Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Master-Slave, Noble-Base, Power

Though Nietzsche sometimes uses the pairs Master-Slave and Noble-Base interchangeably, at least one connotative difference between them is that the former is based on an interactive relation, while the latter merely compares.  Thus, for example, the mutually mistrustful "powerless people" (Human, All Too Human #45) are, according to the Genealogy of Morals II, 17, as such prior to being conquered, from which it follows that they are 'base' without being 'slaves'.  The distinction becomes more significant in Daybreak #199, which characterizes the unfettered "lust for power" of a Master, i. e. an "aristocrat", as "ignoble".  So, as is suggested by the previously discussed example of Nietzsche's contempt for liars, there seem to be inconsistencies in his doctrine between three orders of rank: Master-Slave, Noble-Base, and quantity of Power.

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