Nietzsche’s genealogy’s contribution to ethics

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

5 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

07/13/2009

Category :

Philosophy & literature

Sub category :

Humanities/philosophy

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Summary :

Introduction
The structure of 'On the Genealogy of Morals'
The master-slave analysis
Analysis of bad conscience
The idea of the omnipotent God
Asceticism
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

Friedrich nietzsche is arguably one of the most influential philosophers of the 19th century as he challenged the roots of Christianity and the morality that came from it. He was a believer of life, and the realities of the world, not in the life that was rooted in religion. In other words, he did not believe, in fact he argued against that which was based on the world beyond. The core of his philosophy was rooted in the questioning of doctrines that were not positive for life and this included the doctrine of Christianity which nietzsche saw so many people dedicating their life to, and he believed it to be an unnecessary source of stress and worry for people. He wrote many influential pieces, one of which was On the genealogy of Morals, A Polemic. This was a collection of three essays that expanded on his critique of Christianity that he began in his earlier writing in Beyond Good and Evil. It begins with an examination of master morality and servant morality, and holds that the traditional ideals that this religion put forth, particularly those dealing with morality were just a product of self-deception because they were created with the wrong ideals as a guiding point. It is here where we see the reference to nietzsche's "blond beast" which has come to be a point of great controversy for some in reading his work. He builds on these ideas in the second essay by arguing that Christianity has confused the ideas of conscience and guilt, as this religion has socially constructed them by causing people to turn against their own natural inclinations. He also discusses how punishment arose out of the creditor-debtor relationship. Finally, in the third essay, he emphasizes the truth-oriented ascetic ideals that lie at the root of art, religion and philosophy.