Why Nietzsche Hated Weak People

Summary

This video explores Friedrich Nietzsche's critique of weakness, drawing from his works like 'Beyond Good and Evil' and 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'. Nietzsche viewed weakness as a lack of willpower and dishonesty, leading to self-deception and bitterness. He opposed pity as a means of support, seeing it as manipulative and disempowering. The video also discusses Nietzsche's concept of 'amor fati', or loving one's fate, as a means to embrace life's struggles and become stronger. It critiques pessimistic philosophies for promoting societal weakness and unfulfillment.

Takeaways

• 😌 The film 'The Death of Stalin' critiques weakness as a trait that leads to untrustworthiness.
• 🧔 Friedrich Nietzsche viewed weakness as fundamentally dishonest, often leading to self-deception.
• 📚 In 'Dov's White Nights', weakness is portrayed as an inability to achieve one's will, often resulting in dishonesty.
• 😣 Weakness can manifest as an inability to overcome oneself, leading to bitterness and resentment.
• 😈 Nietzsche's 'Genealogy of Morals' suggests that the weak often demonize the qualities they cannot attain.
• 😩 The 'nice guy' archetype exemplifies resentful weakness, where rejection leads to denigration of the desired.
• 🤔 Nietzsche's concept of 'will' refers to the organization or disorganization of an individual's desires and intentions.
• 🔄 Weakness is also seen as a lack of commitment and decisiveness, which Nietzsche associated with a disorganized will.
• 🤝 Nietzsche valued magnanimity over pity, seeing the latter as a form of manipulation that increases dependency.
• 🚫 He criticized philosophies that devalue life, arguing they encourage a weak and pessimistic outlook detrimental to society.

Q & A

What is the main critique of weakness presented in the film 'The Death of Stalin'?

In the film 'The Death of Stalin', the main critique of weakness is that it is equated with untrustworthiness, which is considered undesirable. The character Malanov is deemed weak and therefore not trustworthy to lead due to his wavering loyalties and inability to maintain a consistent will.

How does Friedrich Nietzsche view weakness in terms of honesty?

Nietzsche views weakness as fundamentally dishonest because it often leads individuals to lie to themselves to ease the pain of unfulfilled desires. He criticizes this self-deception and believes that it is a deeper form of weakness where one fails to confront the reality that their will has been thwarted.

What is the relationship between weakness and the ability to achieve one's will according to Nietzsche?

Nietzsche sees a direct correlation between weakness and the inability to achieve one's will. He suggests that weak individuals are unable to overcome themselves or control their will, which results in a lack of perseverance or self-overcoming, and ultimately, a failure to achieve their goals.

How does Nietzsche's concept of weakness relate to the idea of 'nice guys'?

Nietzsche's concept of weakness is exemplified by the 'nice guys' who, after being rejected, demonize the person they desired and devalue the qualities that they believe led to their rejection. This behavior reflects Nietzsche's view of weakness as a form of resentment and dishonesty, where individuals fail to honestly confront their shortcomings and instead project their failures onto others.

What does Nietzsche mean by an organized will, and how does it relate to strength?

Nietzsche uses the term 'organized will' to describe a will that is unified and directed towards a single purpose. This organization of the will is a form of strength because it allows an individual to make decisive actions and commitments, which in turn enables them to achieve their goals and desires.

How does Nietzsche's view on weakness connect to his concept of self-overcoming?

Nietzsche's view on weakness is deeply connected to his concept of self-overcoming. He sees self-overcoming as the ability of the will to pull itself together and maintain focus on a single path. Weakness, in this context, is the inability to do so, leading to a disorganized will that lacks direction and the power to achieve one's goals.

What role does trust play in Nietzsche's critique of weakness?

In Nietzsche's critique, trust is a crucial element that is undermined by weakness. He argues that weak individuals cannot be trusted either by others or by themselves because their inconstancy and lack of a strong, organized will make their words and commitments unreliable.

How does Nietzsche's philosophy view the concept of pity, and how does it relate to weakness?

Nietzsche sees pity as a disingenuous tactic used by the weak to manipulate others into helping them without taking responsibility. He criticizes pity for being duplicitous and for creating a dynamic that is detrimental to both the pitier and the pitied, as it encourages dependence and undermines the development of independence and strength.

What is the connection between weakness and Nietzsche's idea of life-denial?

Nietzsche connects weakness to life-denial by suggesting that weak individuals are more likely to reject life and its struggles, leading to a philosophy that devalues existence. He argues that embracing life, even in the face of suffering, requires strength and self-mastery, which he sees as virtues that weak philosophies often lack.

How does Nietzsche's view on weakness influence his thoughts on societal values and morality?

