Nietzsche's Philosophy: Atheism & Morality (PHIN103 Module 4)

Module 4: Atheism MODULE 4, LESSON 3 PHIN103 1 Module 4: Outline of Topics I. Ludwig Feuerbach's Essence of Christianity and Essence of Religion II. Karl Marx’s “Religion is the Opium of the People” III. Friedrich Nietzsche’s “God is dead!” MODULE 4, LESSON 3...

Module 4: Atheism MODULE 4, LESSON 3 PHIN103 1 Module 4: Outline of Topics I. Ludwig Feuerbach's Essence of Christianity and Essence of Religion II. Karl Marx’s “Religion is the Opium of the People” III. Friedrich Nietzsche’s “God is dead!” MODULE 4, LESSON 3 PHIN103 2 Friedrich Nietzsche’s “God is dead!” PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 Context: True World Theories An escape from nihilism: involves finding the desired meaning of life by believing in the existence of what is called a true world Nietzsche on True World theories: absurd, but had “ascetic ideal”  what is common in true world theories PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 4 “ A true world is a destination; a destination such that to reach it is to enter…a state of ‘eternal bliss’, a heaven, paradise, or utopia. Hence true world philosophies…give meaning to life by representing it as a journey; a journey towards ‘redemption, towards an arrival that will more than make up for the stress and discomfort of the traveling. (The Death of God and the Meaning of Life, Julian Young) PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 5 Context: True World Theories Satiate two fundamental human needs: (1) the need to believe that life has a meaning and (2) all-too-human need for self- esteem Nietzsche on the Christian true world theory: “It granted man an absolute value, as opposed to his smallness and accidental occurrence in the flux of becoming and passing away.” (The Will to Power, Friedrich Nietzsche) PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 6 God as Moral Foundation: Morality and “True World” Philosophy Absolute One MORALITY Universal TRUE WORLD Changing MATERIAL Plural WORLD HUMAN Particular NORMS PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 God as Moral Foundation: Morality and “True World” Philosophy GOD Absolute One MORALITY Universal TRUE WORLD Changing MATERIAL Plural WORLD HUMAN Particular NORMS PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 Nietzsche’s The Madman “Where is God?" he cried; "I will tell you. We have killed him —you and I. All of us are his murderers… God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?” PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 9 God as Moral Foundation: Morality and “True World” Philosophy Absolute One GOD IS DEAD.MORALITY Universal TRUE WORLD Changing MATERIAL Plural WORLD HUMAN Particular NORMS PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 The Meaning & Implications of the Death of God o The idea or concept of God was no longer useful, no longer had explanatory power, and no longer made a difference in the way most people lived their lives o Not only is God dead, according to the madman, but we have killed him with our science and our so-called progress PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 11 Morality as “Human, All Too Human” Everything is a human Absolute One MORALITY Universal construct. TRUE WORLD Changing MATERIAL Plural WORLD HUMAN Particular NORMS PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3  Morality as “Human, All Too Human” Everything is a human Absolute One MORALITY Universal construct. TRUE WORLD Changing MATERIAL MORALITY Plural WORLD HUMAN Particular NORMS PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 The Meaning & Implications of the Death of God o There are no objective values: we must reject the very idea of a world that could serve as the ultimate standard or foundation for the truth of any value judgement o For Nietzsche, all judgments of value are objectively false PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 14 The Meaning & Implications of the Death of God o There simply are no universal moral principles, no single moral code, and no non-natural properties guaranteeing that a given action is right or wrong. o Death of God: death of the Absolute Objective Standard that is the basis of human norms PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 15  Consequences of the Death of God o The death of god liberates and frees us to make our own decision and choices. before we were slaves to god: we obeyed god, we were ruled by god, and we acted in accordance with his commands PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 16  Consequences of the Death of God o We no longer need to be ruled by objective values but can now be ruled by ourselves: we can become legislators of our own values, we can become little gods, we can become masters of PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 17 ourselves “ You shall become masters over yourself, master also over your own virtues. Formerly they were your masters; but they must be only your instruments besides other instruments. You shall get control over your for and against and learn how to display just one and then the other in accordance with your higher goal.” PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 18 Critique of “The Ethical” The “Normal” Requirements to be ethical: Believes that decisions and choices are based on objective values The ethical individual is completely unaware and unwilling to face the fact that values are our own responsibility: such individuals are ethical because their actions are based on values, they seldom, if PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 19 ever, confront themselves in making Critique of “The Ethical” The normal ethical person follows the rules based on fear: “we think it is more advisable to pretend that they are our own, and so well do we accustom ourselves to do so that it at last becomes second nature” The normal understanding of the ethical person does not show the true ethical person PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 20 The “ethical” just follows the herd mentality; following the morality of the masses.  Morality as “Human, All Too Human” Everything is a human Absolute One MORALITY Universal construct. TRUE WORLD Changing MATERIAL MORALITY Plural WORLD HUMAN Particular NORMS PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 22 Nietzsche’s Critique of Christianity Christianity is a slave morality: the morality common to those people who are weak-willed, uncertain of themselves, oppressed, and abused. The essence of slave morality is utility: the good is what is most useful for the community as a whole. PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 23 Christian Morality as Resentment The weak gain power vis-à-vis the strong by treating those qualities that are valued by the powerful as evil and those qualities that enable the sufferers to endure their lot as good. Thus, patience, humility, pity, submissiveness to authority, and the like: good. Slave morality begins with a negation: a resentment of excellence, achievement, PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 24 individuality, and power. Christian Morality as Resentment Christianity: has done more harm than good. The majority of humans are weak, infirm, sick, and failures and a further weakness of Christianity is that it seeks to preserve these excesses of failures. Nietzsche: Christianity has preserved too much of what ought to perish. It encourages the lowly to stay in their place, places value on the weak-willed and teaches them how to deal with their oppression all the while doing so only for the sake of keeping them oppressed. PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 25 Christianity and Nihilism Nihilism  Latin ‘nihil” = nothing The death of God  “absence of meaning” The sources of meaning (True World) are revealed to be “human, all too human”  leads to the believers’ loss of the meaning of life Christianity is nihilistic: it is against life, this life From Nihilism to Will to Power: The Rise of the Übermensch The death of God gives freedom: “Indeed, we philosophers and free spirits feel when we hear the news that ‘the old god is dead’ as if a new dawn shone on us; our heart overflows with gratitude, amazement, premonitions, expectation. At long last the horizon appears free to us again, even if it should not be bright; at long last our ships may venture out again, venture out to face any danger; all the daring of the lover of knowledge is permitted again; the sea, our sea, lies open again, perhaps there has never yet been such an ‘open sea’.” PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 27  The Will to Power The will to power  ultimate psychological explanation or motivating force behind all our action Happiness  feeling that the power is growing, that resistance is overcome, feeling power The will to power is not a will to life, but a will to exist in a certain way. It is a will to perfection, a striving for PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 28 distinction The Übermensch (Above-Man; Superman) Creates their own values  psychologically strong, ready to master this world Is concerned with this world, not the Other World Rises above the herd mentality  creates their own morality The goal is self-mastery PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 29 “One must give value to their existence by behaving as if ones very existence were a work of art.” PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 30 References Adrian V. Remodo, PhD (cand.) https://academyofideas.com/2012/11/ nietzsche-and-the-true-world/ #:~:text=True%20world%20theories %20claim%20that,suffering%20and %20ends%20in%20death. PHIN103 Module 4, Lesson 3 31