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| | [[Image:Nietzsche1882.jpg|thumb|150px|right|[[Friedrich Nietzsche|Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche]]]] | | [[Image:Nietzsche1882.jpg|thumb|150px|right|[[Friedrich Nietzsche|Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche]]]] |
| − | The [[concept]] of the {{Audio|De-uebermensch.ogg|'''''Übermensch'''''}}—(''homo superior''; equivalent English: "Superman", "superior man", "overman", "[[super-human]]" or "[[Transhumanism|trans-human]]"; ''see [[Übermensch#Misleading translation|below]]'')—was expounded by [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] in the 1883 book ''[[Thus Spoke Zarathustra]]'', whose eponymous protagonist contends that "man is something which ought to be overcome". Zarathustra thus announces the coming of the Übermensch, which must succumb to [[nihilism]] in order to overcome it. The ''Übermensch'' is contrasted with the exemplar of the ''[[Last Man]]''. Whereas Nietzsche considered there to be no examples of an ''Übermensch'' in his time, via Zarathustra, he declared that there were many examples of ''Last Men''. In his 1930s courses on Nietzsche, [[Martin Heidegger]] highlighted how the concept of the ''Übermensch'' was intrinsically connected to the ''[[the will to power|will to power]]'' and ''[[Eternal Return#Friedrich Nietzsche|the thought of eternal recurrence ]]''. In this sense, the ''Übermensch'' may be said to be the event of thinking the Eternal Return, and therefore of overcoming nihilism. | + | The '''Übermensch''' ([[German language|German]]: {{Audio|De-uebermensch.ogg|''Übermensch''}}) is a [[concept]] in the [[Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche]]. It is frequently translated as '''Superman''' or '''Overman''', though there are problems with both of these. [[Friedrich Nietzsche|Nietzsche]] posited the Übermensch as a goal for humanity to set for itself in his 1883 book ''[[Thus Spoke Zarathustra]]'' (German: ''Also Sprach Zarathustra''). |
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| − | Zarathustra assigns to his contemporary civilization the task of preparing the venue for the ''Übermensch''. Mankind could prepare this coming of the Übermensch through the following steps: | + | The book's protagonist, [[Zarathustra]], contends that "man is something which ought to be overcome": |
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| − | # By using his ''[[The Will to Power|will to power]]'' ''destructively'', in the rejection of, and rebellion against, societal ideals and moral codes.
| + | <blockquote>All beings so far have created something beyond themselves; and do you want to be the ebb of this great flood and even go back to the beasts rather than overcome man? What is the ape to man? A laughingstock or a painful embarrassment. And man shall be just that for the overman: a laughingstock or a painful embarrassment…</blockquote> |
| − | # By using his ''will to power'' ''creatively'', in overcoming [[nihilism]] and re-evaluating old ideals or creating new ones.
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| − | # By a continual process of ''self-overcoming''.
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| − | Nietzsche criticized the concepts of [[soul]], personal [[consciousness]], and the "[[ego]]". His criticisms of the [[metaphysics]] of substance and of the [[subject (philosophy)|subject]], whom he identified as a "grammatical fiction," opposed any individualist interpretation, which would render the ''Übermensch'' a heroic figure.<ref>See ''[[Beyond Good and Evil]]'', §16 and 17 of the first section ([http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4363 etext available here)], where he criticized [[Descartes]]'s ''[[cogito ergo sum|cogito]]''; this is the Helen Zimmern translation, as published in ''The Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche'', 1909-1913. See also ''[[On the Genealogy of Morals]]'', I, §13.
