Monday, December 16, 2019

Wise vs. Foolish: Beyond Good and Evil

The concept of Good and Evil as ontological, i. e. as ingredient in objective reality, is often characterized as 'Manichean' or 'Zoroastrian'.  Thus, Spinoza's repudiation of that concept likely inspires Nietzsche's 'Beyond Good and Evil' theme.  But Nietzsche goes further in his development of the theme, notably showing how value terms have been used as weapons.  However, perhaps because of the premature end of his career, Nietzsche never fully develops that 'Beyond', going only so far as to imply that Evaluation be comparative, i. e. presented as an "order of rank", but offering no replacement for the terms 'Good' and 'Evil', other then an inverse 'Good' and 'Bad'.  In contrast, a more substantive alternative for Philosophical Ethics has been proposed here--'Wise' vs. 'Foolish', one which might revive the literal meaning of 'Philosophy'.

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