Master and Slave Morality

Freidrich Nietzsche

‘Conscious of the truth he has once seen, man now sees everywhere only the horror or the absurdity of existence.’

Ibid p. 60

Nietzsche’s greatest influence was Arthur Schopenhauer.

Schopenhauer believed that there was a division between

appearance and reality. The true reality was our ‘wills’ and

that everything we experienced was an illusion that served

to illustrate what our wills were striving towards. The only

reason we live is to fulfill our will’s desires, which include

eating, drinking, sleeping, and so forth. However, even

when we satiate these desires they eventually return.

Because of this Schopenhauer believed that life was

perpetual suffering.

Nietzsche initially embraced this view but

then moved on to a different standpoint.

Nietzsche believed that the world was a

horrible, chaotic place that should be

acknowledged as such, and that the proper

way to deal with the absurdity of existence

was through art.

Nietzsche’s idea of art included oneself as an artist, a spectator and

our own work of art. In other words, he was a proponent of ‘creating oneself’ according to

ones own ultimate plan.

The original barbarians (‘masters,’) who started civilization, ran around and did what they wanted

because they were stronger and healthier than everyone else. They beat others up, took what they

wanted, and generally whooped it up just because they could. The weaker people (‘slaves,’) who were

generally more intelligent, got sick of getting beat up and found a way to stop the barbarians from beating them up. They convinced the barbarians that what they were doing was “wrong” and that they were

doing things that were morally “evil”. This is where slave-master morality comes from.

Slave morality: Herd Mentality

• This type of morality arises from resentment of what the slave wishes he/she could be

• Weakness becomes meritorious

• Strength of character becomes evil

• Traits praised are humility, altruism

• Self-deception is the norm

Fight Club - the slave character defines himself by his possessions

Master morality: Individualism

• This type of morality arises from embracing chaos and being strong enough to create value in absurdity

• Strong-will and experimentation are meritorious• Traits praised are creativity, expression• Self-awareness is essential• Does not seek outside approval

Fight Club - Tyler Durden is an example of master morality, a character unafraid to challenge convention and

accept the chaos and darkness of the world

Tyler challenges ‘the main character’ to face the pain of existence

Do you think we live in a society of slaves, or masters?