Beyond Good and Evil

I recently finished reading Friedrich Nietzsche's book "Beyond Good and Evil."  For anyone wanting to take a stroll down philosophy lane, I would suggest not starting with this one.  While it is a very difficult read, the version I had was 115 pages and took me a month to read, it amazes me that a book published in 1900 has so much applicability to modern society.  It is fitting that he tag lined the book as the "Prelude to the Philosophy of the Future."  It's remarkable how he was able to draw ideas from society and discuss how societal norms and ways of thinking needed to be criticized and individuals needed to begin looking at the world from a different perspective.  I will attempt to provide some of the main points of the book that are completely relevant and accurate in today's world.

Nietzsche discussed that in every society, it is the viewpoints of the ruling class that ultimately shapes the views of that society.  In part one of the book he states that throughout time philosophers, politicians and self proclaimed intellectuals have stated that they provide unbiased viewpoints of the world.  Nietzsche argues that no person can approach life from a completely uninfluenced perspective.  We all hold views that have been shaped by our experiences.  Due to this it has led societies to believe that there are certain absolute truths.  Again, Nietzsche would argue that this is also false.  When it comes to humans and the way that we think, there are no such things as absolutes.  These absolutes are then sorted into categories for people to easily shape their individual viewpoints. 

Since the majority of people in society do not attempt to think and question at a deeper level what is being told to them from the ruling class, individuals tend to think very superficially in categories.  Nietzsche states these main categories as "Good" and "Evil." 

 In today's western postmodernist society, these very superficial categories of thinking and classifications exist.  People are either pro-something or anti-something. Love something or hate something.  They believe in something completely, and if they are presented with information or ideas that contradict those views, they completely dismiss them.  

Nietzsche discussed how in the future, there would be people who would think beyond the categorical right and wrong or good and evil of situations.  He coined these types of people the "free thinkers."  According to him, these people would have the ability to take a deeper dive into thoughts and situations and come to conclusions that moved beyond categorical thinking.  He posed questions and gave examples about situations where the standard categories may not provide a complete and truthful picture.  In fact, he asked people to question the very conclusions that they draw in order to come to the fundamental view of the situation. 

Today people are so sure of themselves.  As a society, we are all completely self absorbed in our thinking and we don't bother to question the nature of those thoughts.  We place things into categories because it's an easy, effortless and thoughtless way of looking at the world.  As Nietzsche suggests, most of the time, these thoughts that we hold so dearly aren't even our own.  They are the views of the ruling class.  

In order to undue the predictable cycle of human society, we need more "free thinkers."  We need people to begin to not only explore their own thoughts and values but also to think beyond the effortless categories.  Most situations are neither "Good" or "Bad."  Most situations require a much deeper interpretation for true understanding.  In order to truly understand ourselves and the world around us, we need to begin to understand that situations "Just are" and it is our own interpretation that determines the meaning.  We need to take responsibility over our viewpoints in order to ensure that they, in fact, are our own.  

In closing I leave you with these questions.  Have you spent anytime questioning the nature of your own thoughts?  Are your values, views and perspectives even your own, or have they been shaped by some external source?  Are you willing to become a modern day free thinker, or are you just another one of the herd?

If you take the time to answer these questions truthfully.  You'll not only begin to learn something about yourself but you'll also be making the first step in stepping outside of the herd.

Now, this isn't an exhaustive list of the points made in Nietzsche's book.  If you're interested in learning more I suggest you give it a read yourself.