Comparing and Contrast Nietzsche’s and Scheler on Ressentiment

Nietches critique on resentment

Nietzsche’s look on ressentiment was at what he believed to be at the core of

Christian and Judaic thought and was at the central facet of the western thought.
Nietzsche’s defined it as slave morality, ‘Nietzsche, who defined it as a slave
morality. Nietzsche sees ressentiment as the core of Christian and Judaic thought
and, consequently, the central facet of western thought more generally.’
(Oxfordreference.com, 2018). Nietzsche’s writing Genealogy of morals is
examined through three essays which questions and examines the value of our
moral judgement, in good and evil, he suggests that slave revolt in morality starts
when ressentiment becomes a creative force. Nietzsche’s slave morality gives a
strong difference and distinctive difference between the strong and the weak.
Nietzsche’s writing about good and evil shows the concept of resentment, it is
seen as an emotion based on representation, which is seen when Nietzsche
distinguishes between master morality and slave morality. Master morality is seen
as the strong and healthy and free and there happiness is good contrasting to this
slave morality is seen as weak, unhealthy and because of these they are seen as
undesirable, as a result the slaves called themselves the good and the masters
evil, this is because of the emotion they felt oppressed by the masters happiness
and wealth. Ressentiment according to Nietzsche can cause a long lasting
psychological hatred and ignorance, ‘Nietzsche defines ressentiment in the
absence of a consistent theory of desire’ (Siebers, 2018). The next essay in
Genealogy of morals which Nietzsche wrote was the Guilt bad conscience and the
like, through his writing he examines the original concept of punishment and guilt,
these two actions he believed were not based on any moral transgression in the
beginning. He notes that we see ourselves as sinners due to the idea of bad
conscience, he also looks at the development of society and due to the
development how our natural animal instincts for aggression and cruelty can turn
upward on ourselves. In the final essay which is part of the genealogy morals is
what the meaning of ascetic ideas is, this part of the writing focuses on asceticism
which looks at the powerful and paradoxical force which Nietzsche thinks
dominates contemporary life, he believes it as an expression of a weak, sick will
unable to cope with the struggle against itself, again in this essay Nietzsche looks
at the animal instinct that this expression can bring out of us. Nietzsche’s look on
the concept of ressentiment is not considered to be a normal one, he focuses
around the idea of Christian and Judaic, he says that we need to revaluate our
moral ideas to enable us to see past good and evil and will and power. Through-
out his writings he also says the Christianity is enduring moral decline and he
named the decline Nihilism, which is defines this decline as the death of god.
When Nietzsche’s defined a difference between slave morality and master
morality this saw that the slaves resented the master because they saw them as
healthy and had wealth whereas the slaves did not. Ressentiment is an emotion
which can affect ones judgement on them-selves and also there opinion of
another. The problem is how we see others and how we see ourselves and this
constant reaction to representation.

