Nietzsche's Superman: A Philosophical Examination

Nietzsche's Superman

The Dionysian Influence

The Dionysian excess and tragic longing permeates Nietzsche's view of humanity. As he states in Beyond Good and Evil, "Man must be educated for war, and woman for the rest of the warrior. All else is madness." Nietzsche's anthropological reflection, while varied, consistently distinguishes between ordinary individuals and great individuals.

Free Spirits vs. Supermen

In Human, All Too Human, Nietzsche refers to distinguished individuals as "free spirits." These individuals are detached and adaptable, capable of embracing new perspectives and actions. They stand in contrast to "free thinkers," the Enlightenment figures of the 18th century who fought against the feudal regime and advocated for egalitarianism. Over time, the concept of the "free spirit" proved insufficient for Nietzsche, leading him to propose the "Superman" ("Übermensch") as a response to the decline of the West.

The Death of God and the Rise of the Superman

Nietzsche viewed modern man as the culmination of two thousand years of declining culture, the end of the Platonic-Christian era marked by the "death of God." This death, already underway, necessitates the emergence of the Superman. The Superman must actively embody a heroic attitude after centuries of societal domestication. This involves a shift from slave morality to master morality.

Embracing Earthly Meaning

Only those who reject the purpose of history, the morality of equality, and other otherworldly values can pave the way for the Superman. The Superman does not represent a loss of meaning, but rather an affirmation of earthly meaning and the concept of eternal return. It signifies the victory over the mind-body duality, uniting both in an affirmation of the vital impulse of the will to power. This transformation is cultural, not genetic; the individual becomes their own creator.

A New Aristocracy

The Superman replaces Christian values with their opposites: humility with pride, gentleness with fierceness, love of neighbor with selfishness, equality with difference. To achieve these objectives, individuals must declare war on the masses, harnessing the will to power through cunning and force. Humanity, according to Nietzsche, should be guided by a new aristocracy that transcends moral and legal obstacles.