The Impact of Nietzsche on Society

Ariana Estis

12/10/19

3317A

Phillip Berns
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Friedrich Nietzsche was a prominent philosopher of the 19th century, he was known for

heavily critiquing traditional western morality and completely discredits religion. His is

considered one of the masters of suspicion which have influenced the modern era.1 To examine

his impact in western society one must first acknowledge where Nietzsche occurs in

philosophical tradition, where ethics is what is mostly debated upon. By seeing the switch from

scholastic tradition to modern tradition one will be provided with the ideas of natural law and

how philosophy has regressed to nihilism. To see his impact on modern society one must

understand what his major philosophical points, which are anti-nature, will to power, revaluation

of values, and the ubermensch. Then, the legitimacy of his claims are going to be expressed,

which is shown through his epigrams and arrows. Finally, to see how Nietzsche has impacted

current philosophical conversation one may look no further than nihilism and what is becoming

postmodernism. These ideas will show how Friedich Nietzsche has had a negative impact on

society.

Much of philosophy still has roots from or opposing ancient philosophy which was lead

by socrates who inspired plato than aristotle. Plato believed that the good was being in being

itself, where a completed nature is implied. Aristotle believed that virtue could be achieved

1
R. Lanier Anderson, “Friedrich Nietzsche,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Stanford
University, March 17, 2017), https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/)
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through a mean in behaviors. These ideas follow natural law, which states that the good is

intrinsic and based upon an individual's nature. This school of thought encourages reason and

goodness. Medieval philosophers such as aquinas were taught in ancient philosophy schools of

thought and used them to support their own philosophies, such as Aristotle's metaphysics

supporting Aquinas’ ideas on divine nature. This emphasis on nature can be defined as a

teleological ethics, which implies from what is morally good an end is achieved. This is where

the scholastic tradition of philosophy ends, where the goal is to prove philosophy through

demonstration, and modern philosophy begins, where philosophy is trying to branch from the

mind to reality and faces ‘the bridge’ problem where one cannot reach a solution to their

thoughts.

The divide between modern philosophers is that of rationalism, like descartes and kant -

where one believes in approximate reasonable knowledge such as universals, and empiricism,

like locke and hume - where all knowledge is derived from sense experience. Empiricism seems

to have flourished and impact whole fields of study, including many sciences. Humes rejections

of cause and effect, God, and liberty seemed in line with reason to the modern individual even

though they are problematic claims. Nietzsche is the culmination of these modern ideas and the

school of nihilism is formed. These ideas of creating your own values inspired early

psychologists such as Freud who created entire studies based out of consciousness - as opposed

to reason.
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Nietzsche’s major ideas involve anti-nature, will to power, the revaluation of values, and

the ubermensch. In his writing, Twilight of the Idols, Nietzsche has an entire chapter called,

“Morality as Anti-Nature,” which in itself, goes radically against the traditional idea of morality

which is based in nature. He describes healthy naturalism as, “morality ruled by an instinct of

life,” and reduces peace to material desires and experiences. He describes anti-nature as, “every

morality that is taught goes against the instincts of life,”2 because he does not believe that a

powerful man would succumb to another's will, or moral guide. This opposition of natural law is

key in understanding how Nietzsche lead generations into err.

Nietzsche believes that up until this point morality had been used to oppress individuals.

He describes morality as a form of condemning individuals desires, and sees his school of

thought as the answer, “we immoralists...seek our honor in being those who affirm.”3 This idea

shows that acting in accordance with will is the answer to all problems. This is Nietzsche's idea

of the will to power, which should dominate the individual's morality. This idea of willpower is

the key to Nietzsche's philosophy, because it demonstrates how reason is no longer necessary in

this modern philosophy and one's potential is not capped. One can obviously see the issue with

this philosophy is that anything can be justifiable. Since all morality is subject to the will, there

2
Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols ( Indianapolis, Hackett Publishing, 2006) Morality as
Anti-Nature 4, pg 27.
3
Ibid., Morality as Anti-Nature 6, pg 29
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is no need for old ethics - which would mean that the tradition of values would need to be

changed.