Schelers critique on resentment

Scheler looks at ressentiment from a more phenomenology perspective, Scheler’s

phenomenological description of Ressentiment is ‘Ressentiment is a self-
poisoning of the mind, which has quite definite causes and consequences. It is a
lasting mental attitude, caused by the systematic repression of certain emotions
and affects which, as such, are normal components of human nature. Their
repression leads to the constant tendency to indulge in certain kinds of value
delusions and corresponding value judgments. The emotions and affects primarily
concerned are revenge, hatred, malice, envy, the impulse to detract, and spite.’
(Mercaba.org, 2018). Schelers idea of ressentiment comes from two main
emotions envy and revenge which he believes can be triggered from an event or a
certain circumstance which arises. Envy can arise from the idea of wanting what
someone else poses, envy can arise from wanting the good that someone else
has or from the fact that you simply do not own the good. Scheler compares two
types of people the vulgar man and the man of resentment, with the vulgar man
the arriviste spends there life increasing their wealth comparing this to the man of
ressentiment who is characterised as impotence, they have a negative outlook
they compare what they have to others and don’t believe that they will be able to
obtain anything they want, instead they constantly de-value what others have, he
doesn’t believe in himself to be able to gain any of the values that others have,
they also just act as if the values don’t exist as a way to make themselves feel
better. There are certain types of people who are more likely to have the emotion
of ressentiment for example mother in laws who see their son or daughter
marrying someone starting a new life and seeing their child move on and start a
new life which can cause an emotion of ressentiment to appear båecause they
see it as ungratefulness as their child is moving on and what they believe to be
their child no longer needing there assistance. The concept of ressentiment can
cause this idea to create an delusional idea, what I mean by this that Scheler
using the example that people will look at the value of a good as being of a higher
worth than what it is actually worth, this is a result of people not being able to
have the good or believing they will never be able to get the good which is due to
their idea of their own self-worth. Scheler not only talks about envy being a part of
the emotion triggered by ressentiment but he also talks about revenge being part
of resentment, this can be caused due to someone doing something to other
person and they resent them for and they want to get their own back on them and
they do not successfully do this, but revenge doesn’t always have to turn into
ressentiment because the person who has done the action has paid for said
action, or the person can forgive the person for the action which has caused the
hostile feeling towards them. Scheler believes to be a big issue with ressentiment
is how people value something.

Comparing and contrasting Scheler and Nietzsche

Nietzsche and Scheler have different opinions on the understanding of

ressentiment and what it is cause from. Nietzsche believes it comes from our
moral judgements being impaired and also Christianity whereas Scheler believes it
comes from one’s own self-doubt. Scheler uses the value of an object to create
an understanding for his theory of resentment, whereas Nietzsche uses the idea of
slave and master morality to best describe the understanding. Comparing and
contrasting these two philosophers on the concept of Christian love. They have
two very different ideas about Christian love, Nietzsche believes that Christian
love is a means to better your chances in the afterlife judges whereas Scheler
believes that if true love is to happen it is not to better ones chances in the afterlife
but it is because of one’s true self-fulfilment, ‘While Nietzsche thinks that Christian
love is a means to better one’s chances in afterlife’s judgment, Scheler believes
that true love happens because of true self-fulfilment.’ (Blum, 2018). Love in the
normal sense is believed to be a need and desire however Christian love is
completely different. Scheler looks at everyone as being able to be loved but he
looks at people’s strengths, security and power when looking at the ability for
love, he uses the example of being able to put aside one’s own interest in order to
make someone else happy, it is the power to see when someone else needs to be
put ahead of you desire, however love can bring up difficult emotions especially
resentment, he can see why the ressentiment man loves the poor because they
are not perfect, weak and why he hates the rich because of their perfectness and
wealth. Schelers idea of love contrasts to Nietzsche’s idea of love he believes that
in order to succeed in the afterlife you need love, his idea is based about his
believing that ressentiment steams from Christianity, ‘Nietzsche is of the opinion
that Christianity prescribes objective morals, thus stealing believers’ autonomy.
And by believing in afterlife’s judgment, Christians are rendered to passivity
because they do not have to actively confront their weaknesses’ (Blum, 2018).
Scheler argues in one of his writings that Nietzsche’s misunderstood the full
meaning behind Christian love and he interpreted wrongly because he was
looking at through the vision of socialism. The two Philosophers have very
different out looks on the idea behind ressentiment Scheler looks at it from a more
open minded view and realistic view whereas Nietzsche looks at it solely through
believing that it main origin is from Christianity, he challenges some of the most
deeply held beliefs about what is valuable, his ressentiment establishes a
comparison between master and slave which deliberately misinterprets the
differences between the strong and the week. Nietzsche introduces ressentiment
in On The Genealogy of Morals, when he is contrasting the (historically situated,
though not actually historical) replacement of the dichotomy of ‘good and bad’
with that of ‘good and evil.’ (Nietzschecircle.com, 2018). Scheler uses the value of
goods through-out his writings and the need we desire to obtain such good, it can
come from self-doubt of never believing we will be able to achieve the good which
we desire or that we are just not worthy enough to have that good.

Bibliography

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Nietzsche’s Christian Resentment Theories on the Case of
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