Miller, Christopher Russell;
(2001)
Nietzsche and the noble ideal.
Masters thesis (M.Phil), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis will examine Nietzsche's ideal of nobility which helps to form one half of the famous master / slave morality distinction and which comes to the fore so prominently in his later works, particularly in "On the Genealogy of Morals". What is not often realized is that the noble ideal is not a late fruit of maturity but something which, in the form of a fundamental predilection, can be seen as early as "The Birth of Tragedy", most obviously in Nietzsche's opposition to Socrates. And even by "The Twilight of the Idols" the main points of criticism here remain essentially unaltered which further reinforces the observation. The significance of this observation, though, lies in taking seriously the image of GM Preface 2 of one's thoughts and values growing with an organic unity, as a tree does, bearing witness to "one will, one health, one soil, one sun" and the similar claim in BGE 6 that "the moral (or immoral) intention in every philosophy have every time constituted the real seed of life out of which the entire plant has grown." This thesis will attempt to do justice to these claims and to show what it is about nobility which appeals to Nietzsche and also what it is in Nietzsche which generates his commitment to nobility. This will be achieved by considering the master / slave distinction, the ascetic ideal and its self-overcoming, and the need (such as there is) for a new ideal. Not only will this contribute to the understanding of these areas but it should also provides sufficient insight into Nietzsche himself to help interpret his notoriously elusive positive claims and, in particular, to understand just why they are so elusive.
| Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | M.Phil |
| Title: | Nietzsche and the noble ideal |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Thesis digitised by ProQuest. |
| Keywords: | Philosophy, religion and theology; Nietzsche, Friedrich; Noble ideal |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10105596 |
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