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Doesn't Nietzsche's Übermensch contradicts itself in that understanding everything would enable propagation of that understanding?

Wouldn't Nietzsche's Übermensch eventually fully understand how the brain works and determine how it can be influenced by stimulation so anyone could end up understanding everything just as the first Übermensch did, and just continue to live in an evolved human society still without a final meaning?

Premises:

  1. An Übermensch creates its own value system of what is good or evil, and will be responsible for its new values, and they will be life-affirming and creative.
  2. Contrary to Platonic idealism or asceticism, humans must be motivated by a love of this world and of life.
  3. The Übermensch should not be the last man (tired of life, that takes no risks, and seeks only comfort and security)
  4. The Übermensch by freeing itself from external value systems and creating their own, will master the whole spectrum of human potential.
  5. Reason is a definitive characteristic of human nature.
  6. The human brain is associated with functions such as reasoning and abstract thought.
  7. Cerebral cortex receive signals from the sensory nerves.
  8. The Übermensch should not be interpreted as democratic or humanitarian, it should not be confused with "good men" or "modern men". (Ecce Homo)

Argument:

So the Übermensch will be one person (premise 8) that will master the whole spectrum of human potential (premise 4) including human reason (premise 5) thus understanding even the ways the nerves of a human body can be artificially stimulated (premise 7) to manipulate the cerebral activity and control the understanding of things of a patient (premise 6). This person should not be the last man, should not seek comfort and security, should take risks (premise 3), also it should love life (premise 2) and its values will be life-affirming and creative (premise 1). So this person should eventually take the risk of causing in a person the necessary stimulation of senses to develop their brain to be the same as him, as he will eventually die and if he loves life, and its values are life-affirming, and he should not be tired of life (as the last man) then eventually every existing person will have the capacity of the Übermensch and thus it will be contradicting itself saying that the Übermensch is not democratic.

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    The examples of Ubermensch that Nietzsche gave were Goethe & Wagner; I think it unlikely that he mentions even one scientist in his ouevre; having said that Goethe was well-known for his work on colour. Commented Jul 1, 2014 at 8:49
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    I don't understand why the Übermensch would have to understand everything. I also don't understand what her brain has to do with it. Can you explain a bit more about your premises and where that question came from?
    – iphigenie
    Commented Jul 1, 2014 at 11:20
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    @MoziburUllah, sorry but I don't understand how you constraint understanding with a scientist as anyone can understand something without being a scientist and no scientist understands everything.
    – Jim
    Commented Jul 1, 2014 at 14:17
  • @iphigenie Yes, I just edited my question and where that question came from? I think it was from my brain but I certainly am influenced by the article on Wikipedia of Übermensch and also by the "opinion" of a contemporary german philosopher Rüdiger Safranski and its association with the idea of the Übermensch and eugenics.
    – Jim
    Commented Jul 1, 2014 at 14:19
  • Assuming that the 8 premises "define" what an Übermensch is, why do you think that an Übermensch exists ? Commented Jul 2, 2014 at 8:51

3 Answers 3

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First and foremost, Nietzsche did not consider himself as an übermensch and he did not present Wagner, Goethe or Napoleon as examples per se. He did admit that they shared several qualities of the übermensch of the future.

At this point in time man has not mastered himself enough to produce an übermensch yet, but we have the potential to. Man is something to be overcome and that overcoming is only possible by accepting the evil within and abandoning our facade of morality.

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  • Some interpreters also read Nietzsche as considering the Ubermensch to be literally a product of evolution, a biologically new form of life rather than just a matter of biologically modern "Higher Men" like Napoleon achieving self-mastery or creating their own values (though I suppose Nietzsche might have a Lamarckian concept of evolution so the achievements of modern humans could drive biological change). See the quotes I posted from Ullrich Haase and Ofelia Schutte here.
    – Hypnosifl
    Commented Nov 29, 2021 at 18:33
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Nietzsche doesn't state that the Ubermensch wouldn't be willing to share his knowledge. The Ubermensch is a product of society, the Ubermensch does not come to an understanding of everything in isolation but rather in relation to society, that is his learning is dependant on the learning of others. Nietzsche thought he was the antichrist (Übermensch) and wrote a book about it.

Wouldn't Nietzsche's Übermensch eventually fully understand how the brain works and determine how it can be influenced by stimulation so anyone could end up understanding everything just as the first Übermensch did, and just continue to live in an evolutioned human society still without a final meaning? Nietzsche's meaning here is that for the Übermensch mastering the whole spectrum of human potential is the final meaning and that if everyone did end up understanding everything just as the first Übermensch did, they would continue to live in an evolutioned human society, but the understanding of the Übermensch would permeate the structure of society, and the society could no longer be evolution without purpose, it would be social evolution with the goal of mastering the whole spectrum of human potential, a society of Übermensch.

so to this interpretation of Nietzsche his Übermensch does not contradict itself.

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  • I agree with you about how the Übermensch would end up sharing its knowledge and permeating society in a way that eventually will evolve all society and thus conclude this evolution from human to Übermensch, but I'm not sure if Nietzche really had in his mind the idea of a society of Übermensch, as in his book Ecce Homo in the chapter called "Why I write such good books" it says: "The word Übermensch [designates] a type of supreme achievement, as opposed to 'modern' men, 'good' men, Christians, and other nihilists" if with this he means that it has to be 1 person, isn't contradicting itself?
    – Jim
    Commented Jul 3, 2014 at 3:04
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    yes in that sense it would be, i guess the next step would be determining if he did or did not have in his mind the idea of a society of Übermensch. i think in that chapter he is describing the first Übermensch, and wether he did or did not have in his mind the idea of a society of Übermensch, the Übermensch sharing its knowledge and permeating society in a way that eventually will evolve all society and thus conclude this evolution from human to Übermensch, is the most logical conclusion to draw. Commented Jul 3, 2014 at 3:27
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First I want say I haven't a good knowledge of english then I'm sorry for it. Well, I have read Ecce Homo and I'm reading Also sprach Zarathustra. Ubermensch isn't a new evolution (natural or not) from the simple man. It is more like the cleaning of the human mind. Now women and men of this society have in them thoughts someone more important like 'have a good name' or 'have a good work' or be happy. they are a flock; noone are him/herself but the enbody of a model. This 'model' was called and it is the morality. For example: why don't you kill your neighbour? Or why don't you run naked across street? Your Society, since your birth, have been saying "It isn't something good to do because bla, bla etc..." Ok, but you don't do that things because you think they are wrong or because you do that since birth? It is what Nietzsche want tell you. When you help a your "friend" (because the idea of friend reborn in Nietzsche's thought) or a foreign, why you do it? Because your mum o dad teach you it's a good action or you WANT do it? eheh Please my dear unknown friend don't say strange thing on the idea of ubermensch (or other idea in the world) because it is the most simple think in the word so hard to understand. But Nietzsche's thought is aristocratic. Then I suggest you read the Also sprach Zarathustra. It's beatiful.

What I have understand of Ubermensch reading Also sprach Zarathustra

Imagine you have a frying pan in pure iron. You really like omelette and you cook it everyday. Sometimes you clean frying pan and after many, thousands and thousands of omelette your loved frying pan breaks. Then you decide to fuse it and make a new frying pan. But it isn't simple to do and you could make a mistake and lose the possibility.

It was an honor talk in philosofy beta. bye everyone

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