In "Nietzche's Moral and Political Philosophy" Nietzches theory of the strong and weak willed is explained to us. Nietzsche “seems to want to say that anyone who is strong, independent, and so on — anyone who fits his description o the higher type of man — is one who has value in himself”.
I think it is interesting that Nietzsche puts such high value on a man who can think for himself, but if this man has followers and admirers of his work, these followers are considered weak willed. If everyone in the world thought for himself and broke free of the society accepted norms, our World would be one of mad chaos. Nobody believing each other or taking another mans word, everyone having to find out for themselves, and everyone trying to rise above another to "break free from societal norms". Although it should be praised when a man has a strong will to power and can break free from the common attitudes and beliefs, i do not believe this path of master morality is something every man should do.
Nietzsche seems to place a much higher value on a man that breaks free of society, and says the "followers" shape everything in society to work against this man,“[m]oral judgments and condemnations constitute the favorite revenge of the spiritually limited against those less limited” (BGE 219), and he claims that the “chief means” by which the “weak and mediocre…weaken and pull down the stronger” is “the moral judgment”. To better understand this you could say, that the Government (the weak willed) put restrictions on citizens to get them to conform to societal norms. The goal of this is to weaken the citizens and prevent them from rising above the government. In the example I used above I would argue to Nietzsche that in rising above this weak willed government in order to become a strong willed person, could mean i am breaking laws and harming others in order to fit in the master morality category. How would he explain criminals who "break free of societal norms and attitudes" but do it by unjust means? I think this theory of what a strong and weak willed man is, is very questionable. Although you should aspire to question what you are taught and common beliefs are, i don't believe all men who do this are "strong-willed".
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The prison population is illustrated in the Official Government Statistics. Nearly three-quarters of prisoners were in receipt of benefits immediately before entering prison. This displays that lower classes such as under class and working class are more likely to commit a crime. This can be explained by Millers study of working class males. Millers said that this anti social behaviour is just an extreme development of normal, working class male values. He says that these working class males have six ‘focal concerns’ which lead to deviance; trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, fate and autonomy. They claim that they don’t look for trouble it just finds them while being physically strong…
- 2381 Words
- 10 Pages
Powerful Essays -
being Christianity, is a misleading leader. Nietzsche once stated that morality goes to the extent to “condemn for its own sake” and that the “church is hostile to life.” (Nietzsche, Friedrich) Furthermore, he believed that Christianity, along with “morals,” is a hindrance to us and its only purpose is to chain us and bring us down. I believe that he found the thought of having such a powerful institution, such as Christianity and morality, as outrages and absurd for depriving the people from their true passions and only making the people feel that shame and guilt are the worst sins one can commit. He believed that the people should not allow Christianity or morals, or anything in general, to make one…
- 1310 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Friedrich Nietzsche is a German Philosopher, who studied and written several critical texts. The type of texts he wrote were along the lines of philosophy, religion, contemporary culture, and science. Nietzsche is known for a lot of his work, but master-slave morality is highly valued. Master-slave morality was the first subject in Nietzsche’s book, On the Genealogy of Morality. In this book Nietzsche defines the difference between Slave morality and Master morality. When Nietzsche compares between the two types of morality he distinguish strength versus weakness, the difference is primarily one of power and also love independence. The master knows he has power and abilities to aspire to excellence, also he…
- 683 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
For the vast majority morals are sets of guidelines that we should comply, they let us know what is correct or off-base. Moral philosophers need to find how these guidelines are legitimized, and at the consistent outcomes of moral or moral convictions. The time of enlightenment saw a questioning of religious and customary qualities. Philosophers expected to construct moral framework in light of reasonable grounds. Kant's moral framework depends on levelheadedness. It endeavors to indicate how any objective being would consent to widespread moral laws. Its impact has been colossal and current philosophers still utilize Kant's thoughts as a beginning stage for exchanges on morality. The other incredible moral arrangement of the post-enlightenment time is…
- 611 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In, “The Jail,” John Irwin describes what it is like for a criminal to initially be arrested and further processed into a prison. It is at this time that a person first experiences a complete loss of freedom. Before, they had choices and could do as they wished with their lives, whether it be positive or negative. Once under arrested, these people have arguably less rights than slaves did hundreds of years prior. They have to be told when to sit, stand, where to walk, and when they can eat. I do not want to be misunderstand and say that this is always a bad thing. These measures are sometimes necessary in order to control and manage people who have not been able to abide by society’s laws.…
- 729 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Society, in its original purpose, formed to serve the community. It consisted of individuals working towards the benefit of the group, as well as themselves. Although, overtime, society’s intent changed. We, as a society now, collectively attribute to everyone becoming blindly ambitious towards reaching a position complacent to the existing state of affairs. Yet, one, or even many influential people can rupture the societal control and attain true freedom. Such individuals can even liberate many others around them. Moreover, various works of art and literature display how someone submits to the status quo over time or refuses to conform to society’s standards. For instance, Bobbie Harro details how people become placid and content with the…
