Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Compassion: Compassion is an empathy and concern for the suffering or well-being of others, often accompanied by a desire to help alleviate their pain or difficulties._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Friedrich Nietzsche on Compassion - Dictionary of Arguments
Danto III 225 Compassion/Nietzsche/Danto: Nietzsche has (at least) two objections against compassion. 1. that the compassionate person actually suffers vicariously with someone, and is brought to the same level as the subject of compassion - which in turn makes him "sick and melancholic".(1) Danto: This is also how it is to be understood when Zarathustra says that God dies of compassion after suffering, as one should assume, from the suffering of those in whom he has empathized. To demand compassion from the strong means (in this peculiar way) to demand from them to become weak. Christian ethics/Nietzsche: here Nietzsche observes that compassion is elevated to the "basic principle of society". For Nietzsche, it proves to be what it is: a will to negate life.(2) >Christianity/Nietzsche, >Morality/Nietzsche. DantoVsNietzsche: this is a central discrepancy in Nietzsche's thinking: by definition, the noble person stands above his companions. In addition, he/she is healthy, powerful and full of vitality. The opposite of noble is common. Unlike the noble personality, the ordinary are sick, exhausted and weak. Consequently, the herd consists of the sick, the weak and the powerless. Danto III 226 It is hardly possible to draw a more misleading conclusion, but it cannot be denied that Nietzsche has drawn it: Nietzsche: There is a surplus of miscarriages, illnesses, degenerates, infirmities, necessary sufferers in humans as in any other animal species; the successful cases are always the exception in humans as well.(3) Danto: correspondingly, the extraordinary human being is not only regarded as statistically deviating, but as a splendid example of his species, which stands out from a mass of miscasts and inferiority. Only if we take the lowest ones as yardsticks, can we believe otherwise. But this belief, as Nietzsche could oppose, would be anything but justified. >Superhuman/Nietzsche. Danto: According to Nietzsche, the average applicant is therefore rejected because one expects to fill the position with the best person. DantoVsNietzsche: that most people are not healthy is simply wrong. In epidemics, on the other hand, strong ones are taken away just like the weak ones. 1. F. Nietzsche Morgenröthe, KGW V. 1, S. 124. 2. F. Nietzsche, Jenseits von Gut und Böse, KGW VI. 2, S. 217. 3. Ibid. p. 79._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Nie I Friedrich Nietzsche Sämtliche Werke: Kritische Studienausgabe Berlin 2009 Nie V F. Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil 2014 Danto I A. C. Danto Connections to the World - The Basic Concepts of Philosophy, New York 1989 German Edition: Wege zur Welt München 1999 Danto III Arthur C. Danto Nietzsche as Philosopher: An Original Study, New York 1965 German Edition: Nietzsche als Philosoph München 1998 Danto VII A. C. Danto The Philosophical Disenfranchisement of Art (Columbia Classics in Philosophy) New York 2005 |
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> Counter arguments against Nietzsche
> Counter arguments in relation to Compassion
Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-16