Friedrich Nietzsche's 'On The Genealogy Of Morality'

“We are unknown to ourselves, we knowers: and with good reason. We have never looked for ourselves – so how are we supposed to find ourselves?” begins Friedrich Nietzsche in the preface of his book, On the Genealogy of Morality (Nietzsche 3). In this statement, Nietzsche illustrates our lack of self-questioning and self-knowledge, criticizing man for treating the value of moral values “as given, as factual, beyond all questioning” (Nietzsche 8). He places the origin and development of our current altruistic morality at the foreground of his First Treatise, writing of a “priestly rebellion” that made man an “interesting animal” (Nietzsche 16). It is only here did the “human soul in a higher sense acquire depth and become evil” (Nietzsche 16). This story forms the rhetorical framework of the First Treatise, guiding Nietzsche towards his main goal: to examine, question, and critique the value of moral values, all in an endeavor to move “beyond good and evil”.

Nietzsche posits that today’s altruistic morality arose through a successful overturning of a previously existing system of morality in which character traits of the aristocratic and noble class were …show more content…
It was on this form, “the priestly form”, that man first became an “interesting animal”, changing our understanding of morality as we know it today. Initially, it would seem counterintuitive for a noble class to play such an essential role in the slave revolt seeing that the slave system of morality seems to be so much at odds with noble values. Nonetheless, Nietzsche never fails to make it clear to us that the priests are intended to be counted as nobles, deliberately categorizing them as the “priestly-aristocratic” class (Nietzsche 17). This apparent incongruity raises a big, burning question: How and why did the priestly nobles involve themselves in the slave revolt of morality in the first