Nietzsche’s Critique of Western Culture: A Revaluation of Values
1. Background
Historical and Cultural Context
The 19th century, following the French Revolution and the subsequent Restoration of absolutism, witnessed the rise of liberalism and the liberal state. Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution brought economic growth alongside the misery of the proletariat. European imperialism expanded across Asia and Africa. Scientific advancements flourished, with notable contributions from Mendeleev and Darwin.
In the cultural sphere, Romanticism emerged as a new art movement, emphasizing passion and emotion. Philosophically, Nietzsche, alongside Marx and Freud, was considered a philosopher of suspicion. His work engaged with fundamental issues of Western philosophy, including time, love, and death, and was influenced by thinkers like Heraclitus, Wagner, and Schopenhauer. He opposed Kant’s belief in reason detached from life.
Philosophical Influences and Impact
Nietzsche’s ideas influenced intellectuals like Unamuno, Ortega y Gasset, existentialists, and anarchists. Unamuno’s doctrine of ‘man of flesh and blood’ resonated with Nietzsche’s emphasis on the individual. Ortega y Gasset’s concept of ‘transparency’ as a way of philosophizing aligned with Nietzsche’s critique of traditional metaphysics. Existentialists admired Nietzsche’s defense of the individual against abstract notions of humanity. Anarchists found common ground with Nietzsche’s rejection of religious and political authority.
2. Subject: Critique of Western Culture
Critique of Philosophy
Nietzsche’s central theme is a critique of Western culture, particularly its philosophical foundations. He saw Socrates’ equation of reason with virtue and happiness as a departure from life-affirming values. Plato’s introduction of a moral interpretation of being, with the Idea of the Good as supreme, further devalued the changing, becoming world. Nietzsche rejected the Platonic opposition of the ‘real’ and ‘apparent’ worlds, asserting that ‘only the future is’. He viewed metaphysics as an escape from the realities of life and truth as masked by reason and language.
Nietzsche diagnosed Western culture with nihilism, a consequence of the ‘Death of God’, where life is denied meaning. He proposed the Apollonian and Dionysian as symbolic expressions of life’s aesthetic forces. The Dionysian represents the values of life, excess, and the dissolution of individual boundaries, while the Apollonian represents reason, measure, balance, and individuality.
Critique of Religion and Morality
Nietzsche’s atheism and the ‘death of God’ are central to his critique of religion. He viewed Christianity as the enemy of the ‘Superman’, hindering human freedom. His moral critique aimed to go ‘beyond good and evil’ by analyzing the origins of moral values. He identified two types of morality: the master morality, characterized by activity, creativity, and self-affirmation, and the slave morality, born of fear, resentment, and passivity.
Nietzsche’s concept of the ‘first revaluation’ described the triumph of the weaker slave morality over the master morality. The ‘death of God’ leads to nihilism, the loss of meaning in Western values. He distinguished between passive nihilism, embodied by the ‘last man’ who finds no value in life, and active nihilism, represented by the ‘lion’ who rebels against traditional values.
The Superman and the Overcoming of Nihilism
Nietzsche’s concept of the Superman represents the overcoming of nihilism. The Superman embraces life, health, and the creation of new values, breaking free from Christian morality. The ‘eternal return’, where the future desires to return to the past, signifies the acceptance of life’s cyclical nature. The Superman is exemplified by the metaphor of the child, innocent, creative, and free from guilt.
The ‘second revaluation’ involves the triumph of a reinterpreted master morality, where what was once considered negative becomes positive. Nietzsche’s aphorism 14 in ‘Genealogy of Morals’ mocks Plato’s ‘myth of the cave’, portraying it as a workshop where weakness is celebrated. He also critiques the concept of Judgment Day, where God rewards or punishes humans based on their earthly actions.
3. Comparison with Platonic Philosophy
Ontology and Epistemology
Plato’s ontology posits a dualism between the intelligible world of Ideas and the sensible world of things. Nietzsche rejected this dualism, asserting the primacy of the becoming world. Plato’s epistemology, based on Reminiscence and Dialectic, explains how humans can access knowledge of the Ideas. Nietzsche criticized this reliance on reason and language as a means to access truth.
Anthropology and Politics
Plato’s anthropology presents a dualism between the body and the soul, with the soul being immortal and capable of accessing truth. Nietzsche emphasized the embodied nature of human existence. Plato’s political theory, based on the tripartite structure of the soul and the principle of functional specialization, contrasts with Nietzsche’s critique of political authority. Plato’s educational system, advocating for equality between men and women and communism for the upper classes, differs significantly from Nietzsche’s individualistic perspective.
3b. Nietzsche’s Relevance Today
Atheism and the Decline of Religion
Nietzsche’s critique of religion and his concept of the ‘death of God’ resonate with contemporary trends. Western societies are experiencing a decline in religious belief and influence, particularly within Christianity. The crisis of vocations and the growing gap between Church doctrine and individual beliefs reflect a shift away from traditional religious authority. The rise of a personalized, consumerist approach to religion further supports Nietzsche’s critique. The ‘death of God’, as advocated by Nietzsche, has contributed to the secularization of Western culture.