Beyond Good and Evil: The Sequel (not by Nietzsche)
Nietzsche’s teachings reimagined by a teen in the 21st Century
We all have our own struggles and trials on a day-to-day basis. We’re taught what is wrong and what is right from the day we are born (practically), and many of us haven’t deviated from that.
But what many of us likely haven’t realized is that so many things that we do or think are right are subjective morals. What influences this?
Perspective.
On average, before a child reaches the age of 7, his/her parents are the heroes of their life, and can practically do no wrong. As a young human’s personal moral compass is developing within them, their climate, parents, and what they are surrounded by deeply influence the succession and graduation of their moral compass.
For example, take a young child whose parents rob banks and steal money to get by (bear with me). If the child sees his parents stealing money and hurting people, it’s likely that he may feel like those actions are considerable, and that observation and feeling will always take up a place within his moral compass.
On the other hand, a young, cornfed child living comfortably in an upper-middle-class home will have entirely different perceptions of many actions as opposed to the bank robbers’ son.
The two completely different perspectives greatly contribute to each of the two children’s lives as they grow and gain more and more perspective on daily values.
Enter Nietzsche.
As a philosopher of the 19th century, Nietzsche and his teachings have been thought to be some of the most influential teachings on Western culture.
Nietzsche was an essayist, philosopher, and cultural critic. He has numerous writings on many subjects, particularly on truth, morality, nihilism, and the meaning of existence.
Feel like he’s familiar? Perhaps it is because you’ve heard many of his quotes before. Some of them include:
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
“Without music, life would be a mistake.”
and “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
So yeah, Nietzsche had some pretty impactful quotes that are quite popular, even a hundred years later, but why was he important?
Nietzsche had so many influential opinions, and, while some of his beliefs are quite controversial, he likely is one of the most logical philosophers I have studied. While he made comments on a large array of different topics and subjects, I think that the best way to describe his philosophy as a whole would be perspectivism.
Perspectivism
In simplest terms, perspectivism is the idea that there is no actual truth in the world, in anything and at any time. Going back to the example at the beginning, the bank robbers’ son will have a much different view of reality than the cornfed middle-class child. It’s not unlike how someone who is financially comfortable will view something, like bread, much differently than someone who hasn’t eaten anything in days will.
Take this drawing, for example:
While someone who is looking at it straightforward will see it as it’s shown in the picture, someone standing further to the right or left will see it extremely differently. Like perspective within our minds, our place in space and time reflects and changes based on where we are, and what our circumstances are.
That being said, perspective is, unfortunately, all about circumstance, reality, and social class. Not only will someone’s life experiences, beliefs, interactions, and unique place on Earth impact their perspective, but in many ways, so can someone’s biological makeup.
Psychopaths and mentally unstable people are afflicted with their mental issues due to abuse, genetics, or trauma. This puts people, like the bank robbers’ son, at a disadvantage in a society like ours.
Perspective is not merely a bias. It is fundamental and constitutive to everyone’s existence, and rather than being resented it should be affirmed.
As a result, Nietzsche had a lot of distrust in social institutions and belief systems like morality and religion. Having a central guide of what’s right and what’s wrong that everyone must abide by can obviously have negative and possibly harmful implications to some, especially in a world as diverse as the one we live in today.
That being said, I think it’s important for everyone to understand that there’s a reason why we have these central guides set in place. Many countries have basic morals that are primarily derived from Christianity, to do no harm to others, to avoid adultery, and a few others that have been translated into laws.
Individuality
Nietzsche was incredibly skilled at making many references to the individuality and uniqueness which all of us have within us.
He proposes an embracement of the suffering and conflict that comes to us in this world inevitably, rather than fighting it or deterring it. Our “will to power” is a driving force that motivates us to pilot our primary perspective, combine our perspectives with new information or circumstance, and our overpowering sense and interpretation of reality.
When we celebrate our individuality, we don’t celebrate our uniqueness or even agency. Simply put, it’s a celebration of who we are.
Our call to action: Rather than simply taking the dominant perspective on something and defining it as a “truth,” we should all use the power that all of us have access to in order to reinvestigate and find our own perspective. (kind of like how people say mustard is good, but in all honesty, it truly is not.)
Beyond Good and Evil (the original)
In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche discusses four main points.
- Morality
Concepts like good and evil are culturally instructed rather than inherently true. Different cultures develop different morals to keep order.
For example, in the United States, arranged marriages are extremely uncommon, while in other parts of the world, primarily in India, China, and Pakistan. While in the US, arranged marriages seem inherently wrong (primarily due to the whole “marry who you love” ideal), in other countries arranged marriages are normalized and there is little to be thought of when discussing the topic.
Within social order, Nietzsche puts a lot of emphasis on social equality. Like I mentioned before, so much of our perspective is placed upon our social status. That seems pretty bazonkers considering the fact that so much of our lives and perspective is dependent upon something that we have no freedom to choose in.
2. Rules
Even if rules are created by people and are a stereotypical set of regulations, rules are a crucial set of our society today. Although they may not be true, some concepts are useful, and necessary in some cases.
Nihilism (the belief in nothing) would create chaos and mad destruction, as there is no basis for what is right and what is wrong. There would be no difference between going out for a morning stroll and sneaking into your neighbor's yard to kill their dog.
3. Disempowerment
In settings like Christianity or theories like American constitutional equality and communism, Nietzsche believes that the strongest, or most empowered, members are weakened by the meekness, humility, love, equality, and “common good” values emphasized in these cultures.
While I do agree that many settings attempt to silence voices, as a religious person I don’t agree with the fact that all places and religions do this. There are so many differences between being silenced and being guided, and I think that many religions exemplify that by guiding their followers, while many more religions attempt to set extreme boundaries around their members.
4. Innovation
History and time have moved forward because of the people who broke free. The people who expanded their limits, the people who created something out of what they had. Great societies are measured and advanced based upon these people.
*BEFORE SCROLLING ON*
I want you to think about some people who would be described as “breaking free” from society. Who are they? What did they do? What is something that you can learn from them in order for you to become one of those innovators?
When exploring this question on my own, these are the three people that immediately come to mind:
Throughout history, there have been people who have pushed boundaries, changed society, and pushed modern ideas against traditional culture. These are the people that are moving our world forward, constantly creating and trying to make a change.
What makes these people so special? The answer is that they didn’t care about what the people surrounding them thought. Alexander the Great was diplomatically skilled and was a military genius, and stood out above all others of his time. Amelia Earhart, despite the challenging, prejudicial, and financial obstacles which crossed her, was no stranger to disapproval or doubt and continued to push through to make history. Elon Musk, in a time where innovation is occurring at light speed, still seems to think ahead of the game and outside of the box, furthering human minds and abilities as a part of his daily routine.
All of these people show individuality above your average person from their time. To become as notable and successful and special as them, all we have to do is break free of society’s standards in order to show our own individuality.
