My understanding of Nietzsche up to SEARCH 201 was superficial
at best and I write this blog post hoping to clarify some obvious confusion I
still have with his ideas. I struggle to grasp what exactly Nietzsche meant in
his attempt to overthrow the traditional moral explanations of humanity before
him. I hope to further discuss the ramifications of his overthrow means for all
of us in how we live our lives.
According to
Nietzsche our society is simply a system of beings. Nobody is good or bad
simply because we are doing precisely what we are. To ask us to do anything
else is ridiculous.
Does this not blow anybody else’s mind? The Nietzsche mentality
is absolutely maddening me. As I am sitting here writing this blog post and as
you are reading the same post we are each being ourselves, we are doing what we
are. There is no longer any moral will in our action. Nietzsche provides the example
of the lightning in section 13 where we mistake the thunder as the action of
the light. We separate the sound from the thing itself and we say that the
lightning caused the thunder. Instead we now see that the lightning is the
thunder and the thunder is the lightning.
Sounds pretty crazy initially, but the ramifications of Nietzsche’s
proposal are mammoth. Where the hell does our free will then go? I am guessing free
will is simply gone in Nietzsche’s world. Our decisions are simply determined
before we are even aware of them.
I would then ask why exactly we attempt to reform criminals
and gang-bangers if they have no will in their decision making? They are each
doing what they are; to ask them to do anything else is irrational. What they
do in the future is simply determined by fate and chance. Just as Prof. Johnson’s
villain from “No Country for Old Men” exists and his decisions to murder are
fatalistic.
Subsequently, what about the reformed criminals? Are they
the ones whom chance favored? Where does this chance derive from and what
exactly are the odds of certain situations?
How can we be sure of Nietzsche’s claims that upset the
system that we still cling to today? With every step we take towards achieving a
better society as a whole under the Judeo-Christian scheme, we must reject the
reality of what really is taking place according to Nietzsche.
Are we really living in a world of chance?
Like you, I believe that Nietzsche sees no place for free will in society. In the example of the attempting to reform criminals; if, as Nietzche believes, there is no free will, then there is no sense in us attempting to reform the criminals. However, on the other side of the argument, our attempt to reform the criminals was predetermined, and the criminals were meant to encounter punishment. However, why should we believe that our actions have already been determined by our "nature"? Even if we were able to describe one's "nature", how could that then determine what actions we would engage in? I believe that in the real society, humans do have free will. We act and live as we choose, with no regard for whether or not we were meant to do so.
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