| + | There is no consensus regarding the precise meaning of the Übermensch, or even the overall importance of the concept in Nietzsche's thought. |
| − | <blockquote>
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| − | "16. (...) the philosopher must say to himself: "When I analyze the process that is expressed in the sentence, 'I think,' I find a whole series of daring assertions, the argumentative proof of which would be difficult, perhaps impossible: for instance, that it is ''I'' who think, that there must necessarily be something that thinks, that thinking is an activity and operation on the part of a being who is thought of as a cause, that there is an 'ego,' and finally, that it is already determined what is to be designated by thinking—that I KNOW what thinking is. For if I had not already decided within myself what it is, by what standard could I determine whether that which is just happening is not perhaps 'willing' or 'feeling'? In short, the assertion 'I think,' assumes that I COMPARE my state at the present moment with other states of myself which I know, in order to determine what it is; on account of this retrospective connection with further 'knowledge,' it has, at any rate, no immediate certainty for me." (...)" (§16 of the first section of ''Beyond Good and Evil'')
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| − | and also:
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| − | <blockquote>17. With regard to the superstitions of logicians, I shall never tire of emphasizing a small, terse fact, which is unwillingly recognized by these credulous minds—namely, that a thought comes when "it" wishes, and not when "I" wish; so that it is a ''PERVERSION'' of the facts of the case to say that the subject "I" is the condition of the predicate "think." ''One'' thinks; but that this "one" is precisely the famous old "ego," is, to put it mildly, only a supposition, an assertion, and assuredly not an "immediate certainty." After all, one has even gone too far with this "one thinks"—even the "one" contains an ''INTERPRETATION'' of the process, and does not belong to the process itself. One infers here according to the usual grammatical formula: "To think is an activity; every activity requires an agency that is active; consequently" ... (§17 of the first section of ''Beyond Good and Evil'')</blockquote> <!-- CAPITALS INCLUDED IN ORIGINAL TEXT ---> </ref>
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| − | Therefore, the ''Übermensch'' also has been interpreted as a temporary state, or event, of the multiple [[will to power|wills to power]] composing this "individual fiction". Thus interpreted, the ''Übermensch'' is neither person nor [[substance]], but the existential process of overcoming both oneself and nihilism. It should be stressed that if the coming of the Übermensch was a task for times to come, and thus engaged a responsibility of some kind, Nietzsche criticized any conception of freedom as "[[free will]]": it is not simply a matter of each one "choosing" to become a Übermensch—Nietzsche, who admired [[Spinoza]], a philosopher who also criticized this conception of freedom, didn't believe in such a "free choice"—but rather of creating the conditions making the Übermensch's coming possible. Adding to the interpretative difficulty surrounding the ''Übermensch'' concept is the relationship between the views of Zarathustra, the book's protagonist, and the views of Nietzsche, himself.
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| − | ==Origins==
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| − | <!-- SOME? WHO? Some have argued that Nietzsche was influenced by philosopher [[Friedrich Hegel]]'s concept of the [[master-slave dialectic]], first stated in the 1807 book ''[[Phenomenology of Spirit]]'', which argued that human self-consciousness is defined by a "master" and a "slave" mentality and the struggle between the two. This may have directly or indirectly led to Nietzsche's positing of a [[master-slave morality]], in which humanity is divided between those with a "slave morality", who are guided by a conception of good and evil, and those with a "master morality", who act out of self-interest and create their own moral values. —>
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| − | Nietzsche was aware of [[Herbert Spencer]]'s concept of "[[survival of the fittest]]." Spencer held that it was only adaptation, not morality or divine guidance, that enabled some species, institutions and people to triumph over others. Nietzsche's concept of the Übermensch is in part related to his understanding of the body and of humankind. Thus, he criticized Spencer's assertion according to which species adapted themselves to their environment, claiming this was only a reactive form of action.<ref>See ''[[On the Genealogy of Morals]]'', Part II, §13 </ref> This criticism of adaptation as a reactive force was enforced by Nietzsche's criticism of the "will to life" (and, for example, of [[Spinoza]]'s ''[[conatus]]'', or tendency to live of every being<ref> It could be argued that this criticism of Spinoza — an author admired by Nietzsche — find its origins in a misunderstanding of Spinoza's conception of the ''conatus''. Nietzsche's point is to underline that life is not the ultimate value of being. </ref>) on behalf of his "hypothesis of [[The Will to Power|the will to power]]". Nietzsche also criticized any [[teleology|teleological]] conception of history, which identified the end of each thing with its origins (hence, the eye would have been created to see, and animalkind to have the human being as its perfection).<ref> ''On the Genealogy of Morals'', II, 13 </ref> Thus, his conception of the Übermensch should also be thought as opposed to the conception of mankind as the ultimate word of evolution.
