On the Genealogy of Morals Irony

On the Genealogy of Morals Irony

Good as the defense of the defenseless

The idea came about in Abrahamic religions that the value of religion was that it institutionalized the protection of the weak and powerless. Nietzsche's preference for natural selection means that he despises this form of religious moralism. In Nietzsche's estimation, the defense of the defenseless is absolutely incoherent and indefensible.

Evil as the seizure of power

Nietzsche correctly assumes that what people fear most about evil is the wrongful seizure of power. But in a world without morality, there is simply no reason to not take as much power as one can afford. That's Darwin's theory at work, says Nietzsche. Therefore, what man views as "evil" is simply to behave according to nature. Nietzsche doesn't accept the assumption that the natural way is evil.

The backwards orientation of religion

In Nietzsche's Genealogy the central argument is that human religion is exactly backwards. The animals practice their religion in their obedience to their natural instinct, but the humans practice their religion by repressing and suppressing their emotional behavior and their violent instincts. Nietzsche sees no need for this, since obviously the rest of the animals get alone fine in their violent, libidinous way.

The need for ideals

Nietzsche explains that although most humans feel their call to identity and destiny to be something of a religious phenomenon, it is actually just their animal wish-fulfillment. For Nietzsche's the prospect of an ideal human (a messiah for example) is nothing but a cruel joke. Without a God up in the sky, there's nothing "ideal." Therefore those people who govern their lives according to ideals are nothing but animals stuck in a habit.

The value of asceticism

Without an afterlife to speak of, Nietzsche's view of the human soul stops as soon as the animal heartbeat stops in a man's chest. Therefore, the normal interpretation of asceticism (transcendentalism and mastery) are only worth what they earn for the person. For instance, a writer who disciplines himself to write well does reap the benefit of being able to write well, but for Nietzsche, this stops at death, so the ultimate gain is still just whatever the person pretended the sacrifice was worth. In other words, he doesn't think that asceticism matters if there is no meaning to life.

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