Traditionally, values were set in accordance with virtue, as stated by aristotle, as to not be

in excess or defect and to act with self control and reason. Nietzsche believes that there are no

moral facts at all so this cannot be the case. He reduces all molarity to relativism and demand

modern philosophers to “place themselves beyond good and evil,” in order to end the cap of

human potential. Nietzsche believes that to have a stronger will is to have more power and that is

what is the most good. Ones values should be determined by what is best for oneself and it does

not matter what others do. This treatment of ethics became popular because it seems to highlight

the importance between culture and morality, but reduces ethics to relativism and generally

passivity towards the topic. This form of tolerance is really just a way for the stupid masses just

to be used by a power higher then oneself - such as the ubermensch.

The ubermensch is how one successfully lives out Nietzsche's ethics, or lack thereof. This

ubermensch, often referred to as the over-man or superman, creates his own values in reality and

is capable of bending others to his will. Nietzsche believes that only the powerful should be in

control and in a world where one lives by others morals society is encouraging weakness.

Nietzsche's goal was to escape tradition by allowing for individual freedom, since

humanity was already engaging in a post-christian society. He followed empiricism because he

only created beliefs through a sense, and not what is determined by reality, since he rejects the
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idea of a nature. Nietzsche does not care about the common good or respect the general public

since he sees the masses as stupid and to be used in order to fulfill the ubermenschs will. These

ubermenscher get to decide truth and reality, but as noted by scholars this ideal man is only

attainable to the elite.4 This philosophy is not beneficial for the general public, like modern

philosophers would desire in order to create change. Nietzsche also despised christianity

specifically because he believed that at its core awarded individuals for being weak and was

punishing individuals for being powerful. Because of his perceived death of religion it created a

lack of meaning. Since there is no end or final state for Nietzsche's ideal, there is no logical

teleology in his ethics. So this continuous self-overcoming that the ubermensch must do, or

endless self refashioning because there is no stability, adds to the creation of Nietzsche's

nihilism.5

Many of Nietzsche's ideas seem to fit with the modern age quite well, so why would it be

questioned whether or not one should follow his ideas? Most of his ideas are just that and

nothing else. He is actively observing what is around him but is not changing or influencing it in

anyway. Because Nietzsche is in an active pursuit to escape systematization there is no real basis

for his claims. He just keeps making statements, thinking about it, then moving to the next

4
Richard Weikart, “The Dehumanizing Impact of Modern Thought: Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche,
and Their Followers,” Academiadosentido.com (Discovery Institute, July 18, 2008),
http://academiadosentido.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/03/blog_asentido_TheDehumanizingImpactofModernThought_DarwinMa
rxNietzscheandTheirFollowers.pdf)
5
Alan Milchman and Alan Rosenberg. "The Aesthetic and Ascetic Dimensions of an Ethics of
Self-Fashioning: Nietzsche and Foucault." (Parrhesia 2, no. 55 (2007))
 Estis 6

because he perceives himself as a creative genius. His lead, Epigrams and arrows, are evidence

of this. He is coming up with different statements that describe his experience of the world and

expanding upon them in a way in which is disconnected from reality. Nietszche does not escape

the issue that all modern philosophers have faced, the bridge. His ideas do not have a way to be

grounded in reality and actively flourish - because his ideas ultimately undermine humanity.

Now that Nietzsche's ideas are known one can begin to see their effect on western

society. Modern thought is incredibly relativistic and individualistic, for no cause - like seen in

Nietzsche. Because of this general acceptance of there being no fixed truth, or moral correctness,

there is no notion of human rights. Because of these toxic traits dehumanization is rampant since

all values are merely regarded as social constructs.6 It is now generally accepted as the norm that

each person commits to different values, but it is largely ignored that it is independent from any

valid reasoning. People enjoy being ‘tolerant’ because it means they do not have to have

confrontations to stand up for what they believe in, and this way they can appreciate other

cultures, “without judgement,” however this is only the case when it is convenient for an

individual. This ultimately leads to the question of whether culture is the creator or mediator or

moral actuality and consequently things are only good because an individual says it is. Meaning

that the only good things are designated and done so as an act of the will. This radical shift from

tradition makes current philosophical conversation inherently negative.

