Nietzche's Pessimism - Essay Example

Order 422237 Topic: Friedrich Nietzsche - “Untimely Meditations” Pessimism is definedthus: “ Pessimism is the habitual belief that bad things will happen or are happening, or the belief that a particular thing will be unsuccessful or bad.” (Collins, 1072) Pessimism is derived from the Latin word pessimus (worst). This is a state of mind with the negative perception of life. Value judgments may differ; but judgments of facts are undisputed. The famous example is—Is the glass half empty or half full? Philosophical pessimism does not mean that one has or cultivated a negative value or that this world is absolutely bad. It is a valid and cogent philosophy that directly challenges the notion of progress and what may be considered the faith-based claims of optimism. Pessimism avers that people are fundamentally evil, life is meaningless, increased suffering and frustration are bound to fall into ones lot. History stands mute testimony about mans inability to reach the avowed goals of happiness and this leads one to cultivate a pessimistic outlook. Pessimists do not believe in eternal life and entertain the notion that there is no meaningful explanation for the worlds existence. From this standpoint Nietzsche does not seem to be a hard-boiled pessimist, though on issues related to religion, his views are extremely harsh. “Nietzsche dreads to see the will extinguished. Refusing his own sensibility, hostile to any psychological introspection, he fights the softening of the customs that the spiritual world and the development of the psychoanalysis bring gradually. This denial of him even, urges him to idealize the power, to venerate the natural dominant, the warlike aristocrat, the caste system, etc...”(The Mans....) The will for power generates some pleasure and not happiness. It is also at the origin of all the sufferings endured by the humanity. As the man aspires, above all, to the happiness, the will for power is intended to perish gradually. Nietzsche further writes in his book “Untimely Meditations,”.......a great victory is a great danger. Human nature finds it harder to endure a victory than a defeat; indeed, it seems to be easier to achieve a victory than to endure it in such a way that it does not in-fact turn into a defeat.”(1) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, a German philosopher, was born on October 15, 1844. His pessimism is ingrained in his ruthless criticism of religion, as it was practiced during his time. Destiny must have played its part in shaping his pessimistic views. His father and brother died under tragic circumstances. The unfortunate events must have affected his religious beliefs.“Alternatively, Nietzsche philosophizes from the perspective of life located beyond good and evil, and challenges the entrenched moral idea that exploitation, domination, injury to the weak, destruction and appropriation are universally objectionable behaviors.” (Philosophy....) The essential difference between Nietzsche and other 19th century critics of religion, morality and the life of that era, is that he does not look out for a more effective moral life; He is not interested in the vigorous search of perfect moral life; he is willing to carry on with the available set of morality and attempts to save life from morality itself. “ He argues that nineteenth-century culture experiences life as a form of nihilism because it has invented a series of moral concepts such as "truth", "selflessness" and "equality" that have been raised above life in order to regulate and judge life. Nietzsches philosophy insists that we ask questions what does it mean to think? Or what is the value of life? It is his willingness to ask these imperative questions that have made him so controversial yet so genus.” (Philosophy Essays....) Nietzsche contends the assumption of nineteenth century German scholars that historical knowledge is intrinsically valuable. He contradicts this view point. He avers that historical knowledge is valuable only when it has a positive effect on human beings sense of life. Historical knowledge does have positive aspect about it, but it can prove damaging to those who pursued it. He cites the example of many of his contemporaries suffering from such adverse effects. His reflection on pessimism is clear from his writings at the beginning of the book currently under review. He states, “ Public opinion in Germany seems almost to forbid discussion on the evil and perilous consequences of a war, and especially of one that has ended victoriously.”