shepherds, a certain type of man was to emerge, the superman. The superman, unbound by politics and religious values, would rise above the masses and assert the individual. In the face of Christianity's "thou shalt not," the superman insists, "I will." Dimensions like good and evil have no meaning, as his values are his own. He would exemplify man's true call to power, where man craves and exhibits power. They were a breed of energy and creativity, free of society's impositions.
1 An Intellectual History of Modern Europe, Perry, 295-298
Posted by Mark Canlas at April 18, 2004 01:16 PM