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“Nietzsche’s Modern Manifesto” – Can his ideas still be applied to our world today?
Friedrich Nietzsche’s ideas, often provocative and challenging, continue to resonate in contemporary discourse, raising pertinent questions about human nature, morality, and society. While Nietzsche’s writings span a wide range of themes, his work is generally viewed by both scholars and enthusiasts as a clarion call for those who want to live truly great lives to embrace their individualism, overcome societal constraints, and create meaning in a world that seemingly offers none.
God is dead!
The gains of materialism, the great strides made by science, the seemingly unstoppable exploration of our universe makes the figure of a Judeo-Christian God ever more distant from us, leading some people to take the view that God does not exist. This is what Nietzsche means when he states in the Joyous Science that:
“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?” – Aphorism 125 – The Madman – The Joyous Science.
This passage is often interpreted as Nietzsche’s proclamation of the cultural and philosophical shifts occurring in the modern world, where traditional religious beliefs and values are being challenged and replaced by secularism, skepticism, and the pursuit of individual autonomy. It serves as a metaphor for the decline of religious authority and the existential crisis faced by humanity in the absence of traditional metaphysical foundations for meaning and morality. To put it mildly God is at the very centre of European, and by extension, western civilisation. Should God be removed from the hub of this great wheel then all the spokes will fly out and the wheel will disintegrate. These are the times that we’re presently living in.
God has died and we have killed him, so we should not be surprised to find in modernity that the world and its politics is full of mass movements and conflicting ideologies grasped at by the common man as substitutes for religion. In the wake of this Nietzsche offers us several key ideas that can readily be applied to the times we find ourselves living within, so let’s explore how some of his key ideas can still be applied today.
So let us begin on the subject most important to all human beings everywhere:
Individualism and Self-Overcoming:
Nietzsche’s emphasis on the individual’s pursuit of self-actualisation and self-overcoming remains relevant in today’s world. In an era marked by increasing societal pressures and conformity, his call to challenge norms and cultivate one’s unique potential, encourages personal growth and authenticity. We do this by grasping one of Nietzsche’s core concepts, that of the ‘Will to Power.’
Introducing the Will to Power
The Will to Power is everywhere you look, and once seen cannot be forgotten, it’s a natural drive found in all living things, human beings included. Sometimes this drive is expressed as a will for domination, men seek to dominate other men, hierarchies naturally form with the strongest and fittest at the top, those who are best suited to the task at hand, thus competence is a natural outgrowth of the Will to Power.
In nature, animals compete vigorously with each other for food, resources, and the ability to reproduce their genes. In a state of nature, the fiercest competition always takes place within the same biological arena. In Twilight of the Idols Nietzsche writes:
“The world itself is the will to power – and nothing else! And you yourself are the will to power – and nothing else!”
For human beings, the Will to Power expresses itself in the form of mass movements, political parties, territorial disputes and ultimately warfare, but on a more interpersonal level, the Will to Power is also expressed in acts of kindness, empathy, and the desire to help others. Thus, it should be understood that the Will to Power is not evil, but neither is it good. It’s expression in our daily lives transcends mere human morality. The will to Power, according to Nietzsche, is life itself. In the collection of his notes assembled posthumously that are also called ‘The Will to Power,’ he writes:
‘…do you want a name for this world? A solution for all of its riddles? A light for you, too, you best-concealed, strongest, most intrepid, most midnightly men?— This world is the will to power—and nothing besides! And you yourselves are also this will to power—and nothing besides!’
For Nietzsche, morality is always a function of strength. The strong man, the noble man makes his own values, for Nietzsche this is the morality of the Master as opposed to the morality of the ‘slaves.’ The Will to Power is also the fundamental drive behind self-expression and self-realisation. In contemporary contexts, this idea may manifest as the pursuit of excellence, ambition, and the empowerment of individuals to assert their agency in shaping their lives. Everything from conquering nations to buying your neighbour a cup of coffee is for Nietzsche at least, an expression of the Will to Power. When power is discharged you are rewarded with good feelings, when power is hindered, the opposite is true. He writes in ‘The Antichrist:’
“What is good? All that heightens the feeling of power, the will to power, power itself in man. What is bad? All that proceeds from weakness. What is happiness? The feeling that power increases — that a resistance is overcome.”