Nietzsche believes that weak individuals can influence societal values and morality negatively by promoting life-denying philosophies and fostering resentment. He thinks that these attitudes can spread and create a culture of pessimism and unfulfillment, which he sees as detrimental to societal health and human potential.

Outlines

00:00

😌 Weakness and Untrustworthiness

The paragraph begins with a scene from the movie 'The Death of Stalin', highlighting the execution of Lenti Barrier and the ensuing political dynamics. It introduces the concept of weakness as a trait that is directly linked to untrustworthiness, contrary to the common perception of weakness as a neutral characteristic. The discussion then shifts to the philosophical views of Friedrich Nietzsche, who is noted for his disdain for weakness. Nietzsche's critique of weakness is presented as fundamentally dishonest, using the narrative from Dostoevsky's 'White Nights' to illustrate how weakness can lead to self-deception and a failure to confront reality. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of Nietzsche's ideas on honesty and strength in modern contexts.

05:01

😠 The Resentment of Weakness

This section delves into Nietzsche's view that weakness can manifest as bitterness and resentment, especially when individuals are unable to achieve their desires. It uses the concept of the 'nice guy' archetype to illustrate how rejected suitors may demonize the qualities they initially admired, reflecting a dishonest coping mechanism. Nietzsche's critique extends to group dynamics, where he suggests that weak individuals, rather than striving for their goals, often devalue the very things that could lead to success. This behavior not only limits personal growth but also contributes to a societal cycle of resentment and weakness. The paragraph also touches on Nietzsche's evolving concept of weakness in his later works, linking it to a disorganized will and the inability to commit to actions decisively.

10:02

🤔 The Organization of Will

The focus of this paragraph is on the internal aspect of weakness as described by Nietzsche, particularly in terms of the organization of one's will. It contrasts a disorganized will, which hinders decisive action and the attainment of desires, with a will that is unified and directed. Using historical figures like King Edward II, the paragraph illustrates the consequences of a weak and inconsistent will. Nietzsche's concept of the Übermensch, or 'overman', is introduced as an ideal of strength and self-mastery, where one can create values and principles to guide one's life. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of having a strong, organized will to overcome nihilism and to achieve meaningful actions, which Nietzsche sees as essential for human fulfillment.

15:03

😓 The Destructive Nature of Pity

Nietzsche's critique of pity is explored in this section, where he views pity as a disingenuous tactic used by the weak to manipulate the strong. It discusses how the desire for pity can be a form of power play, where the weak attempt to incite help without taking responsibility or incurring debt. The paragraph draws parallels between this dynamic and abusive relationships, where the abuser gains power by fostering dependency. Nietzsche advocates for magnanimity over pity, suggesting that true strength is shown in helping others increase their independence and power, not in undermining them. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing Nietzsche's belief in the importance of honesty and the dangers of the pity dynamic in both individual and societal contexts.

20:04

🧐 The Philosophy of Life and Weakness

This paragraph examines Nietzsche's views on life-affirming philosophies versus those that encourage weakness and life denial. Nietzsche's concept of 'amor fati', or love of one's fate, is introduced as a means of embracing life's struggles and finding meaning in them. The paragraph contrasts this with philosophies that devalue life, such as certain interpretations of Christianity and the pessimism of Schopenhauer, which Nietzsche saw as promoting a weak and undesirable attitude towards existence. The discussion highlights Nietzsche's belief that weak philosophies not only harm the individual but also spread a passive nihilism that can lead to societal collapse. The paragraph concludes by reflecting on the influence of pessimistic attitudes on society and the importance of philosophies that encourage strength and the affirmation of life.

25:05

🤨 The Dangers of Weak Philosophies

The final paragraph discusses the broader societal impact of weak philosophies, as perceived by Nietzsche. It emphasizes how pessimistic or life-denying philosophies can spread and infect societies, leading to widespread nihilism and unfulfillment. Nietzsche's disdain for these philosophies is linked to his belief that they reflect and encourage personal weakness, which in turn can lead to societal decay. The paragraph also touches on cultural observations about pessimism and the social stigma attached to optimism, suggesting that a pessimistic outlook can be more accepted and even expected than a positive one. Nietzsche's views are summarized as advocating for personal strength and the rejection of philosophies that undermine life's value, with a cautionary note about the influence of weak ideologies on both individuals and society.

Keywords

💡Weakness

In the video, 'weakness' is explored as both an internal and external property that can lead to untrustworthiness and dishonesty. It is defined as an inability to achieve one's will or to overcome oneself, which is seen as a limiting property. The video uses the character Malanov from 'The Death of Stalin' as an example of weakness, illustrating how his wavering loyalties and lack of self-control made him unreliable.

