Unmasking Western Values: Nietzsche’s Critical Lens
Nietzsche’s Philosophy
A Critique of Western Thought
Nietzsche’s philosophy presents a radical critique of Western culture and values, proposing the vibrancy of life as an alternative to tradition. This critique follows three main lines:
- Critique of Morality
- Critique of Metaphysics (Ontology and Epistemology)
- Critique of Positivist Science
Critique of Morality
Nietzsche criticizes the imposed moral standards of conduct, deeming them unnatural. He argues that these standards suppress human instincts, passions, and feelings. The claim that these laws originate from God, rather than humanity, is a symptom of decadence and nihilism. For Nietzsche, God is a fabrication, an invention of the weak to constrain life. There is no external authority imposing behavior; we must reject such notions.
Critique of Metaphysics
Traditional morality is rooted in Platonism, which forms the basis of traditional metaphysics (ontology). This view posits a static reality, distinguishing between the sensible world (unreal) and the intelligible world (real, containing truth). Nietzsche counters that reality is what our senses perceive – a constant state of change, creation, and destruction. He attributes the flaw in traditional ontology to humanity’s fear of explaining (and rationally fixing through concepts) a reality characterized by constant becoming. This fear leads to a yearning for a better world and a dismissal of the sensible world as “revenge” for our inability to explain it. The division between the two worlds is a “fiction,” a symptom of nihilism and decadence.
Critique of Epistemology and the Power of Art
Nietzsche argues that the creation of the intelligible world is based on concepts – “conceptual mummies” used to fix a multifaceted and changing reality. These concepts are “cobwebs without content,” “masks” merged with the “face” (true fact), mistaken for true reality. He questions the efficacy of concepts as the best method of representing reality. He attributes the error of epistemology to the psychological habit of concept development (for rational explanation), rooted in language. Our languages are structured into subject and predicate, with a predominance of the static (subject) over the dynamic (predicate), thus shaping our concept formation. Nietzsche proposes art (specifically the Dionysian, not the Apollonian) and the metaphor as more suitable approaches to representing a changing reality, as they offer multiple perspectives.
Critique of Positivist Science
Nietzsche’s critique of excessive rationalism in metaphysics extends to positivist science. Contrary to his emphasis on the individual and the qualitative, science offers only a quantitative explanation of reality, viewing it as pure mechanism. He criticizes science’s attempt to become a role model, replacing morality, and its use by the State, which he considers the “worst of monsters.”
Crisis of Values and the Death of God
This critique arises amidst a crisis of values stemming from Platonism. Traditional values, presented as inherent behaviors, are disappearing. This is represented by the “death of God,” as God was the guarantor of those values. This loss leads to a loss of meaning in life – what Nietzsche terms nihilism. This nihilism began with a transformation of Greek values, neglecting this life in favor of a focus on the afterlife.
Will to Power and the Superman
Nietzsche sees a positive aspect to nihilism: the destruction of traditional values is the first step towards constructing new values and a new conception of a shifting and contingent reality, driven by instincts and passion. This is reflected in the concept of the “will to power” (creative force, vital force, law of the strongest), which recognizes the true reality of being: the future. Human reason, Nietzsche argues, will never fully grasp this reality through concepts alone. He appeals to art, instinct, and metaphor, offering openness to different perspectives on reality.
These new values belong to a new human, the superman, who embraces life as it is lived and embodies the will to power. The transformation from human to superman involves three stages: the “camel” (bearing traditional values without protest), the “lion” (the great denier, the nihilist who destroys traditional values), and finally, the child (who develops new values).
Eternal Return
The superman’s values represent the exaltation of life and a complete absence of transcendence. This love of life is so profound that it desires eternal existence (eternal return). This concept abandons the linear time of Christianity and embraces the cyclical time of the Greeks (particularly Heraclitus, “the only philosopher who has not distorted the truth”).