I.

Part 1: On the Prejudices of Philosophers

A. Truth:
1. Nietzsche asks what within us wants “truth,” and why not rather untruth. He says that exploring this problem involves the greatest
possible risk.
2. “True” and “false” apply to sentences and propositions, not to things, wills or people.
3. Statements claiming truth are merely expressing a point of view.
4. No point of view can comprehend absolute truth. Instead, there only exist different perspectives.
5. Our interpretation of experience is based on the perspective which we choose, which is based on our moral assumptions and
prejudices. Philosophers are attempting to justify their perspective of the world.
B. Opposite values:
1. The fundamental faith of the metaphysicians is the faith of opposite values.
2. However, it is possible to doubt whether opposites actually exist.
3. The belief of opposite values is the belief that the world is divided into opposites, beginning with the opposition of truth and
falsehood. He suggests that the relationship between so-called “opposites” is far more complex, in fact, that often our “truths” are
born from our falsehoods.
C. Instinct:
1. He asserts that most conscious thinking, including philosophy, is an instinctive activity.
2. While philosophers claim their objectivity, their instincts and prejudices generally guide their thoughts.
3. As the basis of the whole system of philosophy are these “truths” (“assumptions/inspirations”) and everything else is built upon
them in an attempt to justify them.
4. He argues that very great philosophy has merely been “the personal confession of its author… a kind of unconscious memoir.”
5. He writes that for the philosopher there is nothing that is not personal, as his morality directly reflects who he is and “in what
order of rank the innermost drives of his nature stand in relation to each other.”
D. On the Stoics:
1. Nietzsche asserts that the Stoics, who urged man to live “according to nature,” were in fact attempting to re-create nature in the
image they desired, as they wanted to impose their own morality and ideals on nature.
2. He claims that philosophy is a “tyrannical drive itself, the most spiritual will to power.” This will to power is an instinct of self-
preservation.
E. On Kant:
1. He argues that Kant never gives anything more than circular reasons for believing that there is a faculty of synthetic a priori
judgments.
F. Physics:
1. He asserts that physics is only an interpretation and exegesis of the world based in the senses. What does it explain? Only what
one can see and feel.
G. Immediate certainties:
1. Nietzsche attacks Descartes’ assertion: “I think.”
2. Descartes is asserting that he cannot possibly doubt that he is thinking, which only reflects a lack of reflection on what is meant
by “I think.”
3. He writes that the philosopher must ask himself if it is “I” that thinks, as well as questioning the origin of thought. Why is it
“thinking” and not “willing” or “feeling”? Does not the thought come to the philosopher and thus is it not the thought that thinks?
How can I, without further assumptions or certainties, know that I am thinking?
4. Nietzsche asserts that the thought comes when “it” (the thought) wishes, and not when “I” wish.
H. Free will:
1. He argues that the will is far more complex than we assert, as the word “I” obscures and mixes together a whole complex of
commanding and obeying wills.
2. This “freedom” of the will is a result of identifying this “I” as the source both of the commanding and the obeying.
3. It also is fundamentally based in the notion of cause and effect, with our will = cause.
I. Will to power:
1. Nietzsche asserts that it is a significant fact that the universe is continually changing. As such, a philosophy of facts only
reinforces the misconception that the universe is fixed.
2. Nietzsche identifies will as the agent of all change in the universe. All wills struggle for domination, independence and power
over one another, which is the source of all change in the universe. This is what Nietzsche calls the “will to power.”
3. Nietzsche views people not as “things” or “selves,” but instead as a complex of wills, all struggling for domination.
4. He refers to philosophy as the “most spiritual will to power” as it is an attempt, on the part of the philosopher, to impose his
prejudices and assumption – his “spirit” – on the world. The philosopher wants his will to be the “truth.”

NIETZSCHE – BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL: PARTS 2-3

Part 2:24 – 25 “The Free Spirit”
- Our society rests on simplification.
- Our knowledge is based on ignorance and this ridiculous
- Language is awkward, it is not specific enough to cover all the subtleties; instead it speaks of opposites
- No philosopher can be proved right.
- One shouldn’t martyr oneself to truth because it can’t be proved.
Part 2:26
- Every man wants to be special and unique.
- The philosopher must study the average man, even though this is a miserable task, but he can avoid some strife by examining the cynic.
- cynic = recognizes the commonplace in himself
- cynicism = the only form in which base souls approach honesty
- the lover of knowledge (philosopher) should want to listen to indignation
- the indignant many may stand higher morally than someone who is self-satisfied
but more often he is more ordinary

Part 2:29-31
- Independence is for the very few who are strong enough, but one shouldn’t confuse recklessness with the strength.
- The independent is lonely and no one can see how he struggles. Once he becomes a true independent thinker, he can never go back because
normal men will not understand the grief his path has caused.
- His highest insights should sound ridiculous.
- The virtues of the common man are vice in the philosopher.
“Books for all the world are always foul-smelling books: the smell of small people clings to them.”
- Youth see things through the lens of Yes and No, and this does not lead to happiness.
- The soul later punishes itself for self-delusion. The punishments include:
mistrust against one’s feelings, enthusiasm racked by doubt, and conscience
as danger.
- Later this stage is also seen as Youth.

