On the Genealogy of Morality Essay -- Philosophy, Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsches On the Genealogy of righteousness includes his theory on earths development of mediocre sense of right and wrong. Nietzsche believes that when transitioning from a free-roaming individual to a member of a community, man had to suppress his depart to indicant, his instinctive instinct of freedom(59). The governing community threatened its members with penalty for violation of its laws, its 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 bungle 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 scruples (46). Throughout the work, Nietzsche uses decidedly negative terms to describe bad conscience, vocation it ugly (59), a sickness (60), or an illness (56) leading whatsoever to assume that he views bad conscience as a bad thing. Ho wever, Nietzsche hints at a different view when calling bad conscience a sickness rather like pregnancy (60). This resemblance equates the trouble oneself and suffering of a pregnant woman to the suffering of man when his instincts argon repressed. Therefore, just as the pain of pregnancy spread outs birth to something joyful, Nietzsches analogy implies that the negative state of bad conscience may also give birth to something positive. Nietzsche hopes for the birth of the self-directed individual a man who is autonomous, not indebted to the morality of custom, and who has regained his free will. An examination of Nietzsches theory on the evolution of mans bad conscience will discontinue even though bad conscience has caused man to turn against himself and has resulted in the stagnation of his will, Ni... ... noble morality (16). Furthermore, in contrast to the self-contentment of the noble morality, the knuckle downs lack of outward power led him to direct his power inwards , resulting in mans first exploration of his inner life. date critical of the attitude found in the ressentiment of slave morality, Nietzsches includes it as an important factor contributing to the bad conscience of man. Even though Nietzsche dislikes the negative results of bad conscience mans suppression of his instincts, scorn for himself, and stagnation of his will -- Nietzsche does value it for the promise it holds. Nietzsche foresees a time approaching when man conquers his inner battle and regains his instinct of freedom. In anticipation of that mean solar days eventual arrival, Nietzsche views the development of bad conscience as a necessary step in mans transformation into the sovereign individual.