- 1280 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Nietzsche here specifies that his task is not simply to expose the psychological and historical eventuality that make for different moralities, but to question moralities for their objective value. It is exposed how a particular morality comes from a tradition. Nietzsche states how the only thing that matters is their current, actual functional value in objective terms, and their potential functional value. The work can be used to determine whether the values of the road’s protagonist’s actions are subjective, meaning they fit the characters needs. It can also be used to determine if there is any source of absolute morality in the novel.…
- 716 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Breaking the law is something that many people do every day being conscious that is wrong, and knowing that they can be punish for that, but they still do it because don’t realize that is a big deal; The laws are made it for the people follow and like society that we live don’t cause an issue between the persons around us. In few cases a person breaks the law because they have a good purpose like Tim Robbins scape from jail but because he is innocent, that’s why a person should not break the law unless they have a good purpose for it, but also being conscious of what happens if they fail what the consequences are.…
- 580 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The Holocaust proved to be a very difficult time for many, not only did it crush their physical lives it also denied them of all their freedoms. Leopold Rosner was born in Krakow, Poland on June 26 in the year 1918. He came from a family of many musicians that were very talented. At a very early age he picked up the musical trade, or family business if you will, and began to play the accordion. He played professionally with his father at Jewish functions and then before the war went around Poland playing his music with his brothers. In September of 1939 when Germany invaded his family moved from Krakow to Tyniece, a rural town just outside of Krakow. While there they performed in exchange for potatoes or flour, whatever could help keep them on their feet. Soon enough he and his family were rounded up and placed in the Krakow ghetto. Yet Leo and his brother Henry continued to play their music at Polonia, one of the ghetto cafe’s. Music…
- 558 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The ideas of nature between German Philosopher, Frederick Nietzche, and Henry David Thoreau show strong feelings toward their opinion. Nietzche and Thoreau had similar views on their opinion on nature and endorse it. Thoreau says “I love nature, I love the landscape because it is so sincere. It never jest. It is cheerfully, musically earnest.” Thoreau shows a positive and caring view of nature. Generally speaking, interpretations of Nietzsche and his view of nature vary according to weather his break with metaphysics is seen as complete, and whether his break is considered desirable. Henry David Thoreau, Friedrich Nietzche and Chris McCandless embodied anarchist ideals in which they rejected the facade of society, social constraints, and materialism. They instead embrace naturalism and the idea of self exploration often at extreme cost and what others…
- 718 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Throughout the world, society’s authority figures control what citizens do from day to day life. These people create laws, consequences, maintain what happens within a city/province/country, and provide punishment to those who commit a crime and betray the laws set by the governments. Now, what exactly happens when these figures are no longer in the presence of society, and people have to fend for themselves, making their own rules and laws? Everything eventually tends to break down and turn into chaos. Therefore, without the constant supervision of society’s authority figures, there tends to be a power struggle between two groups of people, consequences for their actions, and violent displays. You are able to see these supporting features comparing in two different novels, “The Outsiders” by S.E.Hinton and “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding.…
- 1494 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
What does Zarathustra tell us about the challenges of leading people who have become too comfortable and uncritical?…
- 785 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In essence, this means that people regard as unimportant the social expectations to respect the rights and the needs of others and prefer to look after their own interests even at their neighbours expense. They return to their natural state of greed and self-interest. For society his heralds the long term collapse of order and harmony. Anomie, then, is dangerous and harmful to all. The Ways in Which Society can Reaffirm their Values and Ensure Social Cohesion There are a number of ways in which societies reaffirm their values and ensure continuing social cohesion. The most obvious ways include.... Education: the teaching of a common language, history, social studies etc. Religion: through the process of collective worship of a common God. At first sight it seems strange that some functionalists should argue that deviance is a necessary part of all societies, and that it performs positive functions for the social system. After all deviance break the norms and values of society. With the functionalists emphasis on the importance of shared norms and values as the basis of social order it would appear that deviance is a threat to social order, and therefore should be seen as a threat to society. All functionalists agree those social control mechanisms such as the police and the courts Other important writers who take a Functionalist perspective…
- 3090 Words
- 13 Pages
Better Essays -
Why should disobedience be seen as a virtue rather than a vice? Consider the dangers of obeying as well as the benefits of disobeying. Explain by analysing Giovanni’s Room, Jekyll and Hyde, “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem, “Civilization and Its Discontents” or “Masculinity as Homophobia” (Kimmel).…
- 464 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” (Jean Jacques Rousseau, Social Contract, 1762). From the moment of birth, man is burdened with an immense social pressure to act within social guidelines that are considered acceptable. Whether they truly are beneficial or not is irrelevant. Influences such as the government, the media, and religion force us not only to abide, but to believe in these guidelines without question. Conformity prevents the growth of creativity which limits personal and societal success. There are consequences within society for those who deviate from the “Social code”. Fear of these consequences is what forces people into following the standards set by the leaders. Selfish control of a conformed population results in terrible and menacing consequences.…
- 1092 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays