PHIL304: Existentialism

4a. Explain Nietzsche's critique of metaphysics

• How does Nietzsche criticize the history of philosophy?
• Define metaphysics. What is Nietzsche's criticism of metaphysics?

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), the German philosopher, critic, and poet, believed his philosophical predecessors were wrong to place so much faith in human reason. Their trust involved an implicit and explicit belief that knowledge is universal, or the same, at all times and places, for everyone.

Metaphysics, the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of reality, grapples with abstract concepts, such as substance, God, and mind. From as early as the Ancient Greeks, philosophers have sought to identify and explain the ultimate nature of things, from the simplest substance, to the existence of God, and the nature of a self that endures through change.

Nietzsche disagreed with philosophical disciplines that concentrated on a reality disengaged from our lived experience, which is of paramount importance. He argued that metaphysicians built complicated abstract theories that do not focus on our fundamental life struggles and the human drive to endure.

Moreover, Nietzsche argued that the history of metaphysics describes a history of rationalizing theological, particularly Christian, dogma. The early modern tradition of rationalists, such as René Descartes (1596–1650), Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), and Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), often used philosophical principles to justify and support religious belief, which Nietzsche rejected.

Revisit Kaufmann's discussion of Nietzsche. Focus on Nietzsche's critique of the relationship between philosophy and religion, and his description of the Overman.

4b. Define Nietzsche's contribution to the philosophical concept of perspectivism

• Define perspectivism.
• What is Nietzsche's perspectivism opposed to?
• How does perspectivism orient our thinking about truth?

A "view from nowhere," or the world of absolutes Socrates, Plato and Descartes supported, does not exist. Nietzsche argued there is a view, but it is from the individual.

As Dave Meier points out:

"If cognition is like vision in this way, then just as there is no such thing as a single complete visual image, to be seen from no particular vantage point (which yet preserves the idea of accurate or faulty representations of what can be seen from each), then there is no such thing as a single complete way things are for us to know (a "world-in-itself"): all there are are interpretive perspectives and what can be seen from them."

In addition to his negative critique of metaphysics and the rationalist philosophical tradition, Nietzsche argued with the empiricists, scientists who believe that knowledge is based on experience derived from observation. He argued that empiricists often referred to metaphysical beliefs (albeit from experiential evidence): to establish the sciences as the collective repository of objective knowledge. Nietzsche's perspectivist viewpoint aims to counter this commitment to objectivity.

A perspectivist believes that our views (or perspectives) are fundamentally subjective and informed by a variety of factors. Individuals can know things about the world, but, given the peculiarity and perspective of every individual, our knowledge is always simply an interpretation. Our philosophical claims depend on the factors that have influenced our opinion and our being. An empirical approach, the scientific method of inquiry and observation through experiments, offers a middle ground.

Review What Kind of Perspectivist is Nietzsche? by Dave Maier and Perspectivism and Truth in Nietzsche's Philosophy by Nate Olsen.

4c. Describe Nietzsche's critique of philosophical dogma

• How does Nietzsche's critique of philosophical dogma relate to his critiques of reason, science, and the concept of objective knowledge?

Nietzsche argued that the history of philosophy is, in a sense, the history of (philosophical) dogma. Nietzsche aims to dismantle this dogma by critiquing reason (more specifically, traditional metaphysics and presumptions about science), philosophy's practitioners, and the culture that emerges.

Note that some scholars argue that Nietzsche did not dismiss science in the same way he criticized the traditional rationalist account of reality, with its acceptance of absolutes, and the traditional Christian account of objective values. Instead, these scholars argue that Nietzsche's perspectivism allows for general truths to be understood as a sort of aggregation of perspectives, such as from a community of scientists.

The human condition is just one particular standpoint from which to view the world; there is no "view from nowhere." The abstractions of dogmatists (rationalists and Christians) only give the illusion that we can adopt such an absolutist stance.

The goal of learning "what there really is," or "what is really real," cannot be satisfied. That is because these attempts are merely interpretations of this or that thinker, with their own set of attitudes, beliefs, and perspective. In his book Beyond Good and Evil (1886), Nietzsche argued that the history of philosophy is a series of memoirs. The stated intention of finding and presenting reality, truth, and knowledge is really only a cover for defending pre-existing belief about these things.

Socrates (and his student Plato) is one of Nietzsche's targets. Insofar as Socrates introduces philosophical theory, and his theory about the good life, Socrates sets off the "terrific gear of logical Socratism" and "the turning point and backbone of so-called world history."

Review What Kind of Perspectivist is Nietzsche? by Dave Maier, Perspectivism and Truth in Nietzsche's Philosophy by Nate Olsen, and Philosophizing against Philosophy by Volker Gerhardt.

4d. Summarize Nietzsche's idea of power

• How does Nietzsche use his story about the camel, the lion and the child as an allegory to show how individuals can propel themselves beyond nihilism to a flourishing life that can realize the will to power.
• What does Nietzsche mean by a will to power?
• What does Nietzsche mean by the noble soul.

Nietzsche was influenced by the Ancient Greeks, via the dialectical interplay between Apollo and Dionysus, and the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer's (1788–1860) concept of the will to live. Nature is a relentless striving to life, a motion that creates and destroys. Because the human will is a natural force, it also strives to live.

Nietzsche found a middle ground between the repressive, prescriptive doctrine of Judeo-Christianity morality, and nihilism which described a world that lacks meaning, value and purpose.

The death of God results in nihilism, but Nietzsche introduced the three metamorphoses in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra (published in four parts from 1883–1891). Human beings can transform themselves from a camel (an obedient soul that carries and comes to resent its burdens), to a lion (a free spirit who is free from the past, tradition and authority), to a child (who wills its own will, knows the joy of life, and enjoys the innocence of perpetual creation). This spiritual transformation characterizes Nietzsche's vision of the flourishing life.

