Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Morality and Opiate of the Masses

Intended by Nietzsche or not as such, The Gay Science #1 can be interpreted as 'Morality has been the opiate of the masses'.  For, it ascribes to Moralists the invention of a "second, different existence" that is "anti-natural", for the purpose of convincing individual members of the species that the life of each is meaningful in itself.  So, clearly exemplifying this formulation is Morality the goal of which is the other-worldly salvation of the individual soul, as a reward for meek this-worldly behavior.  Thus, Nietzsche's subsequent 'revaluation of all values' can similarly be classified as a Naturalist attempt to put Morality 'back on its feet', including a devaluation of meekness--not because meekness is antithetical to Power, but insofar as meek behavior is a low-grade expression of the Will to Power.  Accordingly, in particular, even if the Overman is currently a fiction, it is still a Naturalist concept, and, hence, a goal that does not require corporeal death to achieve, nor, therefore, a Morality that simulates incorporeality.

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