The Transformers: Metamorphoses Part 1 Analysis

Connor DeFiore (1828 words)

Professor Burmeister

PHL3607-02

16 November 2014

The Transformers: Metamorphoses

Part 1

A determinist does as they choose. Determinists choose the action and choose the belief/ desire that the determinist pursues. The Underground Man recalls someone once saying that man only does nasty and wicked things because he doesn't know what is good for him. If he were enlightened, he would only do good things, because he would realize that being good was in his own best interest. The Underground Man begs to differ with this theory. He says that men consciously act against their own best interests and will approach hazard head on solely because they find doing all things in their own self- interest boring. “Just

try giving us, for example, as much independence as possible, untie the hands of any one of us, loosen our bonds, and we… I assure you we should all immediately beg to go back under discipline.” (Dostoyevsky 122) People do not desire to have unrestricted freedom from society.

Individuals do not know what they want, that is why they prefer society to limit their determinism. “love is every young girl’s treasure! To earn that love, some men are ready to give up their lives, their very souls.” (Dostoyevsky 96) Dostoyevsky gives the example of love as a restriction on one’s freedom. The Undergroundman chases Liza and due to that his freedom is limited. Love is not chosen by the individual, rather it is chosen by fate and that restricts one from being a determinist, causing them to act less freely and conform to how they believe they should act for their lover. “although I committed this cruelty deliberately, it came from wicked head, not from my heart. It was so artificial, so intellectual, so contrived, so bookish” (Dostoyevsky 120) Emphasis should be placed on the action being “artificial,” showing that it was not his true self acting in such a way. The Undergroundman’s freedom is

limited because freedom is power over others, but in this instance clearly love has the power over him which limits his choice.

Part 2
In Notes from the Underground, Underground Man displays dominance over Apollon for some fault by withholding his wages. “How dare you come in here without permission and stare at me like that? Answer me!” (Dostoyevsky 110) Underground Man’s act of belittling the man by treating him like a child by saying acting as if the man needed Underground Man’s permission to even look at him is Underground Man’s way of trying to display freedom. Underground man puts another person below him for power. The way Underground Man acts towards Apollon is similar to how a bully would treat the person he is bullying. The bully acts tough similar to Underground Man. In the Underground Man’s case, he is acting as if looking at him is not allowed without his permission. A bully might not allow a younger schoolmate to come on a swing at recess without the bully’s permission. The similarity is that neither Apollon looking at the Underground Man nor the younger student going on a swing should be deterred from doing either act. “keeping quiet in order to conquer his pride and force him to be the first to speak about it.” (Dostoyevsky 109) This is similar to how a detective may try to get the truth out of a criminal. The detective, assuming he works for the police, has the power to determine whether the criminal is guilty. The detective acts in a way to intimidate the criminal in hopes that he will confess to the crime.

Part 3
In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche proclaims that "God died" (Nietzsche 13). For Nietzsche, this means that the philosophical abstraction known as "God" to institutional religion, especially Christianity, has died in the hearts and souls of Western man. But even though God's death leaves a gaping hole in Western man's being, Nietzsche has recognized that the death of God is necessary to bring about transformation. Prior to God's death, humans are brain washed into thinking in "Thou shalts," (Nietzsche 27) a controlling existence, and people are convinced to follow it without question. Therefore, creativity, which is mankind's birthright, is frowned upon when it is implemented to bring about new values, new opinions, and new attitudes is frowned upon. Without questioning, humanity is full of uncertainty and has no absolutes. The problem, for Zarathustra is to discover new realities and to create new meaning out of the chaotic aftermath of God's death. In the section of Thus Spoke Zarathustra entitled, Of the Three Metamorphoses, Zarathustra describes a process of human transformation. Nietzsche begins: "I have told you: how the spirit became a camel; and the camel, a lion; and the lion, finally, a child.” (Nietzsche 27). These metaphors describe various stages in the transformation of human consciousness. Just as we pass through physical stages on our way to adulthood, Nietzsche proposes that we pass through various stages of consciousness. We are constantly evolving. For Nietzsche, all is in flux. This process, of Nietzsche’s, of transformation is not meant to be linear per say.
First, in the cycle is the camel. The camel kneels down for heavy loads. Camels purpose is to work and bear the weight that is bestowed upon it. It is conditioned to last days in the desert without water. A camel is not free to make their own decisions because they give their will over to what they believe is their purpose. Through carrying the heavy burden, the spirit becomes strong in its strength, in serving the camel’s commander. The camel takes upon itself its heavy burdens and flees into a desert of solitude. Here, the camel must continually question even the "truths" it has accepted. It must live knowing that there are no eternal standards.
The lion is fierce and untamed.

