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Max Cougar Oswald October 24, 2010

Tutorial in Philosophy, Dr. Daniel Came Worcester College, University of Oxford

Nietzsches Schopenhauer as Educator The Unicum A first-time reader of Schopenhauer as Educator (SE) would likely feel applauded - empowered even - by the uniqueness that Nietzsche claims to be an undeniable part of every human being. Physically, mentally, and temporally, each of us is a unicum, that is, something that is entirely one of a kind in the universe. Next, though, the reader is embarrassed and affronted by Nietzsches accusation: that we do not actually embody this uniqueness. In fact, currently, very rarely can we even identify the nature of our true self. Instead, we desperately conceal this unicum from our neighbors and deny it even to ourselves. Why? Because the convention into which we have been born exhorts us to evade our innate individuality and instead furtively imitate our like-minded neighbors and hope to become another respectably mass-produced cardboard cutout. Nietzsche says we fear the adversity of being characteristically transparent because no one else is transparent; the ignominy of being nakedly honest has become a Tragedy of the Commons. He says that laziness is the vice most culpable for this habit; he calls it lethargic promenading draped in borrowed manners and appropriated opinions, (SE). Laziness, not fear, is mankinds most common characteristic. Adherence to ones true self requires courage, yes, but more so it demands arduous inward reflection and carefully dedicated work, because your true self is not merely waiting somewhere inside your soul waiting to be discovered. Rather, it is something that exists high above you and your ego - an elusive ideal yet to be conceived but to which you may someday aspire. Anyone who lives in this perpetual evasion of the worlds judgment is prevented from attaining happiness, and there life is also deeply cheapened. They have forgone the beautiful gift of a human mind, choosing instead to live like an oblivious animal. Nothing but hollow faades, Nietzsche condemns them as natures most desolate and repulsive creatures. He compels the reader with more than

disparagement, though. He also suggests that our place in time, that is, the inexplicable fact that we live precisely today and yet had the infinity of time in which to come into being, (SE) is reason enough to make us accountable for a meaningful existence. We want to take our lives into our own hands, to break the manacles of conformity and ascertain our true self; but we are deterred by the boldness and risk-taking that this endeavor demands. Lastly, comes the most disturbing evidence for the reader. Nietzsche casts a light on an eerie concept; one that is intimately personal and -although obscurefrighteningly difficult to deny. It is that men spend their entire lives compulsively distracting themselves from one chilling truth: that their ultimate purpose for living is unknown. People fill their lives with pseudo-purposes that they identify by watching others; hiding their heads by adopting lesser challenges - like a career, a social life, scholarship, moneymaking, etc.- in hopes that their conscience will accept these as replacements for the true task. That is, the task of discovering and embodying our true self. Our ultimate ideal. Our causa finalis. Haste is universal, Nietzsche writes, because everyone is fleeing from himself; universal, too, is the timid concealment of this haste, because we want to appear satisfied and deceive the most perceptive observers about our wretchedness, (SE). We hope that our own conscience, the most perceptive observer of all, will forgive or forget the fact that we are settling for the meager fulfillments of conformity, but every so often it remembers. We experience brief moments of profound uneasiness with our lives. Nietzsche calls it the mosquito that whispers in our ear and refuses to let us sleep. Why, though, are we so terrified of what the mosquito might tell us that we intractably avoid its call, and refuse to halt from our distractions long enough to ever deeply reflect on the nature of this deepseeded longing rooted in the back of our minds? We attempt to plead ignorance, or even indifference, but all we can only truly plead is denial. (Or, as Nietzsche might euphemize it: laziness.) Thankfully, Nietzsche does not stop here and leave the reader to brood over this somber conception of man. He also provides a solution

