Nietzschean Genealogy and Hegelian History in The Genealogy of Morals

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According to Kain, he argued that Nietzsche was influenced by Hegelian history, even though many philosophers like Deleuze, Greene and Houlgate saying that Nietzsche is opposing Hegel master-slave dialectic (Kain, pg.123-124). Kain saying, that according to Nietzsche he was not trying to bring back master-slave dialectic, but Kain finds hard to believe, since there so much in common (Kain, pg 124). Kain is trying to investigate the relationship between Hegel’s master and slave and the clash between Nietzsche’s master and slave morality (Kain, pg. 123). Also Kain is trying to reject the view that “Übermensch “is created from the master rather than the slave ( Kain,pg 123).

According to Nietzsche, “the good” could be understood as” noble, the high-placed and the high-minded” and opposite of those would be “low-minded and plebeian” those would be ‘the bad” (Nietzsche, GM, pg. 11). According to Kain, this view was hold based on the class system (Kain, pg 124). If you are in the upper class and superior class it means that you are having more” power “and you are the one who everyone could “trust” therefore you are “the good” (Kain, pg.123). Kain is saying that this standpoint led masters to acknowledge their self (Kain, pg. 124). According to Kain, “the bad” were the others (Kain, pg 125). This viewpoint was not created by the slave but by aristocrats that had made such a notion who is “the good” and who is “the bad”, stated by Kain (Kain, pg. 125). According to Nietzsche, “the good” has nothing to do with being not egoistic (Nietzsche, GM, pg. 12). Nietzsche also adds, that ‘egoistic and unegoistic” actions started to become noticeable when aristocrats judgment of value degrade (Nietzsche, GM, pg. 12). Kain st...

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..., world and what they can do in order to become free and create their new world. However master - save dialectic even both master and slave realize their dependency on the each other and how the system works they are not able to change anything in their position. In my opinion Nietzsche picture is more optimistic because there is way out and there is chance to create a "new heaven" where in Hegel picture you have to just accept that if you are slave you will be there for long time it might gradually change and one stays in this " unhappy consciousness " in Hegel picture.

Work cited

Philip J. Kain, “Nietzschean Genealogy and Hegelian History in The Genealogy of Morals,” Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 26:1 (1996): 123-148.

Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals,trans CAROL DIETHE,Ed.

KEITH ANSELL-PEARSON,Cambridge University Press 1994,2007,GM

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