Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Interpretation of The Gay Science by Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche was a philosopher from Germany, and his works have had a profound effect on the modern history of intellect. He was a fervent critique of morality for many various reasons known to him and which he shared in his book. Nietzsche critiqued the idea that morality gave an objective viewpoint of what and how people should behave, based on what was morally acceptable or not. He also critiqued the claim that people can do whatever they want because they have free will.
Friedrich thought that the claims of free will and objectivity were lies that people came to believe and that morality adds no value to a person’s life. Friedrich said that morality only served the purpose of thwarting the potential of a person to achieve greater heights in their lives as it holds them by dictating what they should or should not do. This limitation imposed by morality makes people identify as part of a whole, removing any possibilities of a person aiming for individual perfection. “By morality, the individual is taught to become a function of the herd and to ascribe to himself value only as a function.” Friedrich thought of morality as an equal to the herding instinct in people (Nietzsche, 2012, pg. 86).
Friedrich opposes and critiques morality for the sole reason that he believes it is invaluable as it keeps people from living their best life. He also held on to the idea that people used morality as a disguise to hide their shortcomings. “The European disguises himself in morality because he has become a sick, crippled animal who has good reasons for being tame because he is almost an abortion, an imperfect, weak, and clumsy thing.” I believe that Friedrich was trying to sway people into abandoning the false ideology of morality, for them to achieve greatness fully.
Work Cited
Nietzsche, F. W. (2012). The Gay Science. North Chelmsford, Massachusetts: Courier Corporation. https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/The_Gay_Science.html?id=trakSLk9qt0C&redir_esc=y