Week 7 - Assigned Reading - On the Genealogy of Morals (Chap. 2 & 3)

The second chapter of Nietzsche's “On the Genealogy of Morals” is just as insightful as the first. It begins with the development of the conscience, or at least a trait that was labeled a conscience. According to Nietzsche, it began with freedom of will, the ability to make a promise and to keep it, a so called “sovereign.” These men were able to do things that others could not and as such they held certain values, looking out for themselves and others like them (other sovereigns). They would punish those who lied, who did not have a freedom of will. This responsibility that they possessed would be called a conscience.

I must say, I find this a rather remarkable depiction of the development of consciousness in humanity. The responsibility that people now possessed would have been great indeed and what they did with it, how they felt about it, would have shaped who they were. It has been said that a conscience is a moral compass and this description by Nietzsche is very accurate in that respect. It shows a development of personal values, of a creation of a personal morality, this sense of “right” and “wrong” that people seem to feel regardless of who they are. Of course, being personal, this feeling is not universally the same, it is shaped by society.

I also found Nietzsche's rationale for the development of “right” and “wrong” in society to be rather fascinating, if somewhat simple. As Nietzsche puts it, memories are formed through pain, the more painful the more everlasting the memory. Through years of painful human punishments we eventually learned several “I will not's” that guide us to more moral ventures in punishment.

Nietzsche's final chapter deals more with a personal morality, or more accurately what it means to do “good” or to do “bad.” Both, according to Nietzsche, appear to have the same ultimate affect upon you. If you feel some action is wrong it brings with it a dissatisfaction. This is only natural, but the opposite is also true. If you feel that some action is right it brings with it a hollowness that demands to be filled with more “good” actions. It's a cycle of unhappiness. Cited in the chapter is Buddhism, and this principle comes directly from this, to want is to be eternally unhappy. To disassociate from every desire is the only way to achieve a higher form of happiness.