The Genealogy of Morals / The Complete Works, Volume Thirteen, edited by Dr. Oscar Levy.

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Gutenberg ID

52319

Title

The Genealogy of Morals / The Complete Works, Volume Thirteen, edited by Dr. Oscar Levy.

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Nietzsche's polemic dismantles traditional morality, tracing the origins of 'good' and 'evil' to historical power dynamics and psychological resentment. This work challenges the ascetic ideal and pity, arguing they signal life's exhaustion. A profound critique of Christian ethics and modern nihilism, it demands a new valuation of strength and health.

Summary up to 500 words

In *The Genealogy of Morals*, Friedrich Nietzsche launches a rigorous polemic against traditional moral concepts, arguing that distinctions between 'good' and 'evil' are not divine truths but historical artifacts born of social conflict. The work is divided into three essays that trace the psychological and historical evolution of these values. The first essay examines the origins of moral judgments, positing that 'good' and 'evil' arose from the tension between aristocratic masters and resentful slaves. Nietzsche contends that the 'morality of custom' is older and more original than the altruistic ethics of pity and self-sacrifice championed by philosophers like Schopenhauer and Dr. Paul Rée. He views the modern elevation of pity as a sinister symptom of European civilization, leading toward a 'European Buddhism' or nihilism. The second essay explores the psychology of the 'bad conscience,' describing how the internalization of cruelty, once directed outward, turned inward to create guilt and the concept of an infinite debt to a divine creditor. This mechanism culminated in Christianity's paradoxical solution: the God who immolates Himself to forgive the unpayable debt of man. The third essay interrogates the meaning of ascetic ideals, revealing them as expressions of a 'horror vacui'—a fear of nothingness that drives men to will nothingness rather than cease willing altogether. Throughout the text, Nietzsche critiques the mediocrity of modern Europe, the effeminacy of democratic ideas, and the 'herd instinct' that worships the weak. He calls for a 'great health' and a future 'conqueror of God and Nothingness' who can redeem reality from the curse of old ideals. The work stands as a foundational text for existential thought, offering a radical re-evaluation of values based on the affirmation of life, power, and the will to create new meanings. Nietzsche warns that the cultivation of herd virtues merely develops the 'herd-animal' in man, causing humanity to sink lower despite its belief in rising higher. He anticipates a future redeemer who will free the will from the labyrinth of fixed ideas and nihilism, restoring hope and a goal to mankind.

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Categories

• Philosophy
• Ethics