| + | ==Übermensch in English== |
| | + | The first translation of ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' into English, done by [[Thomas Common]] in 1909, rendered Übermensch as "Superman;" Common was anticipated in this by [[George Bernard Shaw]], who did the same in his 1905 ''[[Man and Superman]]''. [[Walter Kaufmann (philosopher)|Walter Kaufmann]] slammed this translation in the 1950s for failing to capture the nuance of the [[German language|German]] ''[[über]]'' and for promoting a puerile identification with the comic-book character [[Superman]]. His preference was to translate Übermensch as "overman." Scholars continue to employ both superman and overman, some opting to simply reproduce the German word. |
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| − | ==Aspects of the Übermensch==
| + | The German prefix ''über'' can have connotations of superiority, transcendence, excessiveness, or intensity, depending on the words to which it is appended.<ref>''Duden Deutsches Universal Wörterbuch A–Z'', s.v. über-.</ref> ''Mensch'' refers to members of the human race, rather than to men emphatically. The adjective ''übermenschliches'' means superhuman, in the sense of beyond human strength or out of proportion to humanity. |
| − | ===The will to destruction===
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| − | Nietzsche's motivation for claiming that [[God is dead]] was the destruction of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[conscience]]: that is, destroying the God-centered way of thinking, and the fateful will to break out. Only by breaking out of the [[idealism|idealistic]] [[norms]] — and overcoming [[nihilism]] — can one become an ''Übermensch'', literally someone who is "beyond human", he wrote. According to Nietzsche's ''[[On the Genealogy of Morals]]'', Christianity is based on a doctrine of remedy and punishment. [[Zarathustra]] was the man who announced the coming of the ''Übermensch'' to the world.
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| − | Further, as Nietzsche put it, [[asceticism]] — religions positing a "next life" more important than the earthly, and especially the teachings of [[Plato]] that point to a nihilistic "beyond" —oppose a belief in God against objective, material reality. Nietzsche opposes a "slave morality" and a "master morality"; both, he said, can coexist within a person.
| + | ==This-worldliness== |
| | + | Nietzsche introduces the concept of the Übermensch in contrast to the other-worldliness of [[Christianity]]: Zarathustra proclaims the Übermensch to be the meaning of the earth and admonishes his audience to ignore those who promise other-worldly hopes in order to draw them away from the earth. The turn away from the earth is prompted, he says, by a dissatisfaction with life, a dissatisfaction that causes one to create another world in which those who made one unhappy in this life are tormented. The Übermensch is not driven into other worlds away from this one. |
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| − | ===Re-evaluating or destroying old ideals===
| + | The Christian escape from this world also required the invention of a soul which would be separate from the body and survive the body's death. Part of other-worldliness, then, was the denigration and mortification of the body, or [[asceticism]]. Zarathustra further links the Übermensch to the body and to interpreting the soul as simply an aspect of the body. |
| − | Once man has undergone the process of denying God ('Omnis determinatio est negatio'), he begins a journey towards becoming Übermensch. The humans are alone and, contrary to absolving themselves of responsibility by positing a deity, they must create their own new moral ideals.