💡Strength

Strength, in contrast to weakness, is portrayed as the ability to achieve one's goals and maintain control over one's will. It is associated with honesty and self-assurance. The video suggests that true kindness and the ability to be trustworthy come from a place of strength, as opposed to weakness.

💡Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness is tied to the concept of strength in the video. It is suggested that one can only be truly trustworthy if they are strong enough to maintain their commitments and resist external influences that might sway their decisions. The dialogue between Kaganovich and the new leader Kusev about Malanov's trustworthiness exemplifies this concept.

💡Dishonesty

Dishonesty is presented as a common outcome of weakness. The video describes how weakness can lead individuals to deceive themselves and others to ease the pain of unfulfilled desires or to manipulate situations to their advantage, as seen in the character from 'White Nights' who lies to himself about his feelings.

💡Self-Overcoming

Self-overcoming is discussed as a key aspect of strength. It refers to the ability to control and organize one's will, to persevere in the face of adversity, and to grow by overcoming internal resistance. Nietzsche's concept of the Übermensch (Overman) embodies this idea, representing someone who creates their own values and lives by them.

💡Will to Power

The 'will to power' is Nietzsche's concept that human behavior is driven by an innate desire to assert control over one's life and over others. In the video, it is suggested that weakness is often a result of a disorganized will to power, where a person's desires conflict and prevent decisive action.

💡Pity

Pity is criticized in the video as a disingenuous form of help that can be harmful in the long run. Nietzsche viewed pity as a tool of the weak to manipulate the strong into helping them without taking responsibility. This dynamic can lead to increased dependency and a cycle of weakness.

💡Magnanimity

Magnanimity is presented as the opposite of pity. It is the generous and self-assured act of helping others without expecting anything in return. The video contrasts this with pity, suggesting that magnanimity is a sign of true strength and a healthy way to assist others.

💡Nihilism

Nihilism is discussed as a potential outcome of weakness. It is the belief that life has no objective meaning or value. The video suggests that weak individuals are more likely to fall into nihilism, as they lack the strength to create meaning and purpose in their lives.

💡Amor Fati

Amor Fati, or 'love of fate,' is Nietzsche's idea of embracing life in all its aspects, including the painful and challenging. The video describes how Nietzsche himself embraced his suffering through his philosophy, turning it into a source of strength and creativity.

Highlights

The film 'The Death of Stalin' critiques weakness as a limiting property associated with untrustworthiness.

Weakness is traditionally viewed as neutral, but the film suggests it can lead to negative traits.

Frederick Neitzsche's perspective on weakness is explored, emphasizing its link to dishonesty.

In 'White Nights,' weakness is portrayed as an inability to achieve one's will, leading to self-deception.

Weakness can manifest as an inability to overcome oneself and control one's desires.

Weakness can turn individuals bitter and resentful, as seen in Neitzsche's 'Genealogy of Morals'.

The 'nice guy' archetype is used to illustrate resentful weakness in modern context.

Weakness can lead to devaluing the qualities that lead to success, as a coping mechanism.

Weakness is associated with a disorganized will, making decisive action difficult.

Neitzsche criticizes hedonism as a reflection of a disorganized will.

Commitment and the ability to create values are key to overcoming weakness, as per 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'.

Weakness can lead to a passive nihilism, where life lacks meaning or direction.

Weakness is seen as dangerous because it can be weaponized through morality.

The film 'The Death of Stalin' uses political comedy to teach a lesson about the dangers of weakness.

Weakness is not just undesirable but can be actively harmful to society, according to Neitzsche.

Pity is criticized as a duplicitous method of gaining power and is seen as encouraging weakness.

Neitzsche advocates for magnanimity over pity, as a genuine form of strength.

Weakness is linked to philosophies that devalue life, which Neitzsche sees as self-defeating.

The concept of 'amor fati' or loving one's fate is presented as a way to overcome weakness.

