Master and Slave morality - Identifying the problem... Part 2
Part 2
_The Master/Slave morality concept has nothing- ZERO - to do with the external world, but is an individuals internal, psychological perspective.
Sex is one area that allows for 'the shadow side' of an individual to express itself in a safe - and the most authentic of all spaces, possible - environment -one that shows a side of the human condition like no other -and one that allows for the exploration of the psychology in what is possibly the most honest way, available.
...And a 'perfect' vehicle to discover ones own self awareness and enlightenment by using the combination of mind, body, and spirit in perfect harmony all at the same time.
I'll be using lots of my own real life accounts and experiences to illustrate my personal spiritual journey through this medium - with first hand explanations as to how this transpired )._
Now....back to Nietzsche...
In part one I tried to examine the possible reasons as to why Frederick Nietzsche had his own mental blind spots - ones that potentially prevented him from developing his 'master-slave morality' question, further.
A quick overview.
19th century Europe.
From the times of the Roman Empire onwards, Europe was a continent made up (mostly) of the Christian faith.
Essentially, most people followed some version of the judeo-christian teachings.
With the arrival of the 18th and 19th century there was also a huge cultural shift, one sweeping across all of Europe with the Industrial revolution being a major driver behind this change in culture.
This change had started earlier than Nietzsche with the early ages of the enlightenment (17th century) - 'the age of science and reason'.
'Natural Sciences' were one part of this new way of thinking of course , and thus the works of Darwin brought into question the whole Judeo- Christian religion - and it's teachings.
Because of these new perspectives, and how we'd looked at life for thousands of years previously, people were starting to question – and lose - their faith.
Nietzsche observed this cultural shift and declared : 'God is Dead'.
(in The Gay Science)
He then asked :
'If god is dead God and remains dead - and we have killed him - how then, shall we comfort ourselves? We are the murderers of all murderers'
For centuries people in Europe had strongly believed in God.
A God that had not only created them, but had created them for a reason.
He was seen as an omnipotent being, whose teachings gave everyone a sense of purpose, and whose teachings gave comfort to those who faith.
This faith were was not dependent on wealth, social status, aesthetics, or physical prowess.
All had been created equal - by the one God, and for a specific purpose.
Under this religious umbrella, we were are all governed by the same moral laws.
We are all equal in front of God, and were all rewarded - or punished - in the afterlife.
This meant that this 'wordly life' took on a spiritual meaning as the focus in this life, was very much about 'the afterlife'.
This conceptual 'death of God' left a potentially huge void in the lives of millions of people.
'To serve and live by the teachings of god' no longer had the same resonance.
If there was no God to judge 'right' and 'wrong', and there was no afterlife for reward or punishment – then there was no 'universal' morality.
And therefore no spiritual meaning to life.
This 'life without meaning', idea was the birth of the nihilistic philosophy.
They argued that if morality is now pointless (no god to teach us via the bible), then many values are also meaningless.
Truth, honesty, loyalty, are all things that no longer mean anything, as these were qualities previously seen as coming from The Creator.
Hence, virtue is also dead, along with God.
This is where Nietzsche forwarded his master/slave morality argument, explaining that with the death of god, a new Ubermensch (overman, or superman) must replace the vacuum that was created by the death of god.
If this spiritual void was not filled - then nihilism is -must be - the inevitable result.
(Nietzsche did not see nihilism as the end result, per se - but rather a painful – but necessary – part of the process in the evolution of man towards that of The Ubermensch.
Nietzsche thought this process of transformation was up to mankind alone, and we must strive for our own evolution.
Nietzsche wasn't very precise in what constituted this 'ubermensch ' but rather some broad ideas.
Firstly, the ubermensch is psychologically strong - a master of his own internal psychological being in this world.
It in this vein that I view the entire argument of his philosophy.
It's ALL about the internal mind map, with externalities being the poor attempted manifestation of the individuals inner world.
He thought that religious systems (such as Christianity) are only concerned with 'other worldliness' (going to heaven) and only serve to pull people away from 'the real world' – and as such, could not become 'the Ubermensch'.
In his view, the ubermensch would rise above other peoples moral and values that and establish his
own values.
This view is naively simplistic at best.
He posited that 'the ubermensch' will not be controlled by any herd mentality (slave morality) by following the morality of the masses.
This view is also naively simplistic, at best.(imo)
Nietzsche's concept of the Ubermensch - master morality/slave herd morality – is not detailed enough.
(I'll break it down into more details in the next post)
While his view explains the problem of the ages, and the cyclical nature of the master/slave dynamic, he does not expand on it in terms of solutions .
The simplistic view of the 'ubermensch evolution' fails to take into account the differing psychologies of each person and how they express themselves.
It is not enough to identify the 'slave morality' problem - and the inevitable ensuing chaos and decay that must accompany it.
Certain social media, DpoS block chains are a perfect microcosm of this difference in moralities dynamic, in action (which is why I'm find it a fascinating study).
This JPEG above concerns itself more with the external world/political expression of M/S morlaities. ..But as we all know (I hope), the external manifestation is merely an expression of the inner psychology at work - Hence the need to see the entire M/S morality question first and foremost, as an INTERNAL personal journey and from that exploration, the inner expression externalized - and not the other way around
Nietzsche is almost describing a fantasy of his own mind with his simplistic view - without any pragmatic answers to a problem that he himself can see.
The fantasy of the population of the earth,all being/becoming ubermensch, and all living by their own personal moral codes without perpetual conflict and war - is laughable.
(It doesn't work in a small office, never mind several billion peoples).
The parts that he failed to address (the possible reasons for this are in part1), was HOW we would move to state A (a world full of ubermensch) – from state B (the world as it is today)
I do not think it is possible.
I think its a utpopia that even HE didn't believe was possible - but used the entire argument to highlight the problems and, by playing 'devils advocate' in the process, opened up the conversation.
Think about what he's saying and you can see that what he does, is illustrate different mentalities – and floats the possibility that some people will/can never be - this ubermensch that he describes.
By accepting this, it then opens up the way to discovering solutions that have been repeated over and over, across millennia...
"...Nietzsche believed that the history of society is the conflict between these two outlooks: the herd attempts to impose its values universally, but the noble master transcends their "mediocrity." Nietzsche describes slave morality as simply "the prudence of the lowest order." He observes that everything that elevates an individual above the herd and intimidates the neighbor, is called evil.
Ressntement (resentment) is one of the predominate traits within the 'slave morality', and will always try to drag down to their level those with the master morality.
(communism, collectivism, group think, authoritarianism - the current DPoS system?).
This is in direst opposition to those with the Master morality, who will strive to pull everyone else upwards.
Is it possible to change your own personal morality from slave type , to master type ? Yes...And no...
Part 3
....possible ways on how to 'circle this square'...
...'Masters and Servants'