 Sophie’s
Choice and Hallie’s description of the
people of Le Chambon enable a reader or
viewer to imagine persons acting in ways that
might be described as evil or as good, without
knowing the motives for their actions.
 Unpremeditated
impulse or long established
habit could be the motive in these cases.

The Nazi doctor could have acted on impulse, in
unthinking response to Sophie’s words without
wholly conscious reasoning or explicit goals;
alcohol tends to lower inhibition.

The people of Le Chambon who said “There was
nothing else to do” could have acted from habit also without conscious thought; about
consequences; habit allows persons to act in
“ordinary patterns” under extraordinary
circumstances.
In both cases, it is results that viewers or
readers see as bad (Sophie’s suffering, her
daughter’s death) or as good (innocent people
saved from death by strangers).
The Nietzsche excerpt on “Beyond Good and Evil”
invites thinking about possible motives for action in
different moral frameworks.
 Nietzsche proposes an either/or standard beyond
good and evil, challenging modern ideas about “good
and evil” based on equality with “good or bad” based
on difference.

Nietzsche’s diagnosis of a modern cultural
illness: passive nihilism combines
 A failure to acknowledge that there is a loss
of belief in an absolute source of morality
beyond culture or individuals (“God is dead”)
with
 The assumption that what is in the interest of
the weakest is right – when in reality, this
belief destroys the strong and degrades
culture - because all people are not of
equal value
Nietzsche’s “cure”
 Distinction between noble and slave morality
 Critique of man of resentment = reactive vs.
active
 Argument for a culture based on distinctions
of rank, in which nobles act out of reverence
for tradition and self-confidence in their
goodness.
 Such a culture values contests and conflict
vs. aiming at the welfare of all.
Many forms of morality assume self-love or acting
from self-interest as natural
Yet most assume that morality sets limits on the
extent to which self-love or self-interest are
permitted as the only motive for action.
Consequential theories see promoting the good of
all as also in one’s self-interest
 Deontological theories see acting for a right
principle (doing right because it is right) as an
expression of rationality and dignity, while also
benefitting others.
 Virtue theories see virtuous action as contributing
to good character, and ultimately to a happy life in
the long-term (and persons of exceptional virtue act
as examples for others)

Nietzsche’s nobles act:
Spontaneously in order to release energy and/or out
of a sense of competition for honor
 While the effect of their acts on others may be cruel,
the result is to create a higher culture, with standards
and differences in rank.

Nietzsche’s slaves act:
Out of resentment for suffering inflicted on them by
nobles, based on an inverted sense of values (what is
seen as “good by nobles = “evil” to slaves)
 Their aim is to obtain revenge, undermine noble
values, and substitute reactive, passive values for
active, spontaneous values. According to Nietzsche
this creates a decadent, weak culture.

Basic Concepts in Nietzsche: Master/Slave
Morality
The MASTER determines his own values in
relation to himself. He CREATES values.
 The "will to power" is the central concept.
 This power is firstly power over himself.
Basic Concepts in Nietzsche:
Master/Slave Morality
The SLAVE determines his values in
opposition to those of the master; that is.
values are determined from OUTSIDE.
 Those values that alleviate the existence of
sufferers come to the forefront.
 "slave morality" is the morality of "utility."
Good/Bad vs. Good/Evil
GOOD/BAD: is the distinction made by the
"aristocrat"
 For the “aristocrat” the "enemy" is a man
whose character has nothing to despise
and much to honor. [A "worthy
adversary."]
 Image: The beast of prey; the
"magnificent blonde brute avidly rampant
for the spoils of victory."
camel => lion => child
Good/Bad vs. Good/Evil
GOOD/EVIL: is the "slave" distinction.
 Unable to act on their own behalf, the
slaves find their outlet in "imaginary
revenge.“ – “ressentiment”
 They say NO to what is "outside" them.
(that is, they define themselves in terms of
others rather than themselves)
 This “NO” is their creative deed.
 For the slave EVIL = the good man of the
opposite morality.
The Creativity of the Aristocrat/ Barbarian
Nietzsche equates the aristocrat with the
barbarian.
What is he trying to say?
 What is the value of ferocity?
 "Unbroken strength of will and desire for
power."
The "noble" caste has always been the
barbarian caste -- more "complete" men
"All that is new is evil“ – why does he say
that?
Nietzsche on the "Herd Morality"
“Herd Morality” [is the slave morality]
 Altruism = " I am not worth much."
 Christian version: better to feel a
"sinner" than nothing at all.
 Revenge and Resentment "as a means
of enduring life."
 For Nietzsche the socialist cry for rights &
justice only shows that he is oppressed by
his inadequate culture. [cf. Marx]

Nietzche’s Critique of Morality
as "Life-Denying"
According to Nietzsche peace and
universal equality are "life-denying"
principles.
 Life IS precisely Will to Power.
 Against Marx: "exploitation" is not
primitive or depraved, it is a primary
organic function.
 Will to Power = Will to Life

Nietzsche’s Critique of
Judaism/Christianity
For Nietzsche: they are “the moralities of
paltry people"
 On one hand the law forbids actions not
the attitude of mind.
 On the other the moral idealist requires
the attitude of mind be forbidden also.
"Nature is expelled from morality when it is
said 'love your enemies'." WHY?
By protecting the weak and infirm these
religions work against the evolutionary
struggle for the survival of the fittest.
Critique of Moral Philosophers I
Moral philosophers ask: What does man
desire?
 If they start with that question they can
only answer "Happiness"
 And they answer that to acquire
happiness we need virtue.
 Why do they answer in this way?
Because this is the most "rational"
approach.
Critique of Moral Philosophers II

Nietzsche claims we do not desire
happiness -we desire power.
 Pleasure is a sensation of power.
 Nietzsche says: "The history of
philosophy is the story of a secret and
made hatred of all the prerequisites of
Life."
Cruelty and Culture
According to Nietzsche what values will
stand up against the brute facts of
existence?
 Cruelty and Deception
All we call "high culture" is based on the
spiritualizing and intensifying of cruelty.
 The "wild beast" has not been slain at all!
In every desire for knowledge there is a drop
of cruelty.
 Or why suffering can only be fully
appreciated by the "aristocrat"
Nietzsche’s "Transvaluation of Values" To translate Man Back into Nature
His questions:
 Is one to act spontaneously or react to a
stimuli?
 Is one's problem one's self or is one a
solution already?
 Is one to be perfect through smallness of
the task or imperfect through the
extraordinary character of the aim?
For Nietzsche it is always a question of
power.