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| − | In establishing new ideals, man now does not rank them according to [[transcendence (philosophy)|transcendental]] aspects ("Where from" and "What for") because this would again aim towards beyond.
| + | As the drama of ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' progresses, the turn to [[metaphysics]] in [[philosophy]] and [[Platonism]] in general come to light as manifestations of other-worldliness, as well. [[Truth]] and [[nature]] are inventions by means of which men escape from this world. The Übermensch is also free from these failings. |
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| − | Instead, there are no absolute ideals any more but only an interpretation of them in which moral ideals are the most important ones.
| + | ==The Death of God and the Creation of New Values== |
| | + | Zarathustra ties the Übermensch to the [[God is dead|death of God]], meaning specifically the Christian God. While this God was the ultimate expression of other-worldly values and the instincts that gave birth to those values, belief in that God nevertheless did give life meaning for a time. The time has come when serious human beings can no longer believe in God, however—God is dead, meaning that the idea of God can no longer provide values. With the sole source of values no longer capable of providing those values, there is a real danger of [[nihilism]]. |
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| − | ===Overcoming nihilism===
| + | Zarathustra presents the Übermensch as the creator of new values. In this way, it appears as a solution to the problem of the death of God and nihilism. Because the Übermensch acts to create new values within the moral vacuum of nihilism, there is nothing that this creative act would not justify. Alternatively, in the absence of this creation, there are no grounds upon which to criticize or justify any action, including the particular values created and the means by which they are promulgated. |
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| − | The most difficult step according to Nietzsche's [[immanence|immanent philosophy]] is basing one's entire life in this world. Placing belief or faith in anything transcendent is nihilistic and would lead to the failure of man's attempt to become ''Übermensch''. The idea of God is a quiet temptation. In overcoming nihilism, man undergoes three phases, all of which can be compared to the 'three metamorphoses of the spirit' as outlined in ''Also Sprach Zarathustra'':
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| − | *The immoralist phase: he dares the jump away from the Christian dogmas to a space without God but wonders how life without Him can be possible. He 'balances over an empty space'.
| + | In order to avoid a relapse into [[Platonic Idealism]] or asceticism, the creation of these new values cannot be motivated by the same instincts that gave birth to those tables of values. Instead, they must be motivated by a love of this world and of life. Whereas Nietzsche diagnosed every value-system hitherto known as a reaction against life and hence destructive in a sense, the new values which the Übermensch will be responsible for will be life-affirming and creative. |
| − | *The free thinker phase: man is already fully aware of his freedoms and knows how to use them. He knows 'I am free when I am with myself'.
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| − | *The ''Übermensch'': lives according to the principles of his [[The Will to Power|Will to Power]] which ends in complete independence :
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| − | :"It is here and nowhere else that one must make a start to comprehend what Zarathustra wants: this type of man that he conceives, conceives reality as it is: it is strong enough for it—, it is not estranged or removed from it, it is reality itself and exemplifies all that is terrible and questionable in it, only in that way can man attain greatness..."<ref>Ecce Homo, « Why I Am a Destiny, § 5. ».</ref>
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| − | In short, Nietzsche stated that the goal of mankind is to produce a being who can take absolute responsibility for himself, and that this can only be achieved by transcending nihilism, represented most prominently by Christian and platonic ideals.
| + | ==Übermensch as Goal== |
| | + | Zarathustra first announces the Übermensch as a goal humanity can set for itself. All human life would be given meaning by how it advanced the generation of this higher, [[transhuman]] type. The highest aspiration of a woman would be to give birth to an Übermensch, for example; her relationships with men would be judged by this standard. |
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| − | It should be emphasized that the obstacles in becoming ''Übermensch'' are essentially internal, a matter of overcoming oneself (a notion also appearing in Christianity, though there the goal is submission to God). In Nietszche's words, the ''Übermensch'' must be "judge and avenger of [his] own law." It is not a question of dominating others.
