Key Concepts in Nietzsche's Philosophy

Key Ideas in Nietzsche's Philosophy

Apollonian and Dionysian Forces

The Apollonian (Apollo) represents the Greek ideal of beauty and finished forms, light, harmony, and measurement.

The Dionysian (Dionysus) represents excess and unfinished art, often expressed in music.

For Nietzsche, the philosophy of Plato and Socrates embodies an Apollonian vision of the cosmos.

Nietzsche on Dionysus

For Nietzsche, however, Dionysus is the affirmation of the true character of Greece, with its affirmation of an instinctive, irrational, and vital world.

Dionysus is the god of wine (Bacchus to the Romans), representing the excessive celebration of life, music, confusion, night, irrationality, and bacchanalia. He is a genuine exponent of the real man who does not need to hide in the orderly and harmonious, making life visible and livable.

Dionysus embodies the real "fidelity to the earth," the true values of life, and "the will to power," as later embodied in the figure of the Übermensch (Superman).

Understanding Nihilism

For Nietzsche, once the values embodied in Christianity and Western culture have died, nihilism takes on two different meanings: negative and positive.

Negative Nihilism

Refers to the long process of decline of Western culture that began with Socrates, continued through Platonism, and especially with the Judeo-Christian tradition. The result of this decline is the loss of a sense of "becoming."

Without values or a compass, we walk aimlessly in the desert until we encounter the nihilism preached in philosophy, embodied by values inherent to the figure of the Übermensch (active nihilism), which represents an uprising and acceptance of something new.

Active Nihilism & the Übermensch

The Übermensch is one in whom the will to power is inherent. This will is not merely a biological or organic impulse towards future consummation in death, but a tacit affirmation of life with a vengeance, "beyond good and evil."

The Eternal Return Idea

As for the "eternal return": for Nietzsche, the only possible human freedom lies in the knowledge of the necessity of fate and the limits that nature imposes.

Master vs Slave Morality

Called "slave morality" or the "morality of decline," it stands in contrast to master morality.

Slave Morality Characteristics

Slave morality is typical of the weak and resentful of life—those who reject the body and its passions, who affirm the reality of a higher world for which they must sacrifice in this life.

This unnatural morality is born of the weak's resentment towards the strong, their hatred and revenge for being punished by their own weakness. It seeks to make its flaws into virtues, such as:

• Cowardice
• Resignation
• Etc.

Master Morality Traits

Master morality is typical of the strong, based on a desire for power and valuing this earthly life.

Origins of Slave Morality

The basis of slave morality is Platonism, which later inspired Christianity. Any morality that demands sacrifice and mortification in this life for the sake of another life in the hereafter is, for Nietzsche, an unnatural morality.