Transcripts

what is bad whatever Springs from

weakness at the end of Armando ianucci

the death of Stalin the chief of the

secret police lenti barrier has just

been executed for his various crimes

against the people of the Soviet Union

and the other high-ranking members of

the Soviet political class are standing

around his body one of them is visibly

distressed he was the acting leader

malanov who was not in favor of this

prosecution but broadly went along with

it as he was a bit of a pushover the new

leader kushev turns to kaganovich and

asks can we trust malanov to which he

replies can you ever trust a weak man

this line has been running through my

head for probably years now we normally

think of weakness as a basically neutral

property you can have weak people who

are good and you can have weak people

who are bad just as you can have strong

people of either persuasion as well but

in the death of Stalin a critique is

being made of weakness directly as a

limiting property it is identified with

untrustworthiness which is normally

considered an undesirable trait for

pretty obvious reasons I'm telling you

this long-winded diet tribe about one of

my favorite films because today we are

going to criticize weakness and

specifically we will look at the points

made by the German philosopher writer

and ill-tempered Mustachio Fredick Neer

famously he abored weakness but in

exploring why we will uncover a whole

new way of looking at terms like

weakness and strength that will be

incredibly valuable for our own lives

and of phenomenal Phil philosophical

interest get ready to learn why weakness

breeds unhappiness why you cannot be

truly kind except by being strong and

what NE thought about the importance of

honesty as always bear in mind that this

is not a complete account of n's ideas

on this topic and I've specifically

selected these criticisms for their

applicability in a modern context

however let's begin by looking at the

basis of ne's entire critique of

weakness that it is fundamentally

dishonest one

weakness strength and Truth in dov's

white nights we follow a young man who

has become romantically obsessed with a

young woman named nastinka they talk

over a number of nights and she confides

in him that she is in love with another

man who she believes has abandoned her

during their time together nastenka

really grows to care for our narrator

and is on the verge of being with him

instead yet at the last minute her lover

returns and she runs away in the night

leaving our protagonist alone and

dejected when he is reflecting upon this

experience the narrator pretends to have

made peace with this but it is clear

that he still feels very strongly for

nastenka he tells himself that it is all

okay because at least she will be happy

now but at some level he still wants to

be with her and is suffering deeply

because of it this story illustrates one

way in which n uses the term weakness

and also the dishonesty he often thinks

comes with it this critique is probably

most prevalent in thus bakes Zyra and

Beyond Good and Evil but you certainly

see precursors to it in ne's earlier

works here weakness is Loosely used to

mean an inability to achieve one's will

bear this in mind because it is quite

different to how nature will come to use

the term weakness elsewhere this is also

probably the most common sense meaning

nature uses for weakness there is an

agent who has a goal and for whatever

reason they are powerless to achieve

that goal therefore they are weak in

itself nature does not necessarily have

a problem with this one of the

characteristically strong figures in

Beyond Good and Evil is Napoleon and

famously he did not quite achieve his

goal of making a glorious and Lasting

French Empire instead the thing that n

seems to really dislike about weakness

here is that it leads to dishonesty we

see this in the narrator from White

Knights at the end of the novel he is

clearly trying to convince himself that

he is okay with his situation which he

most definitely is not n views this as a

much deeper kind of weakness and this

time it's one has intense scorn for

rather than facing up to the harsh

reality that his will has been thwarted

and dealing with that the narrator is

lying to himself to try to ease the pain

he is escaping into fantasy rather than

confronting the cold hard facts of the

situation he is neither persevering in

his attempts to win nastenka over nor is

he practicing self-overcoming by

controlling and consciously changing his

will he is just pretending that he no

longer wants nastenka rather than

genuinely learning to let her go or

better yet fulfilling his desire in

other ways say with a different person

here we also see another way that n uses

the term weakness this time to mean an

inability to overcome oneself and thus

control or organize one's will put a pin

in that as it's going to be very

important in the next section at its

extreme end n thinks that these sorts of

weaknesses can turn someone bitter and

resentful in his genealogy of morals he

posits that unable to achieve what they

actually want power or claim or love or

Independence people often decide to

demonize those qualities instead so

rather than admit that we have failed we

will say well I didn't want that anyway

and then devalue the very thing we

previously desired the example I often

use to illustrate this point on the

channel is the internet archetype of the

nice guy this is someone who will

declare their affection for their

beloved touting all of their good

qualities to do so and insisting that

they are not like those other guys who

of course they are morally Superior to

however upon being rejected they lash

out calling the person they previously

said they wanted all manner of insults

from saying they are ugly to mocking

their weights to Casting aspersions upon

their sexual morality above all they

will lament that their beloved never

goes for nice guys like them but rather

[ __ ] I think this is probably the

most familiar model example of nitian

resentful weakness in action I recently

watched an excellent video by YouTuber

the authentic Observer on this very

topic I'll link it in the description