Part 2:32-35
- In prehistoric times, the value or disvalue of an action was determined from examining its consequences.
- Later, the origin of the action decides its value.
- N. thinks this is good because it signals that morality is considered.
- Immoralists (N. includes himself in this group) suspect that the value of an action is determined by what is unintentional in it.
- The conscious is part of the surface, there is more underneath.
- Traditional morality is a prejudice that must be overcome. This task is reserved for the most honest (I suspect he means the philosophers).
- The morality of self-denial must be questioned, along with feelings of devotion.
- The world we look at is false as there is more underneath.
- It is naïve to think that consciousness will give honest answers.
- Philosophers should not be “merely moral men,” he has a duty to favor suspicion.
- N. calls this the right to “bad character,” meaning that he should be impudent
etc.
- Why should philosophers resist being deceived?
- appearances are important as well
- it is a “moral prejudice” that truth is worth more than appearances
- It is ok if the world is a fiction. There doesn’t have to be an author.
- If a human being is too “human” in his search for truth, he is likely to find nothing. This implies that our human characteristics prevent us
from moving beyond our own perceptions and prejudices.

Part 2:36
- The sparknotes summary is best:
N. suggests that we admit nothing as "real" except our drives, desires, and passions. Thought, for instance, he suggests, is ultimately just the
relation of our different drives to one another. Can we, he asks, also explain the workings of the mechanistic, material world using just our
drives as data? If just one agent of causation--will--explains all change, we needn't look for additional causes.

Part 2:39
- Nobody is likely to consider a doctrine because it makes people happy, unless they’re an idealist.
- The evil and unhappy are more likely to discover certain parts of truth.
- Hardness is a better foundation for an independent spirit/philosopher
- It is not good to take things lightly or to be conciliatory.
- The philosopher must be free of illusion, needs “to see clearly into what is.”

Part 2:40-41
- The profound love masks.
- The mask is like a guard.
- The profound man’s friends cannot understand his mode of thinking, or his
crises of consciousness, or his choices. They will misjudge.
- One has to test oneself to see if one can be a free spirit. The test must be done at the right time.
- The only person that judges the test is the individual.
- The free spirit must sever himself from people, fatherland, pity, science, his own detachment, his own virtue. These attachments will not be
helpful in the free spirit’s work.
- The new species of philosopher: attempters – this group wants to remain “riddled”
- They will not be dogmatists. It is bad taste to want to agree with the many.
- They will embrace spiritual hardship, and they realize that the evils of men
are also enhancements of the species as much as the goods.

Part 3: 46-60 “What is Religious”

- Christian faith is a sacrifice of all freedom, pride, all self-confidence in the spirit. It is also enslavement, self-mockery, and self-mutilation.
- The religious neurosis is tied to dangerous “dietary” demands: solitude, fasting, and sexual abstinence.
- How is the denial of the will possible?
- There has been a reversal, where denial of natural things becomes a high virtue.
- The saint illustrates this in the extreme. He is submitting to the ultimate in
self-denial. He has learned something that we have not been able to know.
- N. likes the religion of ancient Greece because it was more about gratitude than fear.
- People admire the strength of will in the saint. They are impressed that he has gained “power” over human nature.
- Early religion demanded sacrifice of human beings, and this was a sacrifice of an aspect of human nature.
- Religion today requires a leisure class. It requires contemplation and prayer, but modern society values industriousness – Usually the values
of modern society, win over religion.

Part 3:61
- The philosopher will use religion for his cultivation, just as he uses the political and economic state.
- What does religion mean to the different groups
- For the ruling class = it unites this class with its subjects, helps them manipulate the people to rule (for those that are contemplative and
withdrawn, it can allow them to form an order of like-minded people. These people can get intellectualrelief from some of the pressures of
government.)
- For the rising class = teaches them the discipline necessary for ruling
- For the subjects = These people exist for “service and the general advantage.”
Religion gives them contentment, ennobling their obedience. It helps make them
feel that their struggles are justified.

Nietzsche Outline: Beyond Good and Evil: Parts 5-6

Nietzsche: A shocking author. He touts that the abolishment of cruelty and suffering will hinder human greatness. There are always elements of
cruelty, domination, constraint, and force in his writing because they are all crucial elements to greatness in his opinion.
• Sees Germans of his time- are these people the peak of humanity? If humanity has constituted itself throughout history, what
would become of humans if history had attained a rational goal and this is the peak (nothing else to attain)?
o No, he actually believes that the future is limitless and is attempting to make this real to his readers.

