nietzsche beyond good and evil book review

Getting further into Nietzsche’s ideals of intelligence, he believes that anyone who is unwilling to question the traditions of their faith, what they have learned from parents and society, and what they think they know to be true to discover their real truth-even to the point of abandoning them as the case may be-lacks intelligence. This is where he says there are only shades of gray between the faithful and the atheist. He proposes that faith requires one to sacrifice one’s truth. This argument forms the foundation for his discussion of religion. Though Nietzsche points out that morality and immorality are polar opposites, he paradoxically insists that nothing can be split into black and white-there exist only shades of gray. While he believes they may raise unique and interesting points, he believes them to be untried and untested. However, he thinks little of newer philosophers.

So where does Nietzsche get his truth from? He writes that his theories are a result of the intensity of his education, particularly the study of Ancient Greek and modern philosophers. Nietzsche does not value those who have not the desire to delve into the deepest areas of their mind to find the truth.

Nietzsche proposes that any human being has the capability to do this, but most do not do so because they lack the ambition to dig through everything they have ever learned to question its validity. Nothing is free from this self-interrogation, and that includes self-perception, societal teachings, and religion. Everything they have ever learned or observed must be reexamined. At the heart of Nietzsche’s argument is the idea that to learn the truth, a human being must question everything.

Nietzsche beyond good and evil book review