and I really do encourage people to

check it out it's what made me make the

link between Nan weakness and this

modern concept of the Nar the resentment

here runs in two directions firstly

having failed to achieve what they

ultimately desire the nice guy demonizes

the person they are pursuing rather like

esops Fox who fails to reach an alluring

bunch of grapes and so declares that

they must be sour the nice guy insists

that the person they were idolizing only

moments before four must be defective it

smacks of that dishonesty and

self-deception nature is so critical of

but Additionally the nice guy also

devalues the qualities they think would

have brought them success with their

Beloved the people who are considered

more attractive or confident or

otherwise romantically successful are

labeled [ __ ] the nice guy wields

morality as his weapon of choice to say

sure I may have been turned down but at

some level I am better than the person I

would have had to be to be accepted this

according to n is just cope and horribly

dishonest cope at that in fact this

rather strange interaction between the

nice guy and the object of their

affections is almost a microcosm of what

n thinks weak people do in groups rather

than honestly attempt to achieve their

goals they devalue the things that would

have fulfilled their wants while at the

same time decrying anyone who does

achieve their desires as evil the reason

n hates this is because he thinks it

encourages is those who truly could find

fulfillment to weaken their own Wills to

blend him with others so as to not incur

their wroth and condemnation but this is

just a vicious cycle since strength in

the form of being able to attain one's

aims is being demonized yet there is

also no real attempt at overcoming

oneself and learning to have perfect

control of one's will either as in the

case of ne's later figure of the

aesthetic all this does is create more

weak resentful people who then repeat

the process until we are flattened into

a dissatisfying winging Mass complaining

about how anyone happier than us is

immoral or at least that's ne's Theory

you certainly don't have to agree with

it this resentful use of morality is one

reason ner sometimes calls himself an

immoralist he is signaling his open

Rebellion against this use of moral

ascriptions however so far this is only

really dealing with the outward effects

of weakness n's treatment of the subject

contains numerous nuances and subtleties

whereas we have been broadly t about

external weakness we will now move on to

discussing internal ones if you want to

help me make more videos like this then

please consider becoming one of my

wonderful patrons to get access to

exclusive content the link is in the

description two organization and will

one of the general mischaracterizations

of nature that pings around the internet

is that he was a hedonist and to be fair

he does sometimes say quite hedonist

adjacent things he talks about

shamelessly pursuing one's own goals and

does not appeal to the usual concerns of

morality and the well-being of others in

his critique of Hedonism rather he

criticizes it as reflecting a

disorganized will I want to preface this

section by saying that what n meant by

will and his general theory of will is

highly disputed and he often does go

back and forth on some of the details

even some of the quite major ones so

this is just my interpretation and it's

probably wrong in many of his final

works and his postly published notes

nich's use of the term weakness has

changed quite a lot here he tends to use

it much more to refer to an internal

property that is the relative

organization or disorganization of the

will in a lot of his later works n has a

pretty unique way of conceiving of the

will and freedom he almost pictures the

human agent as a collection of forces

Each of which may be pulling them in a

slightly different direction at any time

this can sound rather abstract but I

think it Chimes rather well with our

everyday experience at any given moment

I might want to make a cup of tea or

cook some baked beans or go to the shops

to get some Jammy Dodgers to use some

predictably British examples if these

urges do not find agreement and instead

persist in tugging me in different

directions then my will would be

considered disorganized disorganized

Wills make it very difficult for us to

act decisively since we cannot decide on

a particular course of action and then

stick to it we can immediately see how

this coheres somewhat with the

definition of weakness in the previous

section if you cannot make commitments

to actions then almost by definition you

will be very unlikely to do much to

attain your desires and at the extreme

end you may fall into a passive nihilism

since there are no organizing principles

to your decisions or your life the king

of England Edward II had an awful lot of

raw power but not much control over his

mind he was led this way and that way by

his favorites at court and became

horribly inconsistent and as a result he

lost his crown and was killed shortly

after that possibly by a hot poker up

the bottom but more likely by one of the

more standard murder methods an

underrated of n's philosophy as a whole

are his ideas about commitment we see

this in thus SP zarathustra where the

final stage of the Uber mench is called

the child who is able to create values

for themselves values here is largely

used to mean principles for guiding

decisions and actions here the Uber

mench can choose and originate their own

values and use them as the North Star

for their life thus they avoid both the

kind of nihilism where you fail to act

at all and the kind where your will is

so disorganized that you never commit to

a single course of action for any time

and sort of Flounder unsuccessfully in

every direction like ne's Parisian

youths this form of weakness also ties

in very strongly with n's idea of

self-overcoming this again is a slightly

difficult concept to get your head round

since n uses the term in a variety of

subtly different ways but in essence

this is the ability of the will to pull

itself together to collect in a single

