Nietzsche's Master Morality Essay

Determinism in Nietzsche’s Master Morality
In this paper, I will argue that Master Morality is in itself deterministic. In Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals, he describes two types of morality: Slave Morality and Master Morality. Slave Morality is targeted to the weak and suffering, hence the name. This belief system promotes kindness and sympathy, and according to Nietzsche, was derived from the propagation of the Jewish faith. The reversal of moral valuations turned the belief in Master Morality: the valuation of the strong and powerful, to Slave Morality: the valor of the meek and poor. Before this, the Catholic faith (and thus the vast majority of their modern world) held the nobles to a higher regard: this is Master Morality. According to Nietzsche, it was the less popular view, in part because of the Jewish religion and …show more content…
The mantra of this belief system may be paraphrased as “that which is good is helpful, and that which is bad is harmful.” This utilitarian belief may be the less human of the two, to the point where humans are expected to become inhuman. Under this belief, “good” people are essentially perfect in every way and have no discernable flaws, whereas in Slave Morality, they embrace their flaws and promote compassion and love. In taking this philosophy literally, one may lose the original meaning of good and evil, though, especially because Master Morality could not work for every single person in the world. The morality was meant for the nobles, and the nobles only, so it cannot be as widespread as Slave Morality, which was meant for the masses. Since Master Morality does not work for the masses and it is more of a personal philosophy, it may not be the same for everyone, but if it is, it causes a problem in and of itself. If everyone believes in the very same Master Morality, then they may just as well be slaves to it, as in Slave