Nietzsche's "will to power" refers to the human desire to assert domination or mastery over others, oneself, or the environment. The will to power as Nietzsche describes can be beneficial or hurtful and describes a certain ambition, endeavor to achieve, or striving for excellence. For example, a philosopher or scientist directs their will to power to find truth, an artist channels a will to create, and a businessman works to become rich.

In The Gay Science (1882), Nietzsche wrote that a noble soul has reverence for itself. He writes:

"But that the passion which seizes the noble man is a peculiarity, without his knowing that it is so; the use of a rare and singular measuring-rod, almost a frenzy; the feeling of heat in things which feel cold to all other persons; a divining of values for which scales have not yet been invented; a sacrificing on altars which are consecrated to an unknown God; a bravery without the desire for honour; a self-sufficiency which has superabundance, and impares to men anc things. Hitherto, therefore, it has been the rare in man, and the unconsciousness of this rareness, that has made men noble." (GS 55)

Review Philosophizing against Philosophy by Volker Gerhardt and "Good and Evil, Good and Bad" and "Guilt, Bad Conscience, and Related Manners" from On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche.

4e. Describe Nietzsche's theory of morality

• What role do Apollo and Dionysus play in Nietzsche's thinking about morality?
• What is master and slave morality?
• What is the Übermensch (The Oveman)?

According to Nietzsche, Apollo and Dionysus represent conflicting creative powers and principles of creation: the continuous dialectic, or logical discussion, of creation versus destruction. Apollonian creation is rational, while Dionysian (Bacchanalian) creation revels in sensuous feeling which destroys rationality. They represent two oppositional powers, two kinds of contrasting art, that conflict in human life. Insofar as Greek tragedy envisions this conflict, affirming life in the face of individual destruction, Nietzsche sees a way for us to live: life becomes art. Hence, we "have our greatest dignity in our meaning as works of art."

The history of this process is the Overman (Übermensch) who creates values and lives life as a work of art: creation in the face of destruction. When he creates values, the Overman expresses himself. This individual contrasts with the person who accepts traditional ideas about reality and the good life, such as the Christian. This individual has goodness and values all wrong.

What is good, what is valuable, is not self-sacrifice for the greater good or doing one's duty for the sake of a moral principle. Rather, "good" is "the noble, the powerful, the superior, and the high-minded." In short, what is good, what is rightfully valued, is the morality of the "master." This is the individual who affirms life; the "slave" who exhibits traditional values denies it.

Review On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense and "Good and Evil, Good and Bad" and "Guilt, Bad Conscience, and Related Manners" from On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche. Also review Christopher Janaway on Nietzsche on Morality, Nietzsche's Immoralism: What Is Ethics, Anyway? by Mark Linsenmayer, and Philosophizing against Philosophy by Volker Gerhardt.

4f. Explain Nietzsche's theory of eternal recurrence

• How does Nietzsche characterize the possibility of eternal recurrence, or an endless life loop?

Imagine reliving every moment of yourlife for eternity. This thought experiment or contemplation, Nietzsche explained, encourages us to consider "the greatest weight" because it forces us to confront how we live our lives in every moment.

What sort of life would we live again and again for eternity? What would it look like, in terms of our attitudes, dispositions, goals, and values? As Volker Gerhardt puts it:

"...even the most insignificant of our actions takes on the weight of all eternity. Accordingly, we must act with the awareness that everything we do can be willed by us in infinite recurrence."

Nietzsche encouraged his readers to find inspiration to affirm life, rather than wallow in timidity and regret. This concept of eternal return is of considerable existential import.

Review the section "Aphorism 341, The Greatest Weight" from The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche, and Philosophizing against Philosophy by Volker Gerhardt.

4g. Analyze the main existentialist themes in Nietzsche's philosophy

• How does Nietzsche's rejection of traditional values reflect existential concerns?

Nietzsche wrote:

"Why the 'world' exists, why 'humanity' exists need not concern us for the present moment […], but why you, individual, exist, this ask yourself and if no one can tell you, then try to justify the meaning of existence a posteriori by setting for yourself some purpose, some goal, some 'therefore,' a high and noble 'therefore.' Perish in pursuit of your goal – I know no higher life-purpose than to perish in the pursuit of something great and impossible." (from Untimely Meditations, 1876)

We will not find meaning independently of experience, via the pure logical, deductive reasoning of the rationalists. Rather, an individual creates and finds meaning when they generate and pursue their own goals. In this way, Nietzsche's view is solidly existential.

Nietzsche argued that our goals should be "high" and "noble," which suggests a pre-existing notion of what these words mean. There is value in the world, in human existence, but not in the ordinary or traditional sense. That is because, unlike the traditional sense which Nietzsche associated with a denial of life and vitality, his account was life affirming (or Dionysian).

We will not find the meaning of life in traditional religious or philosophical beliefs. Indeed, the metaphysical "real" world of Plato's Forms and the God of Abraham, disappears with the rise of atheistic science in Nietzsche's "Parable of the Madman."

What is left to fill the void of meaninglessness? A belief, regardless of how illusory it may be. For Nietzsche, we generate meaning by setting the most difficult tasks for ourselves and pursuing them with the discipline and obedience needed to achieve them.

Review the Parable of the Madman from The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche and Philosophizing against Philosophy by Volker Gerhardt.

Unit 4 Vocabulary

• Apollo
• Dionysian
• Eternal recurrence
• Master morality
• Metaphysics
• Noble soul
• Perspectivism
• Revaluation of values
• Slave morality
• Übermensch (the Overman)
• Will to power