Nietzsches Genealogy of Morals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nietzsches Genealogy of Morals - Essay Example This essay discusses that Nietzsche’s criticisms of the traditional notions of good and evil spans an array of his work and takes on more developed form in the Genealogy of Morals. This essay examines Nietzsche’s overarching philosophical considerations within this text. Nietzsche deconstructs the notions of good and evil. He argues that what has emerged are different forms of these concepts and that in actuality the differing meanings behind these terms are diametrically opposed. One of the most significant considerations in understanding ‘good’ in the sense of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ is the notion of slave morality. For him this is a moral code that has emerged in a society wherein the weak-willed have convinced the strong that their mode of strength is actually evil. Nietzsche believes then that the fundamental impulse of society is the will to power and that morality and the social structures implemented by much of civilization have emerged as a means of manipulation. One of his most potent arguments is that the concept of evil is different for the higher class than for the lower class. This notion extends from Nietzsche’s general contention that civilization is structured on erroneous notions of morality that serve to contribute to the self-interest of the individual or institution embracing them. Nietzsche believes that society should free themselves from these social constraints and embrace instinctual urges to power, as it is this will to power that underlines society’s main drives. He states, â€Å"That every will must consider every other will its equal — would be a principle hostile to life, an agent of the dissolution and destruction of man, an attempt to assassinate the future of man, a sign of weariness, a secret path to nothingness† (Nietzsche, p. 73). This consideration directly contrasts Christian morality that seeks to view the social order in terms of equality and embrace forms of weakness.