Part 5: Natural History of Morals:

• Begins with evocation- Rationalize foundation for morality.
o Nietzsche’s view: must explore all of the types and range of different moralities. He sees all drives as ultimately resting on
the will to power.
ƒ He suggests that we learn to sublimate our will to power.
o Basic def of this: suppressing one’s immediate instincts for domination in order to achieve a more
sublime and satisfying feeling of power.
• EX: We can beat up our neighbor (simple and instant gratification) or give our neighbor a gift. Both are
expressions of our will to power. By resisting our urge to beat the neighbor up and instead give a gift, we
have a greater, longer-lasting, and more sublime feeling of power and have successfully sublimated our will
to power.
• EX: Creative Instinct (i.e. art): In creating a work of art, one is interpreting the world in a certain way, and
persuading others to share that interpretation.
o Thus one is not only exerting power over others by making them see the world in a certain way
but also expressing one’s power over the world by submitting it one’s own P.O.V.
o Thus, a formula is established for what Nietzsche considers to be good: sublimated will to power.
ƒ Nevertheless, this does not apply to everyone: some of us were born to be mindless slaves, and those
people are not his concern.
ƒ Worries that the potentially great are kept down by the preaching of the herd and having to follow the
same rules as everyone. Sees democracy as just one more attempt to force us all to be equal.
• Moral philosophers today lack the historical perspective, which is solely important to Nietzsche (he remains in historical state of mind
throughout text). In searching for a “rational foundation”, all they are really doing is trying to justify their own mortality.
 o Anything great that we have achieved has been a result of a strict obedience in one particular direction over a long period of
time.
ƒ Only through a kind of enslavement and hardship can we redefine ourselves.
• Nietzsche suggests that we register far less than we actually think we do.
o EX: When we read a book, we only really take in a few words and then fit those into what we already know.
ƒ Suggests that our so-called “knowledge” is our own make-believe. We are all inventors, artists, and liars.
• Possession: We all differ in what we think is worth pursing, as well as in what way we take possession of what we pursue.
o EX: One man may feel that he “possesses” a woman if he has sex with her, while another may only fell he does if she will
give up everything for her.
ƒ The man that wants the woman to give up everything for him seeks a more refined feeling of power over the woman.
Wants the woman to know him deeply, not some false conception of him. Thus, he is sublimating his will to power
and consequently encouraging self-knowledge.
o EX: Charity and education: Teachers make the child see the world according to the child’s perspective. Thus, teacher
possesses another soul.
• 2nd Section (2nd Half): Face up to the problem of morality.
o He bemoans the “slave revolt in morality”, which considered the rich, violent, and sensual to be evil, while considering the
poor to be holy.
ƒ The morality of the “herd” claims in the name of “happiness”, that we should avoid our darker instincts.
• Just because the majority is suited to submissiveness does not mean that all should obey.
o Nowadays, those who command are almost ashamed of it, and dare to so only in the name of God,
the law, or the people.
o pp 99 (Sec 187): Helps us to explore and see different types of moralities.
ƒ Overall lay of the land: “Hurt no one; rather help all as much as you can.”
• This is the real basic of ethics for which “one has been looking for thousands of years as for the
philosopher’s stone.” (p 99)
ƒ Common good-what we aspire to:
• “There are moralities which are meant to justify their creator before others. Other moralities are meant to
calm him and lead him to be satisfied with himself.” (pp 99)
ƒ He views modern ideas as rebellion of distinction, difference, order of rank (Essentially, growing out of Christianity).
• pp 118: Kind of egalitarian morality is producing last men-overall degeneration of man (“perfect hard men”)
o Suggests that our moral valuations are based on fear. In a community safe from external threats, any aggressive members
are seen as a threat. Thus, our morality condemns all that is lively, preferring the safety of a tamed, mediocre mass.
ƒ Worries that democratic sentiments may tame us and render us all equal in mediocrity with no way out.
o Additionally, there is a fear of the new and different: “What is new finds our senses, too, hostile and
reluctant; and even in the “simplest” processes of sensation the affects dominate, such as fear, love,
hatred, including the passive affects of laziness.”(pp 105)
ƒ Calls for a species of “new philosophers” to arise and lead the way out of this longing for peace and mediocrity.
• Emphasizes features of religion:
o 1.) Cruelty and suffering are major aspects
o 2.) Morality, which is above all, compulsion (constraint). There is a definite need for this.
ƒ Considers the Christian ethic to be “herd” morality because it speaks tour herd instincts. It assumes that we are
all the same and should all follow the same rules.
o Calls this herd “first servants of their people” or “instruments of the common weal”

