Origins of Morality Essay - 1411 Words

The moral philosophy that we know and recognize today in the Western world is slave morality, a morality which puts forward ideals of fairness, equality, and democracy. However, many centuries ago during the medieval times, master morality was the norm; a morality that favors those superior in strength, beauty, intelligence, and status. Master morality preceded slave morality. Friedrich Nietzsche was a philologist, who used his knowledge of words to trace the origins of morality from their ancient definitions. He said that morality was something that man had created, specifically the nobles, for they were in a position that enabled them to declare what is to be considered good or bad. The concept of â€Å"good† was created when the†¦show more content†¦From this hatred and ressentiment, they start a slave revolt in morality with the emergence of a new philosophy that makes the poor, oppressed, and persecuted â€Å"good†, consequently, making those with power wh o had excessive lavish lifestyles â€Å"evil†. They said â€Å"let us be different from the evil, namely good! And he is good who does not outrage, who harms nobody, who does not attack, who does not requite, who leaves revenge to God, who keeps himself hidden as we do, who avoids evil and desires little from life, like us, the patient, humble, and just† (Genealogy of Morals, pg. 46). The slaves turned their weakness, impotence, and inability to fight back into something meritorious. Nietzsche said they were the most devious kind because they lie about not wanting power, when in truth they also want to dominate the nobles. Their reward is eternal life, in the kingdom of god, in heaven where they would be looking down on their masters below who are burning and suffering in hell. Although, it took thousands of years to convert the noble’s morality into that of slave morality, they had succeeded using religion, an ideology for the weak as we have seen the Jews infl uence Romans because Christianity was founded from Judaism. The supreme rights of the majority triumphed. Comparatively, another philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau offers another explanation on how morality had developed in the history of humanity. He returned to the very beginning when manShow MoreRelatedMorality And The Origins Of Morality852 Words   |  4 PagesNietzsche understands â€Å"morality† as the set of values typical of the European society of his days. In this sense, it is safe to say that Nietzsche opposes morality and that genealogy serves the ultimate goal of undermining it. However, it is legitimate to envision for genealogy a scope for application which goes beyond the particular morality of 19th century Germans. Accordingly, my claim is that in Nietzsche European morality represents just one possible form of morality. Nietzsche himself seemsRead MoreOrigin Of Morality Vs Nietzsche950 Words   |  4 Pagesessay, Nietzsche discusses his theory of the orig in of morality. Because he studied philology, or the study of language, he offers his readers a historical and linguistic perspective on the matter. One of Nietzsche’s main focuses in his book is history, but he also touches base on some psychology. He begins his first essay by talking about English psychologists and claims that they have attempted to offer a historical explanation on the origin of morality but â€Å"the historical spirit itself is lackingRead MoreThe Origin Of Good And Evil By Richard Taylor And Why Morality Is Not Relative By James Rachels1741 Words   |  7 PagesUsing two articles â€Å"On the Origin of Good and Evil† by Richard Taylor and â€Å"Why Morality Is Not Relative† by James Rachels from the book Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature, author, Louis P. Pojman and Lewis Vaughn, this essay will first try to identify what each of two articles says about the nature of good and evil, and is everything on morality is relative. Taylor from the article â€Å"On the Origin of Good and Evil†, states that morality is not inspirational, but a naturalRead MoreEqu ity s Role And True Nature Essay1695 Words   |  7 PagesEquity’s role and true nature has been and is still widely discussed. The word ‘equity’ refers to fairness, then in the case of the law its origins was based on addressing the shortcomings of the common law. Equity gave the people another way of accessing justice, with different remedies and bringing morality into the law. The place of morality in equity in its current position seemingly has changed, but if its presence is still relevant it does The quote from Sir Nathan Wright puts equity at anRead MoreThe Divine Command Theory And The Doctrine Dilemma Essay1448 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction – The Divine Command Theory is the idea that morality is ingrained in the nature and command of God, and the Euthyphro Dilemma is one of the most common arguments refuting the Divine Command Theory. The argument was inspired by Plato’s Euthyphro dialogue, which contains the question â€Å"Are morally good acts willed by god because they are morally good? Or are morally good acts, morally good because they are willed by god?† (Euthyphro, 10a). This question raises large problems for the DivineRead MoreCan Science Explain And Account For Human Morality?1011 Words   |  5 Pagesaccount for Human Morality? Introduction Morality has long since been a topic of debate, with hundreds of branches to the ever-expanding argument. One area of debate is that of science’s power to explain and account for the history of Human morality. In the question: â€Å"Can Science Explain and Account for Human Morality?† we also have another question: â€Å"Is the foundation of morality natural, or supernatural?†. In this question, there is a dichotomy between the origin of morality being scientificRead MoreNietzsche s On The Genealogy Of Morals1668 Words   |  7 Pageswhat is â€Å"bad,† I chose to expand my ideas and compare them to Friedrich Nietzsche’s first essay in â€Å"On the Genealogy of Morals.† Nietzsche first debunks the ideas of Nietzsche sees two types of morality at play creating these original definitions of good bad and evil, master morality and slave morality. I will also use Nietzsche’s concept of â€Å"will to power† to evaluate each of thes e ideas. Nietzsche believes that the will to power is the force that pushes humankind. To clarify for my readersRead MoreReligion, Morality, And Atheism1734 Words   |  7 Pagesare against it. However, these are just a couple of examples showing just how unethical religions can appear to be. But these are only the connotations of religion, morality, and atheism. The true definition of religion is â€Å"an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or group of gods.† Note that morality has the separate definition of â€Å"beliefs about what is right and wrong behavior† and the counterpart of religion is atheism, or the lack of the â€Å"belief in the existenceRead MoreChristian Morality Has Become A Tale Of Shame930 Words   |  4 Pages According to Nietzsche genealogy of Christian morality has become a tale of shame – wherein the weak promote the propagation of a lie and foster a mistaken explanation for suffering. By overloo king the will to power that occurs naturally in all the people, Christianity cages, and dulls the will preventing it from expressing itself. This in turn creates problems by removing the individual’s ability to master their own life – turning them into puppets under the guidance of the government. From theRead MoreThe Origin Of Moral Sense By Charles Darwin1529 Words   |  7 PagesCharles Darwin explains the origin of morality through studying the behavior of various species. In his essay, â€Å"Origin of the Moral Sense† Charles Darwin uses his theory of evolution to explain the origin of morality through the study of animals, specifically mammals. Darwin’s main theory of the â€Å"Origin of the Moral Sense† is that humans have natural social instincts which in turn gives them a sense of naturally occurring morality. Darwin’s ideas surrounding morality and a natural social instinct