Yet, as captivating as Nietzsche is in his insights about the fundamental questions of human nature, he is equally frightening in his blatant prejudice, ranging from his polemics against the Jews to his tirades against the Chinese. In reading it, I could see clearly why it’s taught in so many introductory classes at Harvard alone.
This central thesis is brilliant and prompted me to think deeply as few other works have done. In short, the work invites us to ask ourselves how humanity developed moral values that emphasize restraint rather than the satisfaction of our instinctual pleasures. In this particular work, Nietzsche puts forth his view that our existing system of morality obscures the true and natural instincts of human beings in favor of a “slave morality,” where self-denial of human desires has become the basis for both religious piety and our conception of goodness. A few days ago, as I was organizing my bookshelf, I came across a book that I read in my freshman year, a work which many Harvard students read at some point during their four years here: Friedrich Nietzsche’s “On the Genealogy of Morality.” Seeing the book reminded me of the discussion that seems constantly to permeate today’s political discourse, including conversations among many students at Harvard-the question of how we, as members of contemporary society, should remember the historical figures of our past, especially when individuals hold perspectives that appall us today.Īs I flipped through the pages of Nietzsche’s book, I couldn’t help but be struck by the same dilemma when considering the awesome complexity of Nietzsche the philosopher.
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