Part 6: We Scholars:
• Main contrast of chapter is between real philosophers (in Nietzsche’s view) and “philosophical laborers” and scholars.
o Believes that a real philosopher must be able to rise above all of the science, though this is difficult as body of knowledge
becomes larger.
• Dislikes the spirit of objectivity that reigns in scientific research because there is a total absence of will.
• According to Nietzsche, there is no such thing as an objective standpoint: an interpretation of any fact is a
sign that some will is taking possession of that fact.
• Critical of modern scholars, especially their objective spirit.
o Believes that these scholars are not self-sufficient or creative, they lack self-knowledge and strong passions, and they strive
on a mediocrity that seeks to eliminate everything that is unusual or irregular.
• Discusses two types of skepticism:
1. First kind is associated with mediocrity and is plagued by doubts that inhibit all kinds of action.
ƒ By reassuring themselves with doubt, these skeptics pursue science and objectivity.
2. In contrast, the other kind is associated with Frederick the Great’s influence. This type of skepticism is strong-willed and
intrepid, never resting content with easy answers but always questioning, seeking, and discovering.
• Nietzschean Philosophers in general are legislators and creators. They do not just describe the world, but also give meaning to it. Such
a creative act is the sign of a strong and sublimated will to power.
 • Qualities of Nietzsche philosopher: Suggests that they should be a creator of values. Philosophers who create their own morality will
thus create a new world order.
o Most of us do not have the strength of will to be philosophers. Such great minds need to be bred and cultivated.
o In contrast, the scholars and “philosophical laborers” seek to clear up the past, not look to the future and say “thus it shall
be.”
o Today, a philosopher would rebel against the democratic spirit of the time, seeking solitude and difference.
ƒ Because they speak for tomorrow, philosophers are out of place in the here and now, and are always struggling
against the spirit of the day.
ƒ The ideal philosopher is free from the morality of his own day. He is a “man of tomorrow and the day after
tomorrow” because he creates new values that will influence the future.
• EX: Socrates rebelled against the aristocratic spirit of his day, showing the nobles that they were just as
stupid and weak as he or anybody else.
o Socrates is the only clear example that Nietzsche uses. Beyond this one example and the vague
notion that a philosopher must be creative and not caught up in present-day morality, we left pretty
much in the dark.

Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil

Part Seven – Our Virtues
• There is an “order of rank” in which some have stronger and more refined spirits than others.
• Those who are lower hate the higher ranks and condemn their higher spirit.
• Divine justice was invented so that everyone could claim that they were equal on a fundamental level. It was a
construction .
• Pity covers up self-contempt. People make themselves suffer to make themselves greater.
• There is a “spiritualization of cruelty.” Man takes his animal instincts, turns them against himself and makes
them divine.
• Man uncovers truths that he would have been happier not knowing. This goes against man’s natural inclination
towards shallowness and superficiality.
• Even in the freest of free spirits, the digging of truth will eventually hit bedrock.
• Then he rips on women. Ha.
Part Eight – Peoples and Fatherlands
• Deals with nationalism and nationalities.
• The inter-breeding of Europeans will breed mediocrity but will also create very few, very exceptional spirits.
• Heavy spirits spend half their life wallowing in the narrow-mindedness of nationalism (even “good Europeans”
will stoop down for a little bit)
• Talks about what being German means; focuses on the race and language.
• German spirit is mysterious and complex and the race is made up of so many other races that there is no such
thing as “pure” German. Many Germans view their complexity as superior and see themselves as a profound
race.
• He criticizes German literature and language for its odd rhythm and tempo. Because people read silently, the
music of literature and language is being lost.
• He commends Jews for being the strongest race with the strongest spirit in Europe. They are not trying to take
over, but are just trying to integrate into European culture and Europe can only benefit from it.
• Despite nationalism, he argues that Europe wants to be united.
Part Nine – What is Noble
• An aristocratic caste is essential to the ennoblement of the human species.
• Order of rank – from great humans to commoners
• Life is will to power and will to power is exploitation.
• Society’s goal is to produce a few exceptional individuals who are society’s jewels and the rest of society
sacrifices and endures hardships to produce them.
• Aristocratic “masters” created the contrast between good and bad. They see themselves as good while they look
down on the “slaves” as bad.
• Our characters are largely determined by the character of our ancestors and their role in society.
• Whatever is exceptional and uncommon is difficult to express in language and difficult for the majority to
understand – the exceptional is always marginalized.
• Higher spirits are always misunderstood and are made to endure suffering. However, they wear masks that hide
their suffering from the commoners.
• To the higher spirits, the only thing worse than being misunderstood is being understood- this means that
someone else is enduring their suffering.
• The noble man is distinguished by his unmatched degree of self-respect (commoners lack this).
• Nietzsche laments that he cannot fully express himself through language.