Direction it is self-overcoming because

it is the will exerting Force upon on

itself nature here has begun to use

terms like power and weakness in a

relatively esoteric way power is now not

just the ability to achieve goals but to

overcome resistance including internal

resistance so it is the ability to keep

the will or as much of it as possible

fixed on a single path I sometimes like

to think of this as the Persistence of

intention or the consistency of the will

to return to the case of malanov in the

death of Stalin he was deemed weak

because of his wavering loyalties

between different factions in the

government he was easily LED and his

will was changed numerous times by

different people in this way he

displayed a very nitian form of weakness

his will could not overcome much

resistance and was not even organized

enough to be properly called his it was

just lent out to whoever had spoken to

him last this is also just in the film

I'm not trying to make a point about

Russian history n condemns this sort of

weakness partly for the same reason the

characters in The Death of Stalin do it

means they cannot be trusted either by

other people or by themselves their

inconstancy means that their words no

longer holds very much weight as is

persuasively argued by buun Han trust is

used to bridge a gap that opens up due

to lack of information or control we

often cannot directly control other

people and do not know for certain what

they will do trust is then how we learn

to rely on others despite this their

words become an important indicator of

their future actions and we begin to

believe their commitments this also

benefits the person deemed trustworthy

because they are allocated more external

power and influence which nature thinks

all of us secretly desire in malankov's

case he was not deemed an appropriate

leader for the Soviet Union because of

his unreliability and his weakness it's

a philosophy lesson via political comedy

the other reason n condemns this sort of

weakness is that he thinks an organized

will is key to overcoming nihilism and

achieving many of the great works that

he thought Justified human existence and

separated us from the rest of the

animals one of Nature's obsessions is

with Humanity fulfilling its potential

and one aspect of this is to get all of

the different facets of our Wills

pointing in a single Direction he

thought it was very difficult for a

given person to lead a meaningful life

without their will both strong and in

their control part of this is just

empirical as we said without this people

won't trust you and you'll have a much

harder time achieving what you desire

but it is just as much a philosophical

Point without a powerful and organized

will nature thinks the slightest

suffering or struggle will push us

towards nihilism and a rejection of life

we will return to this point near the

end as there is an awful lot to this

idea and it's very important in Nature's

philosophy this also brings out how

weakness may not be as harmless as we

often think it is in a way that's

actually very familiar to a modern ear

it is all well and good having a

disorganized will but it not only means

that no one else can rely on us we

cannot even rely on ourselves and

continuing upon this theme we will expl

explore one of Nature's most

controversial positions that human pity

is not nearly as innocent as it may seem

and sometimes is disastrously

destructive three the Dark Side of pity

on average our moral systems are

relatively keen on pity we are told to

look after people weaker than ourselves

and the mechanism chosen to do this

tends to be pity and contrary to popular

belief nature was not actually a fan of

going out of your way to be cruel to

people who have less power than you he

tended to think this signaled a sort of

lack of self-confidence like a grown man

who feels the need to beat children at

tennis that being said he had a real

problem with pity as the method for

encouraging people to help one another

since he saw it both as duplicitous and

having awful unintended consequences as

with everything in N this is all

incredibly controversial and while there

is probably something to it don't feel

like you need to agree with all of it

despite what some people will tell you

just because n said something doesn't

make it true in n's picture of human

psychology a primary role is taken by

the human wish to accumulate power

either internal power or external power

this will to power as it's often known

was thought to explain all manner of our

behaviors from aspiring to a high social

status to accumulating wealth to

asceticism and martyrdom nature thought

these were often aimed at either

mastering ourselves or gaining influence

over the world and other people

importantly he also thought that

solicitations of pity were run through

with these sorts of power considerations

for nature if someone does not have much

power then pity can sort of become their

weapon deprived of the ability to

honestly influence the world they try to

recruit others to their aid but this is

very different to requesting help from a

friend or making a deal with a peer

rather they try to solicit help without

taking any responsibility or incurring

any sort of debt by encouraging other

people to take pity upon them they play

the role of an infant who is not only

unable to help themselves but unable to

even take ownership of their requests

for Aid we again see the underlying

value that nature places on honesty of

course his full thoughts are more

nuanced and subtle a lot of this is from

thus zarathustra and the second half of

Beyond Good and Evil if anyone wants to

check it out fich the person seeking

pity is a bit like the man in that tweet

who kept picking a fight with people

bigger than him and then saying oh no

don't hit me I'm just a small guy and

also it's my birthday how can you hit me

on my birthday it's a dishonest tactic

to try to manipulate and control the

actions of others for personal benefit

so he criticizes pity for two reasons

the first is the afor mention dishonesty

but the second is that he thinks this is

a terrible Dynamic for everyone involved

