Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome | |||
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Superhuman: The term refers to capabilities or qualities that surpass typical human abilities, often associated with extraordinary strength, intelligence, or skills. See also Capabilities, Abilities, Humans, Superintelligence, Artificial Intelligence, Actions, Goals._____________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. | |||
Author | Concept | Summary/Quotes | Sources |
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Friedrich Nietzsche on Superhuman - Dictionary of Arguments
Ries II 60/61 Superhuman/Nietzsche: turns the night of the darkness of God into the sun. The doctrine of the superhuman is the prerequisite for the doctrine of eternal return, because only the human who has overcome himself can want the eternal return of all who exist! The superman is the great justification of existence. Karl Löwith: Overcoming Nihilism. >Eternal return/Nietzsche, >Nihilism/Nietzsche. --- Danto III 238 Superhuman/Nietzsche/Danto: The historical Zoroaster regarded the world as the scene of a violent conflict between the cosmic powers of good and evil. Because Nietzsche was 'beyond good and evil', he did not believe in this cosmology of Zend-Awesta. But since Nietzsche's Zarathustra was the first to mistakenly understand moral values as objective characteristics of the world, he should also be the first to correct the error and speak out in favour of the new philosophy.(1) >Terminology/Nietzsche. Consequently, Nietzsche chose him as his 'son' and as the literary persona through which his philosophy should be articulated. Zarathustra proclaimed the relativity of all values and morals, claiming that so far each people has given themselves their own tabular chart of goods according to their own living conditions. Zarathustra: "I teach you the superhuman! The superhuman is the sense of the earth."(2) Danto III 239 With the exception of the Zarathustra, the idea of superhumans is rarely found in Nietzsche. Not even in the Zarathustra is a more detailed description offered. Superhuman: is opposed to what Nietzsche calls the 'last human', who should and wants to be as much as possible like everyone else, and if he is happy, then only for the sake of being happy: We have invented happiness, say the last people and blink.(3) Zarathustra: opposes the notion of the alleged immutability of human nature. The human is something that must be overcome. Danto III 240 Danto: Nietzsche's sister, ((s) Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche) assured Hitler that he was what her brother had in mind as a superhuman. Danto III 241 Superhuman/Nietzsche: it is pointless to look for examples in the past. >History/Nietzsche. Danto III 242 Danto: his hints say nothing else but that we should control our affective as well as our intellectual life and not deny one thing for the sake of the other, and that we should not be petty and 'merely' human. It is not without irony that Nietzsche proves least originality where he was most influential. Superhuman/Nietzsche/Danto: is not the blonde giant who dominates his inferior companions. He is merely a joyful, innocent and unbound human being who has his instinctive, not overwhelming instincts in his power. In addition, from Nietzsche can seldomly be heard concrete words. When he writes in Ecce homo, he would rather be found in Cesare Borgia than in Parsifal(4), then he does not say that Cesare Borgia was a superhuman. There is also something of Nietzsche's critique of Wagner (NietzscheVsWagner). >Music/Nietzsche, >Art/Nietzsche. Danto III 243 Superhuman/Darwinismus/Nietzsche/Danto: Nietzsche seems to have believed that the ideal of superhumanity is not achieved or realized by itself, through the natural course of events. In this respect, his doctrine is anything but Darwinian. 1. F. Nietzsche Ecce homo, KGW VI. 3, p. 236. 2. F. Nietzsche Zarathustra, I, KGW VI, 1, p. 8. 3. Ibid. p. 13. 4. F. Nietzsche Ecce homo, KGW VI. 3, p. 298._____________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 Ries II Wiebrecht Ries Nietzsche zur Einführung Hamburg 1990 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 |