Nietzsche's Philosophy: Superman, Nihilism, Eternal Return

Superman

According to Nietzsche, there are two different moralities: the master and the slave. The master creates their own moral code, while the slave adheres to a code they lack the courage to challenge. To establish a master morality, the creative Übermensch (superman) is necessary. The Übermensch embodies the will to power, overcomes nihilism, and creates a new set of values. They reject slave morality and herd behavior, possessing the capacity and determination to create values faithful to life. The Übermensch lives finitely, accepts life's meaninglessness, and faces existence's terrors bravely. They embrace risk, suffering, and life's intensity, opposing egalitarianism. In essence, the Übermensch is the energetic affirmation of life, the creator and master of themself, and a free spirit. This requires three transformations: the camel (blind obedience), the lion (rejection of traditional values), and finally, the child.

Nihilism

Nietzsche distinguishes two types of nihilism:

1) Active Nihilism: A philosophy that exposes dominant values as inventions. Nietzsche, in this sense, aims to destroy existing values and replace them with new ones.

2) Passive Nihilism: The belief that existence is untenable, empty, and meaningless, stemming from the 'death of God'.

Eternal Return

A song is always found in life and always loved. Embrace every situation that makes life worth living. Acceptance is eternal life in every moment. This concept of time involves accepting all past events and situations.

Since the universe's force is finite and time is infinite, this force will inevitably give rise to finite things. A finite combination in infinite time is condemned to repeat infinitely.

Critique of Metaphysics

Nietzsche criticized the metaphysical notion of being, challenging its claims:

1) Authentic reality is fixed, stable, and immutable.

2) Evolution is a deception of the senses.

3) There is another world.

Nietzsche countered that reality's attributes are mobility and plurality. The sensible world exists; others are unprovable. He argued that metaphysics confuses the latter with the former, blaming language and grammar for this confusion. Language makes us believe in a self due to the subject-predicate structure. Nietzsche stated:

1) The 'I' is a fiction based on similar statements.

2) We can never fully eliminate metaphysics or the idea of God.

3) To understand life, use open metaphors and intuition rather than static language.

4) Metaphysicians' hidden motives are: a) Fear of life, b) Hatred of life, c) Revenge against life.

Critique of Science

Nietzsche criticized the Enlightenment's rejection of positivist metaphysics while replacing it with science. He believed science is based on faith, arguing that:

A) Scientists overestimate their intellectual abilities.

B) Truth and falsehood are social conventions.

Nietzsche accused scientists of a false objectivity that excludes sensitivity and emotion. He asserted that:

1) Lying is sometimes as useful as truth.

2) The pursuit of scientific truth can be useless and even dangerous.

3) Science's underlying attitude is a fear of life.