modern philosophy_nietzsche.doc

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NIETZSCHE

BECOMING AND BEING

Scholastic: Philip Trn Thanh Minh

Class: The First Year of Philosophy

Subject: Modern and Contemporary Philosophy

Professor: Fr. Terry Walsh, S.J.

St. Joseph Scholasticate-Vietnam Province of the Society of Jesus

Thu Duc-Vietnam, July 30, 2010

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Content

1. The problem 1

2. Necessary understandings 1

3. Nietzsches Argument 2

4. Denying Gods existence for humans existence 3

5. Nietzsches Naturalism 4

6. What is the value? 5

7. The innocence of becoming 5

8. Conclusion 6

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List of reference books

1. NIETZSCHE, Friedrich Wilhelm, Twilight of the Idols-With the Antichirst and Ecco

Homo (translated by Antony M. Ludovici), Wordworth Editions Limited Publishing

House, London, England, 2007.

2. NIETZSCHE, Friedrich Wilhelm, The Gay Science, (edited by Bernard Williams),

Cambrigde University Press, London, England, 2003.

3. NIETZSCHE, Friedrich Wilhelm, The Will to Power, (translated by Walter Kaufmann &

R. J. Hollingdale, edited by Walter Kaufmann), Random House Inc., Newyork, USA,

1968.

4. GODFREY,Joseph J., SJ, Philosophy of Religion,A particularist Introduction-

Handbook and Readings, Saint Josephs University, Pennsylvania, USA, 2010.

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Essay Topic: Nietzsche values becoming over being. What kind of argument does he

give to support this reversal of Western philosophy? Do you agree or disagree with

him?

1. The problem

Nietzsche values becoming over being, for him, because this apparent world is

one and real world and this world is the world of becoming. This means that we accept

suffering, changing, and growth as our reality. Nietzsche denies the world of being, the

world of metaphysics and religion which is established in the tradition of Western by

philosophers. In this term, Nietzsche does deny all of Western philosophy aboutmetaphysics and religion.

2. Necessary understandings

Before we trace Nietzsches thought, we should show here the way of

understanding what is becoming and what is being in Western philosophy at that

time. In general, philosophy accepts that there are two worlds of reality: the world of

being and the world of becoming. About the former, almost philosophers admit that theworld of being is the world of metaphysics that is the one, true, real and unchanging

world. It is the world of God, souls and of what is eternal. This world is the end of

religion or we call it Heaven. In this world, human being can only find out what is

valuable and good. In comparison with this world, the world of becoming has no value

or merely a negative value in its self unless it reaches out to state of being or completed

state.

In this perspective, philosophy considers this apparent world or the world ofbecoming as the world is in a process of change. All things in this world are coming

into being and passing away. Thats all! Therefore, it can be said that what is

movement, development, suffering, etc has no meaning at all. It just could have value

only if it completely comes into being.

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3. Nietzsches Argument

In his argument, Nietzsche rejects that perspective of his contemporaries. To do

this reversal, Nietzsche begins with the problem of Socrates. He agrees with Socrates at

a point that human beings need reason to fight against and master human instincts to

lead them rightly. We have to imitate Socrates and produce a permanent daylight

against the dark desires -- the daylight of reason., Nietzsche writes. However,

Nietzsche rejects Socrates response before life for Socrates saying that: Living, that

means being sick along time. Eventually, Socrates chooses poison cup to end his life as

a way to enter a real world. Nietzsche calls this event as a symptom of pathology, a

psychological condition. He writes: Judgments, value judgments about life, for or

against, can in the final analysis never be true; they have value only as symptoms. One

absolutely must reach out and try to grasp this astounding finesse, that the value of life

cannot be assessed. [Twilight of the Idols, no. 2] For the life cannot be asserted,

according to Nietzsche, we have to live out this life with its fullness and richness.

Hence, he protests the world so-call the ascetic ideal of philosophers in which human

being avoids facing to struggles of existence to invented sphere of unreal, but

comforting and illusions. In summary, Nietzsche calls this decadence.