while n thinks that getting pity is a

reasonably decent short-term strategy

for the weak person he is very skeptical

that it will grant them fulfillment in

the long term it is a bit like what he

said earlier about people devaluing what

they desire when they cannot achieve it

while the pitiful person might be making

the best of a bad situation it is still

undeniably a bad situation on the other

hand he views the show of pity from the

more powerful person to be sort of

condescending he draws a distinction

between this and magnanimity magnanimity

is when someone feels so self assured

and Powerful that their cup overfloweth

and they are quite happy to help others

whereas the granting of pity is a much

more underhanded move nature thinks that

the pier encourages the pitiful person

to rely on them and so implicitly limits

the other person's development sure this

may be coming from a position of power

but it is still dishonest and nature

seems to hold anything that even sniffs

of dishonesty in real contempt again the

malicious aspect of the pier is probably

best illustrated by an analogy one of

the tactics someone in an abusive

relationship might use to control their

partner is to make them increasingly

dependent on them they might downplay

their partner's abilities and insist

that they need them or else they would

simply not be able to cope in doing this

they gradually sap their partner's

Independence since their partner is

prevented from doing anything for

themselves they too become convinced

that they are incompetent after all they

have no recent evidence to the contrary

thus the abuser uses an underhanded

tactic to increase their own power and

disempower their victim it seems like we

would still have a problem with this

Dynamic even if the victim had

themselves initially decried how

difficult they were finding life and had

asked the abuser to take pity on them we

tend to recognize that the healthier

thing to do would be to help out but

also gently encourage the partner to

take charge of their own life growing

their independent power bit by bit the

abusive situation is a bit like what

nature thinks the pitier gets out of the

arrangement they agree to Grant the less

powerful person their aid but it is a

loan with a steep rate of interest sure

I'll help you they say but only because

it will cause you to rely on my help and

thus increase my power over you this is

in stark contrast to ne's new

philosophers which make an appearance in

Beyond Good and Evil their job is partly

to help craft the new values for a

future Society but also to encourage

people to unlearn the virtue of pity and

instead help all to embrace their own

Wills to power this is also one of

zarathustra's injunctions to his

followers nature would view what the new

philosophers were doing as magnanimous

rather than pitying because this is not

an attempt to manipulate the weak but

rather to genuinely Aid them to increase

their independence and their strength

it's a subtle distinction but again the

difference between the abusive and the

healthy partner is a good analogy to

bring some of the Dynamics at Play Down

to Earth nature thinks that this whole

dynamic emerges because of weakness on

the one hand there are the people

seeking pity who are then dependent on

pity to recoup a scrap of power in the

world but on the other there are the

piers themselves if they were truly

strong in the way n wanted people to be

then they would be magnanimous rather

than duplicitously exploiting this coh

here with what he thought was the

highest form of power which was to be so

self assured independent and strong that

you do not feel the need to assert this

on others just to remind yourself that

it exists it is there you are certain of

it and you are not threatened by the

power of others and may even appreciate

their rivalry thus you are much more

likely to truly help other people rather

than secretly try to undermine them

famously Johan Von Gerta was the closest

n thought anyone had ever come to being

an Uber mench and yet he led no armies

instead he was a unique creative genius

who revolutionized Europe with his

writings I partly bring this up to

dispel the image many of us may have as

n as inherently Pro despotism but lastly

I want to examine the most significant

reason n hated weakness so much and it

helps illustrate a unique incredibly

interesting vein of his philosophy four

life denial philosophy and the origins

of ideas here's a question we don't

normally ask how should we judge a

philosophy of Life a great many will say

we judge it on the basis of whether it's

true and nature is not by any means

anti-truth but he thinks that

philosophies about the value of life or

how to live it cannot be evaluated like

this because we are all biased parties

when we walk around pontificating on how

life actually is we forget that we only

ever have access to our own life and we

cannot even take an outside objective

view on that this was part of why n

turned against pessimism and its

associative philosophies he concluded

that making claims about how life is as

a whole as if it can be judged

separately from people's individual

perceptions of their own lives was

pretty silly so if we accept that we

cannot rationally or objectively judge

life's value nature thinks we are

presented with a choice we can either

decide to reject life and so deem it a

negative or we can embrace it and deem

it a positive the trouble with the first

path is that it is self-defeating and

the trouble with the second is that it

is really unbelievably difficult this is

where we encounter a fascinating aspect

of n's philosophy his radical notion of

amor farti or loving your fate it's an

idea that had drifted up from stoic

philosophy but nature would push it to

its extreme he wanted to know how we

could love and cherish life even when it

is horribly unpleasant this was not just

a theoretical exercise for him nature

was played all through his life with a

painful chronic illness which made him

bedridden for months at a time in eom we

discover how he leared to appreciate

this State against all the odds and

arguably against rationality he used it