6
Weikart, “The Dehumanizing Impact of Modern Thought: Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche, and Their
Followers,”
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The creation of nihilism, which is the rejection of all morals and beliefs, is leading

modern philosophy to the idea that life is void of meaning. Heidegger is a modern philosopher

who believed Nietzsche was the last metaphysician because his philosophy would ultimately

create nihilism, which is literally nothing - thus being the end of metaphysics. Specifically

Heidegger defines nihilism as “ meaningless because wherever we look we only encounter

projections of our own overweening subjectivity and will to power.”7 Heidegger believes he

affirms Nietzsche's philosophy in fact when he states that, “we cannot understand why we think

that we can understand everything,” and, “ we cannot control the emergence of ideas, for

example, the idea that we can control everything,”8 but, these statements prove that modern

philosophers continue to struggle with basing their ideas in reality as opposed to their heads.

Nietszche gave rise to what is also known as existentialism, because people no longer had

an end to look forward to. This inspired the study of modern life, like through freud and weber,

and what was good was experiencing life. Nietzsche was inclined to the arts and wanted his work

to be viewed as an art. In Nietzsche's ethics, “violence and cruelty may have to be granted the

patent of morality and enlisted in the aesthete’s palette of diversions,”9 which seems to be in line

with the technological era. More often than not people are seen sacrificing for their personal arts

7
Greg Johnson, “Heidegger on Nietzsche, Metaphysics, & Nihilism,” Counter-Currents.com,
March 19, 2015, (https://www.counter-currents.com/2015/03/heidegger-on-nietzsche-
metaphysics-and-nihilism/)
8
Ibid.
9
Roger Kimball, “The Legacy of Friedrich Nietzsche,” NewCriterion.com (The New Criterion,
September 1991), https://newcriterion.com/issues/1991/9/the-legacy-of-friedrich-nietzsche)
 Estis 8

by torturing themselves and others for attention from others. It is now explicitly seen why doing

whatever one pleases can be seen as ethical in Nietzsche's western culture.

Because of his ideas it is also more common to denounce religion as part of the occult

and not in line with reason, given its tendency to order one's actions. It is commonly accepted

and seen as appropriate to disregard religious commentary, because it is not from oneself.

However, the self has been proven to be unable to withstand in reality, while the ladder has been

proven in ancient and medieval philosophies.

By examining Nietzsche's philosophy and seeing how it is unable to stand within logic, it

should be no surprise that it should not be followed. However, due to the ease of his ideas they

caught on and have manifested as cancerous traits in society. Nietzsche's philosophy lead to the

creation of nihilism, and has contributed to the decadence of culture through baseless claims. His

ideas contribute to a culture of passivity, meaninglessness, and depression. Most modern

philosophy should not be considered due to its inability to withstand proper reason. Natural law

is capable of providing one with a happy and well balanced lifestyle through the means of a

teleological ethics which appeals to justice, reason, and the good.

Works Cited

Anderson, R. Lanier. “Friedrich Nietzsche.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford

University, March 17, 2017. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/.

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. Twilight of the Idols. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing,

1997.

Weikart, Richard. “The Dehumanizing Impact of Modern Thought: Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche,

and Their Followers.” Academiadosentido.com. Discovery Institute, July 18, 2008.

http://academiadosentido.com/wp-

content/uploads/2017/03/blog_asentido_TheDehumanizingImpactofModernThought_Dar

winMarxNietzscheandTheirFollowers.pdf.

Milchman, Alan, and Alan Rosenberg. "The aesthetic and ascetic dimensions of an ethics of

self-fashioning: Nietzsche and Foucault." Parrhesia 2, no. 55 (2007): 11.

Johnson, Greg. “Heidegger on Nietzsche, Metaphysics, & Nihilism.” Counter-Currents.com,

March 19, 2015. https://www.counter-currents.com/2015/03/heidegger-on-nietzsche-

metaphysics-and-nihilism/.

Kimball, Roger. “The Legacy of Friedrich Nietzsche.” NewCriterion.com. The New Criterion,

September 1991. https://newcriterion.com/issues/1991/9/the-legacy-of-friedrich-

nietzsche.