Nietzsche continues to criticize philosophers of their points of view about thislife as what is becoming which should be objected. To them, death, change, and age are

meaningless. To deny this view, Nietzsche affirms that this apparent world is the only

world. In addition, he ironically says that the true world which is called the world of

being is just added to it by a lie. Nietzsche argues that:

That nobody gives human beings their qualities, neither God, nor society,nor their parents and ancestors, nor they. Nobody is responsible for beinghere in the first place, for being constituted in such and such a way, for

being in these circumstances, in this environment. The fatality of ouressence cannot be separated from the fatality of all that was and will be. Weare not the consequence of a special intention, a will, a goal; we are not

being used in an attempt to reach an ideal of humanity, or an ideal ofhappiness, or an ideal of morality. [Twilight of the Idols, no. 36]

Thus, what is reason for appearance of what so-called the world of being in

Western philosophy? Nietzsche who called himself as a psychologist asserts that the

world of being is a mere psychological need. In his explanation, Nietzsche claims that

we all have the need of prolonging or preservation of our survival. The world of

becoming or the world of changing and suffering cannot supplies us any what is stable

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or unchangeable; thus, we have projected our needs into the world of being where we

think that we will live forever in happiness an in stability. In order to create such a

world of metaphysics, philosophers argue that: This world is apparent: consequently

there is a true world; this world is a world of becoming: consequently there is a world of

being . . . [The Will to Power, no 579]. For Nietzsche, this type of argument of the

true world is just a lie. He strongly says that eternal bliss by no means has a

psychological sense. Therefore, Brave and creative men never consider pleasure and

pain as ultimate values -- they are epiphenomena: one must desire both if one is to

achieve anything. That they see the problem of pleasure and pain in the foreground

reveals something weary and sick in metaphysicians and religious people. [The Will to

Power, no. 579] A brave and creative man, for Nietzsche, is a person who dares to face

to reality and to his fate in any circumstances because God is dead and human being

becomes his master for himself in this very world.

In the process of destroying the true world, or the world of metaphysics and

religion, Nietzsche requires human being to accept a period of time called intermediary

period of nihilism. Nietzsche defines a nihilist as a man who judges of the world as it

is that it ought not to be, and of the world as it ought to be that it does not exist.

because according to this view, our existence (action, suffering, willing, and feeling)

has no meaning . . . For Nietzsche, nihilism only plays the role of mediator at the time

before there is yet present the strength to reverse values and to deify becoming and the

apparent world as the only world, and to call them good. [The Will to Power, no.585]

4. Denying Gods existence for humans existence

That it is the best way to deny the world of being is getting rid of Gods

existence. Nietzsche claims that God is dead. Of course, he understands that human

being is not able to kill God. He just denies Gods existence. For him, there is nothingoutside this apparent world. He writes:

One is necessary, one is a piece of destiny, one belongs to the whole, one isin the whole. There is nothing that could rule, measure, compare, judge our

being, for that would mean ruling, measuring, comparing, and judging thewhole... But there is nothing outside the whole! That nobody is maderesponsible anymore, that no way of being may be traced back to a causaprima, that the world is not a unity, either as sensorium or as spirit, onlythis is the great liberation -- in this way only, the innocence of becoming isrestored. The concept God was up to now the greatest objection againstexistenceWe deny God, and in denying God we deny responsibility: only

this do we redeem the world. [Twilight of the Idols, The Four Great Errors,8]

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When we deny God, there is no sin, there is no redemption. When God does not

exist, we get the innocence of becoming. The concept of God, for Nietzsche, is the

greatest objection against existence. However, it is difficult to reject Gods shadow after

the death of God. In The Gay Science, Nietzsche mentions that question: God is

dead; but given the way of men, there may still be caves for thousands of years in which

his shadow will be shown. and wewe still have to vanquish his shadow, too! [The

Gay Science, no. 108]

No God means there is no the world of being. Thus, metaphysics and religions

have no position in the role of directing of human being; however, Nietzsche shows that

we cannot live without orientation which does not come from human but comes from

some form of transcendence. He asks:

Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What were we doingwhen we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whitherare we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? And

backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down?Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath ofempty space? [The Gay Science, no. 125]

5. Nietzsches Naturalism

Eventually, Nietzsche chooses naturalism as solution to understand the nature ofthe human being. This naturalistic method requires that philosophy, as a practical

science, should pay intention to empirical inquiry. For that reason, Nietzsche highly

appreciates psychology in curing what he calls pathological condition. In addition, he

admits ontological method to explain that the only things that exist are physical things.

