A concept from Thus Spoke Zarathustra that I found to be particularly important to Nietzsche’s philosophy is that which he calls, ‘the great contempt’. This concept being closely connected with the often misunderstood claim that “God is dead!” signifies one’s realization that his or her former ideals are insignificant, and a subsequent desire to pursue something higher. This claim is not only directed against the Christian God, but also against eternal value in general. Resulting from the great contempt is a notion, which we encountered in our reading of Marx; that is alienation. In the absence of eternal value, one is forced to recognize their individuality and take complete responsibility for their actions.
Having been influenced a great deal by Nietzsche, Simone de Beauvoir takes up this idea in one of her earlier works “Moral Idealism and Political Realism”. Similar to Nietzsche’s criticism found in the sections “On The Despisers of the Body” and “On the New Idol”, Beauvoir criticizes both “[t]he intransigent moralist who, while being contemptuous of earthly goods, proclaims the necessity of certain eternal principles” and the “political realist concerned only with the interest of the state”, saying that each discipline places meaning in external causes in order to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. Once one recognizes the illusory nature of these external values, and the ambiguity of their existence, they are forced to develop their own meaning. Both Nietzsche and later Beauvoir believe that meaning is developed through the continuous development of projects, which allow one to overcomes his or herself and, as it was expressed above, to pursue something higher. This pursuit no longer pertains to searching, but rather to creating. It is in this way that one becomes the ‘overman’. In contrast to the ‘overman’ is the‘last man’, who no longer overcomes, but believes to have reached the peak of human achievement. Nietzsche explains that the ‘overman’ must recognize the infinite range of human development and thus continue to overcome his or herself. Having reached the status of the ‘overman’ one must become the ‘over-overman’ and then the ‘over-over-overman’, a progression that continues infinitely.
Although the creation of one’s own meaning seems to be more practical than a devotion to idealistic principles, I am hesitant to believe that such overcoming can take the place of an object of infinite value, such as God. What Nietzsche seems to be advocating is an infinite progression towards nothing but further overcoming. Similarly, Beauvoir explains that, when achieved, the goal that one had set for his or herself becomes a mere starting point for further goals. Although I appreciate the practicality of these ideas, I wonder if an existence that is completely void of all external value, can in fact be given value at all. Is there really any way for one to escape their alienation, or is overcoming simply a way to accept the alienating reality of existence?
This brings to mind Spinoza’s philosophy of immanence, in which he explains that each aspect of existence, in the realm of both thought and extension, is simply an expression of the one single substance, or as he calls it God. Within such a system, there is no precedence given to human existence, and thus human value is eliminated entirely. Spinoza then attempts to develop an ethics on the basis of this valueless existence. He claims that since there is nothing outside substance, all that can be known is substance and all that can know substance is itself. Furthermore, that all of the possible expressions of substance exist within it and can only be known when they are actually expressed. The expression of these unknown possibilities and the development of what substance can know about itself is recognized as the only meaningful act in Spinoza’s philosophy. Therefore, as an expression of substance the human being is encouraged to collide with other bodies, thus sharing and developing his or her capacities, in order to further the understanding that substance has of itself. This notion of developing one’s capacities seems to resemble Nietzsche’s notion of overcoming one’s self. However, as an inhuman philosophy, it is difficult to reconcile Spinoza’s ideas with the existentialists, who believe that one can in fact escape their alienation. For Spinoza to recognize one’s alienation is already positing an illusory value. Although, Nietzsche asserts that external value has been eliminated, it seems that the value, which he attributes to a constant overcoming. is still a human delusion. I believe that instead of trying to provide value to one’s life, the more practical philosophy accepts that there is no value, but only a valueless expression of existence.
Brent Steinburg
