1. Nietzsche and the Slave Revolt in Morals Critiques of Religion and Morality

2. Who was Nietzsche? F.W. Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a famous German philosopher, scholar, and critic of religion. He was an expert on the classical world, and thought that the Greek and Roman civilisations were in many ways better than the Christian religion which replaced them. Nietzsche would even describe himself as an ‘immoralist’, since he was so opposed to established moral values. He developed his key arguments regarding ethics in The Genealogy of Morals. His later life was dominated by a mental breakdown, leading to an early death.

3. Classical Values

4. ‘Master Morality’ Nietzsche regarded genuine or acceptable morality to be a ‘master morality’ – one which is given by brave and strong- willed men. The noble man is conscious of determining what is right and wrong. He realises what is harmful and what is valuable, and creates values according to this awareness. Because this is a self-autonomous, relativist view of ethics, Nietzsche saw the moral individual as the master, rather than the slave. This is drawn by an analogy with the classical world; we could be like the heroes of old. Since ethical people are self-autonomous, there is no place for God in this approach to ethics.

5. “The Romans were the strong and noble men, stronger and nobler than they had ever been on earth, or even dreamed themselves to be.”

6. ‘Slave Morality’ Thanks to religion, Nietzsche thought that there had been a ‘slave revolt in morals’ – a terrible event which turned human values upside down. Nietzsche defined the ideas of this revolt as a ‘slave morality’: a series of beliefs which originates among the weak of society. Slave morality does not exert strength, but questions the values of the masters and seeks to enslave them too. Nietzsche rejected the idea of the majority finding the common good, because “what is common is of little value”. Christians and their successors have supported slavish values like humility, mercy, and forgiveness. All of these things seek to topple the rule of the strong. Nietzsche hoped for an end to established religious values, with a return to the heroism of the classical world.

7. Evaluate … Does religion lead to resentment and hostility towards those who are successful and strong? Was the classical world morally better or worse than the Christian society which replaced it? Nietzsche suggested that democratic society would be harmfully influenced by the Christian desire to elevate the weak and the poor. Is that a problem today?