History of Western Ideas Allied-IV

Nietzsche(Existentialism)
Previous Year Short Notes
Courtesy- 53rd Batch, Department of English
University of Chittagong

Nihilism:
 Nihilism is a term expressing some form of negation towards life or
fundamental concepts such as knowledge, existence and the
meaning of life. Different nihilists positions hold variously that
human values are baseless, that life is meaningless, that knowledge
is impossible, or that some set of entities does not exist.
 This term is widely used to denote the doctrine that morality
cannot justified by rational arguments. Nietzsche was the first great
philosopher and still the only one to make extensive use of the
term 'Nihilism'. He was also one of the first atheists to existence of
a necessary link between atheism and nihilism. Most western
nihilists tend to replace old values with new one.
 Nihilism has also been described as conspicuous in certain
historical periods. It also commonly refers to forms of existential
nihilism. Other prominent positions within nihilism include the
rejection of all normative and ethical views. Nihilism has, however
been widely ascribed to both religious and irreligious viewpoints.

 Prepared by- Jishan Uddin

The Birth of Tragedy

 The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music (German: Die Geburt
der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik) is an 1872 work of
dramatic theory by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.
 The Birth of Tragedy is divided into twenty-five chapters and a
forward. The first fifteen chapters deal with the nature of Greek
Tragedy, which Nietzsche claims was born when the Apollonian
worldview met the Dionysian. The last ten chapters use the Greek
model to understand the state of modern culture, both its decline
and its possible rebirth. The tone of the text is inspirational.
Nietzsche often addresses the reader directly, saying at the end of
chapter twenty, "Dare now to be tragic men, for ye shall be
redeemed!" These kinds of exclamations make it more difficult to
take his text seriously. However, if we look beyond the flowery
words, we find some very interesting ideas. At the same time, we
confront Nietzsche's enormous bias, particularly when deciding
when something is or is not "art." Nietzsche forms a very strict
definition of art that excludes such things as subjective self-
expression and the opera. Despite his criticisms of human culture,
however, Nietzsche has great faith in the human soul and urges us
to drop our Socratic pretenses and accept the culture of Dionysus
again.

 Prepared by- Ammar Yeasir Munir

 Slave Morality
 According to Nietzsche, masters are creators of morality; slaves
respond to master morality with their slave morality. Unlike master
morality, which is sentiment, slave morality is based on re-
sentiment— devaluing that which the master values and the slave
does not have. As master morality originates in the strong, slave
morality originates in the weak. Because slave morality is a reaction
to oppression, it vilifies its oppressors. Slave morality is the inverse
of master morality. As such, it is characterized by pessimism and
cynicism. Slave morality is created in opposition to what master
morality values as "good".
 Slave morality does not aim at exerting one's will by strength, but
by careful subversion. It does not seek to transcend the masters,
but to make them slaves as well. The essence of slave morality is
utility: The good is what is most useful for the whole community,
not just the strong. Nietzsche saw this as a contradiction. Since the
powerful are few in number, compared to the masses of the weak,
the weak gain power by corrupting the strong into believing that
the causes of slavery are "evil", as are the qualities the weak
originally could not choose because of their weakness. By saying
humility is voluntary, slave morality avoids admitting that their
humility was in the beginning forced upon them by a master.
Biblical principles of humility, charity, and pity are the result of
universalizing the plight of the slave onto all humankind, and thus
enslaving the masters as well. "The democratic movement is the
heir to Christianity"—the political manifestation of slave morality
because of its obsession with freedom and equality.

 Prepared by- Ammar Yeasir Munir

 The Super Man
 The Übermensch,"Beyond-Man," "Superman," "Overman,"
"Uberman", or "Superhuman") is a concept in the philosophy of
Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the Übermensch as a
goal for humanity to set for itself. It is a work of philosophical
allegory.
 Superman, in philosophy, the superior man, who justifies the
existence of the human race. This superior man would not be a
product of long evolution; rather, he would emerge when any man
with superior potential completely masters himself and strikes off
conventional Christian “herd morality” to create his own values,
which are completely rooted in life on this earth. Nietzsche was not
forecasting the brutal superman of the German Nazis, for his goal
was a “Caesar with Christ’s soul.” George Bernard Shaw
popularized the term “superman” in his play Man and Superman
(1903).

 Prepared by- Ammar Yeasir Munir

The Dionysian
 Dionysian, characteristic of the god Dionysus or the cult of worship
of Dionysus; specifically, of a sensuous, frenzied, or orgiastic
character. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche used the terms
Dionysian and Apollonian to analyze and explain the character of
Greek tragedy in his book The Birth of Tragedy. Nietzsche describes
the state of Greek art before the influence of Dionysus as being
naive, and concerned only with appearances. In this art conception,
the observer was never truly united with art, as he remained
 always in quiet contemplation with it, never immersing himself.
The appearances of Apollo were designed to shield man from the
innate suffering of the world, and thus provide some relief and
comfort.
 Then came Dionysus, whose ecstatic revels first shocked the
Apollonian man of Greek culture. In the end, however, it was only
through one's immersion in the Dionysian essence of Primordial
Unity that redemption from the suffering of the world could be
achieved. In Dionysus, man found that his existence was not
limited to his individual experiences alone, and thus a way was
found to escape the fate of all men, which is death. As the
Dionysian essence is eternal, one who connects with this essence
finds a new source of life and hope. Nietzsche thus shows
Dionysus to be an uplifting alternative to the salvation offered by
Christianity, which demands that man renounce life on earth
altogether and focus only on heaven. For, in order to achieve
salvation through Dionysus, one must immerse oneself in life now.

 Prepared by- Ammar Yeasir Munir

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