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8 Frledrich Nietzsche

The Genealogy of Morals
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Central Works of Philosophy, Volume 3
This chapter is in the book Central Works of Philosophy, Volume 3
8Frledrich NietzscheThe Genealogy of MoralsRexWelshonAlthough no single book presents all of Nietzsche's thinking on any of themany topics in which he takes an interest, The Genealogy of Morals comes asclose as any to capturing the general aim of his mature work. It is sober,detailed, philosophically and psychologically astute, historically challenging,scholarly and a joy to read. Composed in 1887 and intended as a sequel toBeyond Good and Evil (BGE), The Genealogy of Morals (GAT) is an extendedargument in defence of a clear thesis. That thesis is that an analysis of moralvalues will reveal that their value lies almost exclusively in the social supportthey provide for the herd or slave elements of a society and not, as is claimedon their behalf, the ethical guidance they provide for all of us. According toNietzsche, moral values are, again contrary to what is typically claimed on theirbehalf, self-interested and, since self-interested, not binding on everyone. Atbest, they are binding only on those for whom they promise to provide somerelief from the suffering of life. The premises behind these surprising judge-ments are often controversial and go to some of our most deeply held assump-tions about ourselves and our moral values. As we shall see, Nietzsche goes sofar as to deny that we are all alike in a morally relevant way. He thinks that whatwe can say about human nature discloses morally relevant differences acrosshumans that are substantive, deep and ineliminable. We are so different fromone another that there cannot be a universally binding evaluative framework.The body of The Genealogy of Morals is divided into three essays, each withits own topic. In the first essay Nietzsche investigates the history of herd moral209
© John Shand

8Frledrich NietzscheThe Genealogy of MoralsRexWelshonAlthough no single book presents all of Nietzsche's thinking on any of themany topics in which he takes an interest, The Genealogy of Morals comes asclose as any to capturing the general aim of his mature work. It is sober,detailed, philosophically and psychologically astute, historically challenging,scholarly and a joy to read. Composed in 1887 and intended as a sequel toBeyond Good and Evil (BGE), The Genealogy of Morals (GAT) is an extendedargument in defence of a clear thesis. That thesis is that an analysis of moralvalues will reveal that their value lies almost exclusively in the social supportthey provide for the herd or slave elements of a society and not, as is claimedon their behalf, the ethical guidance they provide for all of us. According toNietzsche, moral values are, again contrary to what is typically claimed on theirbehalf, self-interested and, since self-interested, not binding on everyone. Atbest, they are binding only on those for whom they promise to provide somerelief from the suffering of life. The premises behind these surprising judge-ments are often controversial and go to some of our most deeply held assump-tions about ourselves and our moral values. As we shall see, Nietzsche goes sofar as to deny that we are all alike in a morally relevant way. He thinks that whatwe can say about human nature discloses morally relevant differences acrosshumans that are substantive, deep and ineliminable. We are so different fromone another that there cannot be a universally binding evaluative framework.The body of The Genealogy of Morals is divided into three essays, each withits own topic. In the first essay Nietzsche investigates the history of herd moral209
© John Shand

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Contributors vii
  4. Preface ix
  5. The Nineteenth Century 1
  6. Immanuel Kant 15
  7. Johann Gottlieb Fichte 43
  8. G.W.F.Hegel 69
  9. Arthur Schopenhauer 93
  10. John Stuart Mill 127
  11. Søren Kierkegaard 159
  12. Karl Marx 183
  13. Frledrich Nietzsche 209
  14. Index 235
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9780773584594-011

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Contributors vii
  4. Preface ix
  5. The Nineteenth Century 1
  6. Immanuel Kant 15
  7. Johann Gottlieb Fichte 43
  8. G.W.F.Hegel 69
  9. Arthur Schopenhauer 93
  10. John Stuart Mill 127
  11. Søren Kierkegaard 159
  12. Karl Marx 183
  13. Frledrich Nietzsche 209
  14. Index 235
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