Nietzsche On The Genealogy Of Morals

Friedrich Nietzsche’s essay in On the Genealogy of Morals explores the origins and meaning to different moral concepts. Nietzsche does not believe that moral values are given; rather they emerge under certain conditions, promoting the survival and growth of a particular group of people. The way Nietzsche describes morality as “the slave revolt in morality began with resentment itself becomes creative and gives birth to values: the ressentiment of natures that are denied the true reaction, that of deeds, and compensate themselves with an imaginary revenge” (Nietzche I 36). Therefore, Nietzche believes that ressentiment is the origin of slave morality, which is what the prominent morality of today is. With this belief that morality is just the
Although history has shown a trend of people trying to push their own beliefs on the whole of society under the guise of morality, the morally right comes out on top in the end. For example, the issue of women’s rights. Women have consistently been portrayed as second class citizens in history; however starting as early as the 19th Century women have been fighting for equality. Although the fight towards equality has not resulted in an instant result, it’s a fight towards greater equality, a morally just cause. Nietzche could argue that the women’s fight, “feminism,” started out of resentment of the maltreatment they received and how people see “feminist” going out to man hate; however, the true movement of feminism is to seek the same human dignity that men have. The feminist movement is one that takes courage because challenging a society that prefers a man’s opinion because one is faced opposition at every corner; yet something the movement must encompass is
This act of being in debt did not apply to the ancestors, it applies to deities as well, according to Nietzsche: “being in debt to the deity did not by any means comes to an end together with the organization of communities on the basis of blood relationship… The guilty feeling of indebtedness to the divinity continued to grow for several millennia –always in the same measure as the concept of God and the feeling for divinity increased on earth and was carried to heights” (Nietzsche II 90). Nietzsche therefore believes that “God himself sacrifices himself for the guilt of mankind, God himself makes payment to himself, God as the only being who can redeem man from what has become unredeemable for man himself – the creditor sacrifices himself for his debtor, out of love (can one credit that?), out of love for his debtor” (Nietzsche II 92). When Nietzsche traces the formation of the bad conscious, he pin points God as the creator. Although Nietzsche’s points are valid, he forgets that religion was formed by man in order to explain the supernatural in the world. Therefore, the creation of the idea of “God” comes from man himself. Therefore, it is just as easy to blame man for the formation of the bad conscious. Nietzsche does not encourage the bad conscious, yet I believe the bad conscious is beneficial