Nietzsche’s Core Philosophical Concepts
Key Nietzschean Terms
1. Dionysian Values
These represent values associated with the Greek god Dionysus, which Nietzsche identifies as foundations of his philosophy. They are attached to the senses, passions, instincts, the body, and ultimately, to life (vitality). Apollonian values, represented by the god Apollo, complement the Dionysian with light, balance, and rationality. Nietzsche argues the problem arises with the figure of Socrates, who breaks with the tradition of Greek tragedy and begins discussing ideas and concepts detached from life’s reality. This, he suggests, limits or prevents human fulfillment on Earth by promising a superior, perfect world. Socrates and Plato lay the groundwork for a revolt against life, later developed and imposed by Christianity with its perceived moral decadence.
2. Innocence of Becoming
This is a worldview opposed to any moral interpretation (like the Christian one), existing beyond good and evil. Both ancient Greeks and Christianity, in different ways, judge existence as guilty. The difference is that for the Greeks, it is the responsibility of the gods, while for Christianity, it is men’s responsibility. For Nietzsche, the actual problem isn’t assigning blame for the chaos and perceived senselessness of existence, but understanding whether there *is* guilt or innocence. In this context, Dionysus represents the affirmation of existence as it is: the innocence of plurality, becoming, and being.
3. Nihilism Explained
The etymological origin of Nihilism is *nihil* (meaning ‘nothing’ in Latin). It is a philosophical attitude towards life that denies inherent existence, meaning, or value, or bases the meaning of life on something non-existent, like the Christian afterlife. Nietzsche identifies two types:
- a) Passive nihilism: Reflects the state where humans, following the ‘death of God’, feel hopeless, abandoned, and unprotected as traditional values and securities vanish. God previously fulfilled the role of protector. Without God, man suddenly feels orphaned, empty, facing nothingness. Man must sink, hitting bottom.
- b) Active nihilism: This emerges from the despair of passive nihilism. It is typical of Nietzsche (symbolized by the lion in *Thus Spoke Zarathustra*), actively destroying obsolete values to make way for new ones.
4. The Apparent vs. Real World Distinction
Nietzsche calls Platonism any theory where reality is divided into two worlds: a ‘real’ world (transcendent, eternal, associated by Plato with the soul) and an ‘apparent’ world (material, transient, involving birth and death, associated with the body). Nietzsche argues that only those with low vitality believe in the phantasmagoria of a transcendent world. He suggests Western culture invented a ‘real’ world to find consolation from the perceived terribleness of the only existing world: the Dionysian world. Nietzsche states that once we lose faith in the ‘real’ world, we don’t simply retain the ‘apparent’ world. We must start anew, re-evaluating everything from the perspective of this life.
5. Transmutation of Values
Nietzsche critiques Christian morality by studying the origin of its values. He proposes a fundamental reversal, a transmutation of values. The Christian morality, seen by Nietzsche as born from resentment and condemnation of life, would be replaced by a healthy morality guided by affirming life, passions, and instincts. The bearer of this new morality is the Übermensch (Superman), who is capable of accepting the ‘death of God’, embracing the eternal recurrence, and spiritualizing passions rather than denying them.
6. Unnatural vs. Healthy Morality
Traditional morality (like Christian morality) is deemed unnatural by Nietzsche because it imposes laws contradicting life’s fundamental drives (instincts, passions). He views it as a morality born of resentment against the natural and biological world. Opposed to this is a healthy morality, guided by values that affirm life, passions, the body, and instincts. This contrasts sharply with Platonic and Christian morals, which Nietzsche saw as declaring war on passions. Healthy morality seeks not the annihilation of passions (as unnatural morality implicitly does) but their *spiritualization* – integrating and refining them. Unlike the life-denying ideal of unnatural morality, the ideal of healthy morality is the affirmation of life itself.