(p.1) It is clear from that introduction, that David Strauss had read the first portion of this book and furnished his friend Rapp with a clear question about Nietzsches character in a letter of 19 December 1873. "First they draw and quarter you, then they hang you. The only thing I find interesting about the fellow is the psychological point -- how can one get into such a rage with a person whose path one has never crossed, in brief, the real motive of this passionate hatred." (p. xiv) Howsoever one may try to brand as an individual of passionate hatred, and possessing die-hard pessimistic views, his views on German culture and the German victory in war are anything but pessimistic. One find it difficult to negate or condemn them. He writes, “.....of all the evil consequences, however, which have followed the recent war with France perhaps the worst is a widespread, indeed universal, error: the error, committed by public opinion and by all who express their opinions publicly, that German culture too was victorious in that struggle and must therefore now be loaded with garlands appropriate to such an extraordinary achievement. This delusion is in the highest degree destructive; not because it is a delusion—for there exist very salutary and productive errors—but because it is capable of turning our victory in to defeat.” (1) History bears witness—the preceding years to World War II, saw Nietzsche observations prove prophetic as for the political, social and cultural state of affairs in Germany. The country is divided by the victorious Allied Forces. As observed by Nietzsche, such an attitude“ develops more and more a prudent practical egoism through which the forces of life are paralyzed and at last destroyed.(83)He pleads for the objective judging of history, with a critical analysis by remaining attentive to its flaws and failures, and desist from being a blind follower. Nietzsche was critical of the popular philosophers of his day who held pessimistic views,but he admitted candidly that his own work to be a kind of pessimism. This he did not consider as a psychological characterization but as a philosophical one. His pessimism makes efforts to draw sustenance, rather than renounce, from the disordered, disenchanted world that falls to our lot after the demise of metaphysics. This is the essential difference between Schopenhauer who advocated resignation and Nietzsche, who advocated that a new ground for activity can be found apart from the narratives of reason and progress. This is the answer he provides to those who considered his philosophy as passive or suicidal modes of thought. Nietzches pessimism is not blind adherence; he has valid complaints against the functioning of the society. He explains how the cultures develops vested interests. The higher cultures are so structured that they compel the inhabitants to live along longer and more difficult paths. The journey is deliberately rendered difficult. The higher such culture develops, the more detached and aloof the man becomes. The simplicity that was the noble part of the older culture is given up. Nietzsche pessimistic views do not deny the need for a final goal for humankind. His complaint is about the process of achieving it, not the final product. The inner condition of the man desires and deserves something better than the routine preaching in the Churches, pleads Nietzsche. The absoluteness of will, identical with life, does not have any room for an external resting place. The resting place will have to found within, howsoever difficult, and time-consuming may be the process. This culture, goal oriented but lacking a goal, is Nietzsches starting point. He sees the evolution of man as the potential of affirming life. For Nietzsche, happiness and pain are mere embodiments of ennui because theyre mere stopgaps. Nietzsches pessimism is dynamic, not a weak surrender of the individual, with a do-nothing attitude. Even if happiness is temporary and fleeting, it has some essentials of eternitys splendor. Eternity appears to be mystical but is actually a logical consequence of Nietzsches philosophy. All these things considered, one may wonder what sort of a pessimist Nietzsche is! He escapes the charge of dark pessimism because life advances upwards, ad infinitum. Taken in this context, Neitzsche connects the bridge from pessimism to optimism. Nietzche had the psychological genius to identify the best in the human being, or in other words the best the human being is capable of. Initially he accepted pessimism, but in his later writings he turned hostile to the pessimistic views of Schopenhauer. He rejects the negative, ascetic attitude towards life with a joyous affirmation. Nietzsche, in short, reverses this: he is a metaphysical optimist, but an epistemological pessimist, warning of the dangers for life of knowledge or truthfulness. ************ Works Cited: Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary; Collins, London. Nietzsche, Friedrich, Breazeale, Daniel(Editor), Hollingdale, R J(Translator) Nietzsche: Untimely Meditations (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy); Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (November 13, 1997) Philosophy Essays - Friedrich Nietzsche- www.ukessays.com › ... › Philosophy Essays - Cached – Similar;Retrieved on March 18, 2010. 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