It desires to be free, to roam without borders. It wants to create its own freedom, but it must kill other animals to maintain the lion’s “king of the jungle” reputation. The camel is only a beast of burden. A beast of prey is required for the task of capturing freedom. The might of the lion can perform the task. One either conforms, or one is trampled underneath another. But the might of the lion says, "I will!" The lion is the beginning of the will to power, or the will to create new realities. The lion can not create new values. However, the lion’s might is what captures freedom for itself. The lion must understand that now there is no guiding hand of a transcendental God, or the firm foundation of a realm of absolute ideas. There is no external authority. Now, the lion is alone; it is responsible for itself. There are no more laws, no more duties for it to

bear.
For creation, another metamorphosis must take place: the lion must become a child. The child possesses unique talents which make it the perfect choice for the third transformation. The child is innocence. It has no sense of what life should be like, therefore no preconceived notions of life. There is no guilt because there is no awareness of Thou Shalt. It knows only Becoming--awaking each day to discover a new idea, a new game to play, a new world to explore. The child is full forgetfulness. It has forgotten the heavy burdens of duty that the camel was full of, and longs for freedom. Now, it constantly abides in freedom. Instead of the eternal values and standards, it lives only for the moment. The child is a new beginning. When long-held beliefs have been called into question by the camel, and then destroyed by the lion, one enters a new epoch. After a time, the values one has created for oneself become obsolete. Old values must eventually be destroyed and replaced by new values. The spirit of the camel will question whether these beliefs are still viable. If not, the spirit of the lion will destroy them. After that comes a new beginning, the spirit of the child will bring about the creation of yet another set of new values. The child is a sport, or a game. Children are always inventing new games, along with a set of rules for each. For example, children create their own games. This sense of creation is the attitude that Nietzsche is trying to get us to think about here. We need to adopt the attitude of a child. When faced with a problem, the child will create a solution. Children allow spontaneity to flow freely, creating rules that fit the particular situation. This open-minded way of thinking is extremely important in business, particularly as a consultant or as an entrepreneur. The child has no external knowledge. There is only spontaneity and creative play, that is, until adults, at home, school and various other forums pound values into their heads. The child is a self-propelling wheel. At this stage of the metamorphoses, the child has the will to power itself. However, when "wisdom" is not present in one's thinking, the traits of a child comes to a screeching halt. The child is a first motion. Instead of creation, there was static being. The camel questioned those values; the lion destroyed them. Now, the child is the first motion, because the child is the creator. Creation is not static, but dynamic.
Think of how the earth continually grows and dies only to regrow again the next year. Similar to seasons, every spring new life bursts forth from the earth. In a climate like Boston, there is a period of growth, decay, and then death. This may be how Nietzsche envisions this process of transformation. Creators always pass through such periods of growth, decay, and death. The child represents growth, the growth of new realities. The camel eventually doubts these realities, and the lion destroys them. For the season example, the child is spring, the camel symbolizes fall and the lion represents winter. The spirit now has no sense of duty; it is not impelled to act in any other way than the behavior it chooses. Now the sacred Yes is needed in order for creativity to be unleashed, for new values to be invented. Nietzsche is saying we should pass beyond the dualities, whether it is good or evil traits, and create for ourselves a set of values which allows us to be overcoming of ourselves. Perhaps we will never get there. However, the point that needs to be conveyed is the risk is worth the reward, the struggle to get there should be expected.

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