More Existential Notes

Key Ideas

bermensch
I TEACH YOU THE
SUPERMAN. Man is
something that is to be
surpassed. What have ye done
to surpass man? All beings
hitherto have created
something beyond themselves:
and ye want to be the ebb of
that great tide, and would
rather go back to the beast
than surpass man?

After the death of God, the

world became meaningless
and devoid of value. Nietzsche
called it a world of nihilism.
There is no value, meaning,
and purpose in such a life,
since God is the source and
foundation of all values. In that
godless world, who or what
should we look for? Nietzsche
presents the overman or
superman (bermensch) as
the image of a human being
who can overcome the
Godless world of nihilism.

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Antichrist, section 2

What is good? All that heightens the

feeling of power in man, the will to power,
power itself. What is bad? All that is born
of weakness. What is happiness? The
feeling that power is growing, that
resistance is overcome.

Will To Power
[Anything which] is a living and
not a dying body... will have to
be an incarnate will to power, it
will strive to grow, spread,
seize, become predominant
not from any morality or
immorality but because it is
living and because life simply
is will to power...
'Exploitation'... belongs to the
essence of what lives, as a
basic organic function; it is a
consequence of the will to
power, which is after all the will
to life.

Nietzsche is more interested in the

sublimated will to power, where
people turn their will to power
inward and pursue self-mastery
rather than mastery over others.
An Indian mystic, for instance,
who submits himself to all sorts of
physical deprivation gains
profound self-control and spiritual
depth, representing a more refined
form of power than the power
gained by the conquering
barbarian.
truly life-affirming philosophy
embraces change and recognizes
in the will to power that change is
the only constant in the world.

Friedrich Nietzsche
The world is too conforming:

He was disgusted
with his cultures blind obedience to social & religious norms.

God is dead. borrowed from Hegel & Luther

Perspectivism: Whatever one is observing is in some way
contigent upon ones particular perspective. Morality is perspective
and there is more than one correct way to look at any given
situation.

Ethical Relativism: No absolute right or wrong.

Sartre

Live an authentic life

Man is condemned to be free
Hell is other people
Man has been abandoned and suffers: this
is the human condition
Man will always choose good
Man is definable only by situation

Soren Kierkegaard
It is the Individuals
responsibility to

Live a totally committed life &

follow through with a decision
Defy the norms of society for
the sake of your commitment.
Revolt against reason in favor
for enthusiastic involvement in
life
Know yourself & focus on your
development and individuality
Revolt against the herd
mentality
Self reflect & think- truth lies
within you

Continued
An individuals choice
determines his
essence.
Life is a series of
choices creating
stress.
Some things are
irrational and absurd
without explanation.

The only reality worth

living takes place
within the world of the
individual