as the fuel for his thinking and his

philosophy which he valued above pretty

much all else this was his way of giving

his suffering meaning and eventually

rejoicing in it it was what helped him

love the pain but n also thought that

doing this took an awful lot of power

this time he was definitely not talking

about external power but rather the

internal self-overcoming kind this was

one reason he ended up deeply admiring

Jesus despite his broad critiques of

Christianity he saw Jesus as someone who

displayed an incredible level of

self-mastery anti- resentment and a

touch of amarati even as he was being

whipped within an inch of his life Jesus

was no conqueror or Emperor but ner

nonetheless considered him incredibly

powerful in this crucial Way by contrast

ner thought that philosophers and

thinkers of far weaker dispositions did

incredible harm not just to themselves

but also to the society's they inhabited

and the people of the World At Large

this comes out particularly strongly in

Twilight of the idols where he launches

an extended attack on one of

philosophy's most venerated figures

Socrates he criticizes how Socrates

reacted to his prosecution and eventual

death because of how this made him talk

about life in Plato's Pho Socrates says

that for a true philosopher death is

nothing to be afraid of in fact it is a

release from the indignity of living in

a physical form this Rich tradition of

philosophy using reason to devalue life

was then found in schopenhauer who

broadly speaking described life as an

unbearable trial and something we just

had to get through before the piece of

non-existence if he were alive today n

would have almost certainly criticized

antinatalists for the same th as they

suggested that life was not worth

starting because of its inherent

suffering for nature these philosophies

were both inherently weak and encouraged

weakness they all suggested the same

thing that life was somehow undesirable

and robbed of value because of the

struggle involved in living this is the

opposite of n's desired attitude of

amarati rather than a dogged commitment

to loving life it was an intellectual

commitment to rejecting it but so what

if a few philosophers want to reject

life why should we care well nature

thinks that these ideas slowly begin to

poison any society they inhabit and

eventually sew the seeds for its

collapse this is what he thought

particular strains of Christianity had

done in Europe whereas he admired Jesus

n had a real B to pick with St Paul and

all of his praise of celibacy and

self-denial he also hated the conception

of this life as a precursor to some

greater more important existence in the

vast Beyond he saw all of this as

encouraging life- denying weakness in

wider Society it reassured people that

this life did not matter and was far

less valuable than the one to come he

saw the denial of our basest and deepest

instincts as robbing us of the Primal

natural urge we had to survive and

wrestle with life in short he thought

that the philosophies made by people he

saw as weak also made other people weak

again this ties back with what we were

saying earlier about resentment and the

devaluing of strength there's a real

vein of misery loves company to ne's

philosophy and he thought anyone who was

weak either internally or externally

would probably encourage others to

become so as well one way this happened

was the above mentioned weaponized

morality but another was teaching people

that life was not that valuable in the

first place if life does not not matter

all that much then why bother trying to

make the most of it why should you care

about mastering your will or making your

life meaningful or acting or even

getting out of bed in the morning

essentially n thought that these

philosophies of weakness which did not

Embrace Life Would proliferate passive

nihilism and unfulfillment wherever they

went he saw them as more properly

analogous to diseases than philosophies

and so deserved his unmitigated scorn

and while I don't necessarily agree with

n wholesale here for instance I'm highly

critical of his interpretation of

Socrates I do think there is something

in his overall point I live in the UK if

you couldn't tell from my near parodic

accent and a certain sort of pessimism

just hangs in the air here in my

experience there is a general skepticism

about being too enthusiastic about life

or any sort of activity that goes too

far against the grain of habit it is

often far more socially respectable to

be a pessimist than an optimist and

anyone with a noticeably sunnier

disposition is often looked at as as if

they are stupid or otherwise

irredeemably naive but beyond any sort

of cultural observation we can see this

on a small scale in Social Circles it

only takes a particularly cynical or

pessimistic person to make whole groups

feel as if they cannot express a more

positive outlook it is far easier to

mock someone who Embraces life than

someone who rejects it and this is

partly why nature is so worried about

the prevalence of philosophies like

pessimism and according to him it is all

because the pessimist is just not strong

enough enough to Bear the unpleasant or

unfortunate aspects of life for him when

they put forward a philosophy of Life

they think they are commenting on the

world but they are really only

reflecting themselves and a lot of n's

criticisms of weakness come down to this

he would not mind it as much if they

kept to themselves but this is broadly

not the tendency instead he thinks they

venture out into the world full of

resentment and envy impossible to trust

demanding pity and insisting that no one

should care that much about about life

itself for him they are like the crabs

at the bottom of a bucket refusing to

let anyone else climb out this is why he

abor weakness because in his view it is

not just unpleasant not just a shame but

it is terrifyingly dangerous so how far

do you agree with him but if you want a

totally different perspective on many of

these issues then check out this video

to explore dov's radical philosophy of

selfless spiritual love and stick around

for more on thinking to improve your

life