Here we refer to two definitions ofNaturalism in order to make clear what is stressed in

this theory:

1. Naturalism is the view that everything about human beings and theirliving can be explained by processes in nature and in human nature, that is,in humanity reality as living and thinking and socially existing, and as wellas engaging in ethical and religious activities and understandings.1

2.Naturalism is a belief that the world can be understood in scientific termswithout spiritual or supernatural explanations. The doctrine completelyrejects the Christian belief that there is a God that created and watches overthis world. Science is the god and savior of Naturalism.2

1Cf. Joseph J. Godfrey, SJ, Philosophy of Religion,A particularist Introduction-Handbook and

Readings, Saint Josephs University, 2010, p. 42.

2Cf. www.renewanation.org/what_is_naturalism_

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We can see that in naturalism, there is denial of Gods existence and all human

problems can be solved by science as if science is the God and Savior of Naturalism.

6. What is the value?

As mentioned above, Nietzsche tries to analyze and criticize metaphysics. For

him, there is no way of being in which human being trace back to a cause prima. The

world of being is only a product made from the blend of Greek metaphysics, Judaism

and Christianity. What they call true world for Nietzsche is not true, it is false. It is a

mere invention. Like this, Nietzsche does not admit the value of God, spirit, morality or

religion; he also rejects duty, the good and truth, etc. According to Nietzsche,

metaphysics is negation (or denial) of nature. In contrast, Nietzsche affirms the world of

becoming, that is the world of nature in which all physical things are in the process of

change and coming into being and passing away. The world of nature is true and only

world. It is the world of this apparent world and of self.

Nietzsche tries to conflict between two worlds. For value is the real and an

appearance of the good for us, thus when Nietzsche says Yes to real world that means

he affirms its value. The world of metaphysics has no value because it is not real.

Because we do not find value in nature, we find value in metaphysics. We cannot findvalue in this word because we have negative experience. We have negative experience

because we see suffering in this world, the word of becoming in which we see all things

are finite and changing. If we were born in this world, we will suffer, get sick and die. It

is negative for us; thus, we cannot achieve anything.

7. The innocence of becoming

What does the innocence of becoming mean? For Nietzsche, the innocence of

becoming is the only way to attain the great liberation. It is the form of freedom from

ends or from what Nietzsche calls any system of purpose. Nietzsche expresses: The

absolute necessity of total liberation from ends; otherwise we should not be permitted

to try to sacrifice ourselves and let ourselves go. Only the innocence of becoming gives

us the greatest courage and the greatest freedom. [The will to Power, no. 787] It can

be said that the innocence of becoming is the end of becoming. It is the feeling of

freedom. It is a state of no guilt, no judgment. Hence, Nietzsche criticizes the concepts

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reward, punishment, the good and evil action. The innocence of becoming is the

result of denying of God. No God, no guilt!

8. Conclusion

Friedrich Nietzsche is a remarkable thinker in Western philosophy. His

shadow is shown until now to us. In fact, his thoughts bring a lot of positive effect to us

when they help us in living out our realities in this world. Through his theory, we could

realize the values which we should attain in any circumstances of our lives. Nietzsche

encourages us to face to suffering and change by our own strength in very our human

nature. In addition, in religious perspective, Nietzsches thoughts give us a mature look

at our faith. Sometimes, we need to be freed of tie of religion which is rigidly

established in ourselves to take a mature look from outside.

However, it is negative when Nietzsche pushes his theory to the point of

denying Gods existence. When Nietzsche rejects the world of metaphysics, Nietzsche

erases the ultimate end and hope of himself and of persons who accept his theory.

According to Nietzsche, human being will not find out any meaning of his suffering.

Only feeling of the innocence of becoming is worthy to seek. If so, we will always be

in the circle of suffering. Furthermore, if Nietzsche definitively gets rid of the basic of

metaphysics and religion, his philosophy never reaches out to ultimate end and meaning

of existence of human being.

In general, each philosophical thought supplies us a fresh and good viewpoint

toward the life and reality. Nietzsche thought, if it is accepted on positive aspects, also

brings new life energy to us as human being who is living in this apparent world.

-----------------------------------The end-------------------------------------------

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