Nietzsche’s Critique of Traditional Being
Concepts
Concept of Being: Nietzsche refers to a fixed, unique, and stable reality. The concept of being is the basis of language; it is hidden in every word, every sentence we utter, which is why we are continually seduced to think in a substantial way.
“Reason”: Nietzsche puts “Reason” in quotes to draw attention to a concept he does not accept as his own. He rejects the belief that “Reason” in language plays a harmful role, as grammatical structures give it an ontological value, i.e., it is considered real. For Nietzsche, truly rational thought is not to deny what exists, but to assume truth only exists starting from a comparison point.
Statement of the Theme
The theme of the text is a critique of the traditional concept of being. This concept stems from the activity of “reason” in language, which results in the division of reality into “true” and “apparent.” Since their origins, humans feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the world and feel the need to simplify it to make it manageable. They also have the need to convey their personal experiences to others. To accomplish both objectives, humans use words that originally have a metaphorical character, such as “dropped the world over,” not literally referring to anything, but to the way someone loves something.
However, certain words are accepted on a widespread basis, while their metaphorical origin is buried. The concept then emerges, which aspires to be universal. The dominant group in society imposes its concepts as the only ones that correspond with reality (e.g., whether the word “marriage” is an indissoluble heterosexual link or is provisional or open to multiple sexual preferences). According to Nietzsche, there is no fixed stock, so there is no way to definitively anchor in reality. Only the metaphor, which is not intended to exhaust the possible meanings, can host this cathartic, open, and dynamic reality. This does not mean that all metaphors have the same value; only those that allow us to grow must be promoted. The concept of being, for Nietzsche, expresses a permanent, stable reality, and that is what the metaphor is superimposed upon to make it a concept. Thus, metaphysical dualism comes from our grammar, which attributes all actions to an agent and continuously unfolds reality into agent, actions, and states – “the lime reassuring” – as if there were two realities at play.
Philosophical Justification from the Author’s Position
The way of ordering experience from the concept of being is very useful for humans, but it is harmful when it aims to become an objective reality. Then, the “objective” and “valid for all” truth emerges (Nietzsche calls this the “monotheism of truth”), along with the belief in reality as fixed and always the same, the appearance of deception, and the belief that the other world is the true one. This occurs as a psychological necessity: the fear of an existence without foundation and in perpetual change. Metaphysical categories are invented to establish order and peace, which are absent in the world of the senses. Philosophers, unable to accept chaos, built, for their own interest, an unreal world where they can survive. Metaphysics is thus serving anti-vital trends.
It was Plato who provided the metaphysical foundation of Western tradition by inventing another world and giving it the character of authentic reality. Christianity had an impact on this by imposing its “truths” that moved away from life, which is why Nietzsche called Christianity “Platonism for the people.” In that way, the first transvaluation of moral life as joyful becomes bad, and the good life is deficient. It starts with the Jewish priest: what he has is morally wrong. This idea is continued by Christianity, which, based on Platonic metaphysics, becomes “the morality of slaves” at the heart of the Western tradition and, according to Nietzsche, is the deadliest poison to humanity.
Nietzsche claimed a positive will to power, one that creates its value apart from assertion and denial, not resentful (you are wrong because you are strong, healthy… so I, who am not, must be good). This idea calls for the “death of God” and the appearance of the “superman,” a human being fully in charge of himself, able to combine vital intensity and spiritual refinement. To achieve this goal, man must abandon faith in grammar, believing that its categories are a transmitted light of the real. It is necessary to promote a language close to life, land, and body.