Was Friedrich Nietzsche against morality, or at least in favor of not giving it importance? For example, what would Nietzsche think of someone who qualifies for what he considers the Ubermensch or ‘higher man’, if that person were also an indulgent pedophile, or a psychopath who kills, or even just a Machiavellian?
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"an indulgent pedophile or a psychopath who kills, or even a Machiavellian" I don't know what your definition of a "machiavellian" is, but if it's worse than pedo or killer it must be quite the depraved stuff...– armandCommented Jul 10 at 0:23
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In hindsight, maybe putting it right after those two examples wasn't the brightest move..– Rayyan khanCommented Jul 10 at 8:23
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1 Answer
On Nietzsche & Machiavelli: Was Nietzsche influenced by Machiavelli?
Nietzsche & pederasty: Was Nietzsche a strong proponent of machoism and traditional masculinity?
Nietzsche's views as the ubermensch giving moral leadership or lived metanarrative: What the author is saying in a paragraph in beyond Good and evil Nietzsche is saying go beyond good & evil, but he clearly has strong views about there being right & wrong ways to behave.
Nihilism & how it gets misunderstood: Is this also moral nihilism? From that answer
You cannot coerce someone out of anomie, or demand by your authority they leave it. The same with nihilism. In that dark it takes things like art, and poetry, to build a way out of the meaninglessness. And in morality, it takes existential encounter, and the radical demand for action that is authentic, consonant with someone it is worth being as the way out, not the calculation of rewards or risks, or the authority of someone else's experiences, or a universal metanarrative that has been recognised as obviously impossible any more.
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"Greek pederasty not unnatural, its causa finalis according to Plato is supposed to be "the generation of beautiful speeches" " -Nietzsche collected notebooks, vol. 8, p357. Is this to say that he didn't think of the practice of pedophillia as not being a problem? As you say he did have conceptions of wrong and right actions but isn't his works dedicated to critiquing and abandoning morality as it's counterproductive to the higher man or the "Ubermensch"? ( also I'm not writing this as a strawman or critique/ reducto ad absurdum at Nietzsche, but how far his ditching if morality goes ) Commented Jul 10 at 15:50
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@Rayyankhan: As I say in the quoted passage, I see Nietzsche as reordering morality, in relation to loss of a shared metanarrative, & putting a meaningful life in the terms he outlines, as being the highest priority. It's not a practical philosophy for moral decision making. But he is drawing attention to the fact morality can't matter if nothing matters, & in an age of nihilism & social decohesion we cannot take it for granted that anything will matter to people. I think of the pilot who chose to crash his airliner full of people. Nietzsche wishes to speak to that person, in that situation. Commented Jul 10 at 22:53
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1@Rayyankhan: Potentially yes, N. thought for instance that what Napoleon did, at least while winning, was great. But it's more complex. N.was very concerned that living 'as though' god is alive without shared belief is problematic, & also that atheists & nihilists weren't getting to grips with the void left behind. Durkheim & his classic 'Suicide: A Study in Sociology' (1897), relates suicide to a prolonged sense of not belonging, not integrated or tethered to community, leading to meaninglessness, apathy, melancholy, and depression. For N. it needs ubermensch to overcome that, Commented Jul 14 at 17:12
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1without becoming a 'Last Man', a kind of human ant who follows moral rules that suppress individuality & creativity, which he considered vitally necessary to humanity having a future worth having. "out of my own will and volition" is quite challenging to achieve by N.s standard, that issue is probably his biggest concern throughout his philosophical work, unpacked at length Commented Jul 14 at 17:14
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1"our 'good people' don't tell lies, that's true. But that's no reason to respect them! The real lie, the genuine, resolute, 'honest' lie (people should listen to Plato on its value) for them would be something far too demanding, too strong[...] But they are fit only for ignoble lies. Everyone today who feels that he is a "good man" is completely incapable of taking a stand on any issue at all, other than with dishonest falseness—an abysmal falsity [...] Who among them could endure even one truth 'about human beings' !" Only lifeliness matters for N, serve it & a lie can be made true Commented Jul 14 at 21:52