Nietzsche's Philosophical Criticisms: Concepts and Metaphysics

Nietzsche's Critique of Conceptual Knowledge

Becoming

The future is characterized by dynamic flow, not stasis. Throughout the history of philosophy, some authors have attempted to fix the future, rendering it static. Nietzsche believes that development is incomprehensible to reason, and this is precisely what philosophers have tried to bring order to chaos.

Idolaters of Concepts

This expression refers to Nietzsche's critique of traditional philosophers. These philosophers, clear examples of a life in decline, in their hatred of the future (a concept Nietzsche termed 'Egypticism'), have attempted to impose an order on reality and an unreal stability. They do this by reifying concepts, classifying them specifically to then worship them.

Nietzsche's Critique of Metaphysics: Part 1

Lying

Lying, as a product of reason, attempts to fix the evolution of concepts, moving far from reality, even though the senses show us a changing world. Current reality is a continuous flow and change, but reason considers this apparent and invents another "real" world. This "real" world is a fabricated lie.

The Concept of Being

For Nietzsche, concepts are the result of an abstraction process that ignores the peculiarities of what they seek to describe. In this text, he refers specifically to the concept of "Being," which pretends to refer to reality as a whole and transforms itself into an entity where change and individuality have no place.

Nietzsche's Critique of Metaphysics: Part 2

Science

Science is knowledge that possesses certainty. For Nietzsche, this certainty is particularly found in the senses, as their testimony is true (in contrast to the positions of other authors). However, his interest in this text focuses on distinguishing between science based on reality and theories that are merely signs.

Metaphysics

Metaphysics is the 'science' that seeks to apprehend the 'self' within a purely intelligible reality. In this text, Nietzsche attempts to distinguish between sciences based on the senses and those that are unfounded, particularly contrasting them with metaphysics. He fiercely criticizes German metaphysics, viewing it as having only distorted reality thus far.

Nietzsche's Critique of Metaphysics: Part 3

Causa Sui

Nietzsche uses this term within the context of what he calls 'dogmatic philosophy,' which spans from Socrates to his own time. These philosophers believe that everything that 'becomes' and is therefore 'begotten' is of less importance than what is always the same. That which is immutable cannot even have been conceived; it is causa sui, having its origin in itself.

God

For Nietzsche, "God" on one hand refers to the God of religion, but also to anything that might serve as a substitute. God is absolute, the absolute level of being, and by being beyond the world, can give meaning to existence. This includes what we commonly call God, but also concepts like Progress, Revolution, or Science. This is a consequence of a 'declining life'.