The Educator Nature has bestowed in humans the ability to transcend animality and to achieve the higher consciousness necessary for unlearning the false and misleading goals of conventional living. Nietzsche calls this empowering side of nature its maternal side, while the animalistic instinct that nature also infects us with comes from its stepmotherly side. Lazy, oblivious, and shackled by the chains of conformity, it is easy and common for us to descend to the level of animals for the entirety of our lives. Adversity of such animality, to cling blindly and madly to life, for no higher reward, (SE) can only be overcome if we can somehow experience the higher consciousness that we indeed posses. For this to happen - this initial, galvanizing recognition of the existence of our ideal - we require an outside impetus. That is, the help of an educator. The characteristics and limitations of an educator, in Nietzsches writing, are very precise. The educator embodies an ideal human form, in the sense that they are a true human being and no longer an animal. With their appearance, and by means of their appearance, they are able to lift our heads out from the rushing river of delusion in which we are submerged, allowing us just for a fleeting instant to come to the surface and awaken from our slumber. Educators are our liberators, but we can never allow them to be anything more than liberators. They can inspire, but never lead. They can point to the mountain atop which our unicum is hidden, but we alone must divine our route and climb into the icy purity of the alpine air. A person should start by looking back on his life and inquiring about what things he has truly loved, what as attracted his soul, what dominated it while simultaneously making it happy. Thoughtful consideration of these things and their relationships will reveal the lower steps of the ladder of self-development on top of which one is currently standing. The higher part of this ladder, when formed correctly, can lead to ones true and ideal self. An educator can help with identifying the past steps of the ladder, a unicums basic roots, but can not help the person take (or even see) the next steps. As Nietzsche writes in SE, no one can build for you the bridge upon which you alone must cross the stream of life, no one but you alone. To

be sure, there are countless paths and bridges and demigods that want to carry you through this stream, but only at the price of your self. So how can one build this elusive bridge? By dedicating themselves to an intricate process of form-creation. Form Creation There are three salient types of form-creation that Nietzsche writes about. Each form, in its own way, seduces us into loving the world and our life. 1) The philosophical: the creation of values that affirm life. 2) The artistic: the creation of expressive art to gives meaning to the world. 3) The stylized: the creation of autonomous character with unique style. With the first, we must understand the metaphysical nature of ourselves and of the world, and autonomously define our values accordingly. In order to make these realizations bearable (e.g. the fact that delusion and error are innate human conditions), we must develop free artistic perspectives on them - which leads to the second type. As Nietzsche says in The Gay Science, we need a rest from ourselves by looking down upon ourselves and, from an artistic distance, laughing over ourselves or weepingwe must occasionally find pleasure in our folly or we cannot continue to find pleasure in our wisdom. Artistic creation serves to meet nature halfway, and give self-enlightening expression to natures actual intentions. Lastly, we give style to our character. This is the ultimate key to attaining satisfaction with ones actual self. To do this, we must acknowledge all the strengths and weaknesses of our nature and then fit them into an artistic plan until every one appears as art and reason and even weaknesses delight the eye, (GS). All three types of form-creation are equally valuable as well as interdependent. To put it succinctly, the creation of ones unique character demands the truth of reality, and art enables affirmation of such truth. The Community Nietzsche acknowledges, however, that his solution to mans problematic nature will not work for everyone. Actually, only a small selection of men who have seen above them something higher and more human, will be successful in

attaining it. It is for this aspect of SE that Nietzsche is commonly accused of being an elitist. However, it is unclear whether Nietzsche means to accuse certain people of being innately incapable, or if he is simply warning them about the endeavors difficulty, esotericism, and capacity for failure. In some cases, even if the person has acknowledged their ideal self, Nietzsche warns that it will still be impossible for him to successfully engage in the process of form-creation, due to the obscure and enigmatic nature of the process. Some humans may only be fundamentally capable of understanding goals that are limited and definite. Nietzsche sites Goethe here, explaining that it makes no difference if this type of person is distracted by conventions or enlightened by some notion of true-self, either way he will be unhappy when he is forced to strive for something with which he can not get in touch with on the basis of a regulated, self-initiated activity (SE). Incapable of ultimately succeeding, this man might be led to a life of self-division and inner turmoil, where he lives in perpetual conflict with himself until uncertainty finally eviscerates him. Another possibility is that he is led to ostracize himself to a life of despondent alienation, such that he develops complete and unconditional indifference to the actions of everyone but himself. Abysmal results like these, for some individuals, may be unavoidable. Thus, Nietzsche suggests a chain of new duties be imposed upon such individuals, ones that are indeed fulfillable. These new duties are tied together by one common task: To foster the production of the sublime order we recognize as educators: those true human beings, those no-longer-animals, the philosophers, artists, and saints, (SE). The Philosophers, who provide metaphysical understanding, the Artists, who present a pure and finished image of these metaphysics, and the Saints, whos ego has been completely erased and whos life is only felt as the deepest feeling of equality, communion, and oneness with all living things (SE). The community must toil to promote the flourishing of these true human beings, and fight against anything that prevents their development. In essence, they must fight to abolish the conformity, laziness, dishonesty, and indifference that are entrenched in our species - the very things that have robbed them of the supreme fulfillment of their existence.

It appears unclear, however, if these duties ultimately promise their undertakers any type of personal fulfillment at any point in time, or if they are merely sacrificial contributions to the elite. This question, among others, will be addressed in my next essay.

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