Nietzsche’s Critique: Metaphysics, Morality, and the Death of God
Philosophy: Critique of Metaphysics and Morality
Nietzsche’s philosophy radically confronts much of the Western philosophical tradition, opposing dogmatism rooted in Socrates, Plato, and Christian philosophy. His early works distinguish the Apollonian and Dionysian, developing an original interpretation of philosophical history. Thought, he argues, removes life from Socratic reflection, opposing it by inventing a transcendent, stable, and immutable reality, contrary to our known, contradictory, and changing reality.
a) Critique of Metaphysics
Nietzsche opposes ontological dualism reflecting Platonic dualism:
- Sensible and imperfect world
- Supersensible and perfect foundation
This divides reality into a static, timeless realm versus a changing, perishable one, deemed “despicable.” Nietzsche raises three objections:
- Changeability leads to underestimating sensible reality, while reason uses immutable concepts. This shows reason’s inadequacy, not the sensible world’s imperfection. Is reason the only cognitive ability?
- The supersensible world is an illusion, a fiction denying the sensible world, our sole reality.
- The supersensible world is an anti-vital reaction, denying life’s suffering and joy. It’s revenge against nature by those resenting life, unable to accept a tragic fate.
b) Critique of Morality
Nietzsche criticizes the unnatural Platonic-Christian morality for opposing life’s instincts. It focuses on the past, the supernatural, or God, not this world. It demands constant struggle against vital impulses, rejecting life for an illusion born from resentment. This morality signals Western culture’s decadence.
c) Critique of Knowledge
Platonic-Christian metaphysics links immutable reality with immutable, conceptual knowledge. Nietzsche argues concepts don’t represent reality as it is. Reality is becoming, changing, not represented by immutable concepts. Concepts are an improper, abstract way to capture reality, hiding it.
c.1) Concept as Metaphor
Concepts are metaphors, ignoring individual differences. Traditional philosophy mistook concepts for “essences,” a supersensible reality.
c.2) Language’s Role
Language misrepresents reality, reinforcing metaphysical delusion. Restoring reality requires recovering the word’s value, hence Nietzsche’s aphoristic style.
d) Death of God
Western thought’s trajectory confirms God’s death. God was the compass, but man unknowingly killed him, removing him from thought and culture. Discovering God’s death leaves man lost and meaningless. It’s the death of Christian monotheism and dogmatic metaphysics. Man replaces God with multiple gods and truths, but without God, traditional values lack justification, leading to nihilism.
e) Nihilism
Nihilism follows the consciousness of Western man in three stages:
- Negation of all existing values: doubt and confusion.
- Self-assertion of the initial denial: reason’s reflection.
- Starting point for reassessment: intuition expressed in the will to power.
This forms the basis for Nietzsche’s new philosophy. Man unknowingly causes God’s death, then consciously upholds it, discovering the will to power as the highest value.