Nietzsche Flashcards
For Nietzsche, which comes first, ‘good’ or ‘evil’?
for Nietzsche, ‘good’ originally defined the noble and powerful, while ‘evil’ was used later by the weak to label those who oppressed them, thus ‘good’ conceptually precedes ‘evil.’
What does Nietzsche mean when he says: “For just as common people separate the
lightning from its flash and take the latter as a doing, as an effect of a subject called
lightning, so popular morality also separates strength from the expression of strength as if
there were behind the strong an indifferent substratum that is free to express strength – or not to”?
Trying to separate strength from its expression is like trying to separate the flash from lightning. Strength is only meaningful when it’s projected outward. If someone doesn’t show strength when they’re supposed to, their display of strength is fake because real strength lies in actually being strong.
How does Nietzsche understand the “sovereign individual”?
Someone who successfully chooses their own values and convinces others to adopt those values has power to shape the world according to their moral beliefs. Nietzsche’s idea of the sovereign individual challenges the norms established by those who rebelled against authority.
What does Nietzsche mean by a ‘genealogy’ of a concept?
Studying the past origins of morality, similar to tracing an organism’s genetic history, helps us understand how moral ideas develop over time. This knowledge is crucial for critiquing contemporary moral values effectively.