What is Slave Morality?
It’s in his book “On the Genealogy of Morals,” that Nietzsche critiques traditional Western morality, contrasting slave morality with what he calls “master morality” in order to illustrate the historical development of moral values and their implications for human society. In Nietzsche’s analysis, slave morality arises from the perspective of the oppressed or subjugated individuals within a society. It is characterized by values such as humility, meekness, compassion, and forgiveness, which are often associated with weakness or submissiveness. Slave morality condemns actions that are perceived as harmful or oppressive to the weak or marginalized, and it celebrates virtues such as sympathy and altruism. According to Nietzsche, slave morality emerges as a reaction to the dominance of “master morality,” which is associated with strength, power, and assertiveness. In contrast to slave morality, master morality is characterised by values such as pride, honour, nobility, and a sense of superiority. It reflects the mindset of the ruling class or those in positions of power who shape moral standards to justify their dominance and privilege.
Nietzsche criticizes slave morality for promoting a sense of resentment and victimhood among the oppressed, leading to a devaluation of strength and vitality in favour of passive virtues. He argues that slave morality fosters a culture of conformity and mediocrity, stifling individual creativity and ambition. Overall, Nietzsche’s concept of slave morality serves as a provocative critique of traditional moral systems and their impact on human psychology and social dynamics. It invites reflection on the origins of moral values and the ways in which they shape human behaviour and interactions within society.
Nietzsche’s critique of traditional morality, particularly Christian ethics, continues to provoke discussion about the nature of moral values and their origins. In a pluralistic society, his questioning of absolute moral truths encourages critical reflection on the foundations of ethical systems and the complexities of moral decision-making.
Then we have ‘the Overman,’ sometimes referred to as ‘the Superman.’
The Overman
The concept of the Overman, often misunderstood as a call for elitism or superiority, can be interpreted as an ideal of self-transcendence and creative evolution. In today’s context, it can inspire individuals to strive for personal excellence, to transcend societal limitations, and to contribute meaningfully to the collective human endeavour. Thus, Nietzsche asks us to sublimate our own share of the Will to Power by turning it inward against ourselves, demanding the best from ourselves in every respect that we find to be personally meaningful. Should we be composers then we must make the very best music that we can, should we be artists then he demands from us that we create the greatest art. Should we be leaders, doctors, engineers, or waiters, shop assistants, care workers then we must strive to be the best that we can be at whatever our profession happens to be, provided of course, that this be our own legitimate choice, authentically arrived at by ourselves. There is nothing worse than doing any job that you hate simply because it pays the bills, so if this is the case, and you feel that your will to power is being diminished by your role, Nietzsche would simply say that you should find something else to do with your time. Every moment of time passing belongs to you after all, so it’s only right and proper that you dispose of them as you see fit.
The Will to Power demands expression, so Nietzsche urges us to articulate it fully and without hesitation in whatever personal domain we find to be satisfying. This for Nietzsche makes for a meaningful life. Meaning is to be found wherever our share of the Will to Power takes us, should we follow this natural expression of the Will to Power, then and only then, can we say that we are living authentically.
Eternal Recurrence
How do we know that we’re living authentically, well the answer is surprisingly simple, perceptive and at once terrifying. We must ask ourselves how we would feel if we had to live this very same life over and over again, not once, not twice but an infinite number of times for all of eternity. Does the thought please you? Does it make you sad? Does it disappoint you? Or worse yet does it terrify you? However we feel, whenever we ask ourselves this question, points to an underlying truth from within. If we can’t stomach the thought of living this life over and over again, ‘every breath and sigh,’ then we’re doing it wrong. We must then ask ourselves, what would we change, and begin the work of doing this immediately and within the present. Nietzsche suggests that whatever our circumstances we should love our Fate, revel in it, recognising that it has made us the person that we are today, by accepting the world as it is and our circumstances amongst it, we become ready for greatness because we have all that we need within to change them for the better.
While Nietzsche’s ideas may not offer definitive solutions to contemporary challenges such as the thinning of the Ozone Layer or the collapse of Capitalism, they do continue to stimulate critical inquiry and inspire individuals to navigate the complexities of the modern world with creativity, resilience, and a deeper understanding of themselves and their place within society.