| + | This aspect of the Übermensch has reminded some of [[Charles Darwin]] and [[Herbert Spencer]]. But whereas [[evolution]] via [[natural selection]] or [[survival of the fittest]] proceeds without being intended by any member of the species, the transition from humanity to Übermensch must be willed. |
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| − | ==Common misconceptions==
| + | Zarathustra contrasts the Übermensch with the [[last man]], an alternative goal which humanity might set for itself. The last man appears only in ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'', and is presented as a condition that would render the creation of the Übermensch impossible. |
| − | ===The personification of the Übermensch===
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| − | According to Nietzsche, he himself was not an ''Übermensch''; neither was the fictional character Zarathustra, who only announced the coming of the ''Übermensch''. He explicitly denied that any true Übermenschen had yet existed. Furthermore, his criticisms of consciousness and of the subject, tied to his criticisms of the traditional understanding of will as a "faculty", makes any individualist interpretation of Nietzsche extremely hazardous. It is doubtful to make of the Übermensch a "person", whether it be a person already dead or a person yet to live. This same criticisms of a conscious subject lead [[Martin Heidegger]] to his concept of the ''[[Dasein]]''.
| + | Nietzsche associates the Übermensch with a program of [[eugenics]]. This is most pronounced when considered in the aspect of a goal that humanity sets for itself. The reduction of all [[psychology]] to [[physiology]] and even [[physiognomy]] implies that human beings can be bred for cultural traits. This aspect of Nietzsche's doctrine focuses more on the future of humanity than on a single cataclysmic individual. There is no consensus regarding how this aspect of the Übermensch relates to the creation of new values. |
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| − | Nevertheless, Nietzsche did have an admiration for various figures, including writers such as [[William Shakespeare]], artists like [[Leonardo da Vinci]] and [[Michelangelo]], [[Jesus Christ]] and also political figures such as [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] and [[Julius Caesar]]; even [[Socrates]] or [[Plato]] have been admired by Nietzsche. However, he admired above all others [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]]. Nietzsche praised [[Ancient Greece]] and [[Renaissance]] Italy as cultures which produced more creative individuals than exist in present society. As had [[Tocqueville]] done before him, he criticized modernity, assimilated to democracy, claiming it was characterized by a tendency to equality which uniformized all beings and ultimately led to nihilism.<ref>Pamornpol Jinatichra, [http://www.stanford.edu/~pj97/Nietzsche.htm Nietzsche’s idea of an overman and life from his point of view], personal page on Stanford.edu. Accessed 29 August 2006.</ref>
| + | ==Relation to the Eternal Recurrence== |
| | + | The Übermensch shares a place of prominence in ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' with another of Nietzsche's key concepts: the [[Eternal return#Friedrich Nietzsche|eternal recurrence of the same]]. Over the course of the drama, the latter waxes as the former wanes. Several interpretations for this fact have been offered. |
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| − | ===Misidentification with Nazis and biological reductionism ===
| + | Laurence Lampert suggests that the eternal recurrence replaces the Übermensch as the object of serious aspiration.<ref>Lampert, ''Nietzsche's Teaching''.</ref> This is in part due to the fact that even the Übermensch can appear like an other-worldly hope. The Übermensch lies in the future—no historical figures have ever been Übermenschen—and so still represents a sort of [[eschatology|eschatological]] redemption in some future time. |
| − | ''See [[Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche#Social and political views]]''. | |
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| − | The biologicalisation of the concept of ''Übermensch'' was criticized by Nietzsche in [[Ecce Homo (book)|Ecce Homo]], "Why I Write Such Good Books", § 1.
| + | Stanley Rosen, on the other hand, suggests that the doctrine of eternal return is an [[esotericism|esoteric]] ruse meant to save the concept of the Übermensch from the charge of Idealism.<ref>Rosen, ''The Mask of Enlightenment''.</ref> Rather than positing an as-yet unexperienced perfection, Nietzsche would be the prophet of something that has occurred an infinite number of times in the past. |
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| − | Many high-ranking [[Nazism|Nazis]], including [[Alfred Baeumler]], admired parts of Nietzsche's philosophy and sought to adapt it to fit their own visions of super-human beings and an [[Aryan race|Aryan]] "master race" ([[Herrenvolk]]). The biologicalisation of the concept of ''Übermensch'' was criticized by [[Martin Heidegger]]'s ''Nietzsche'',<ref>Heidegger's defense of Nietzsche against Alfred Baeumler's [[ideology|ideological]] interpretation would later be used by Heidegger's partisans (notably his ex-students the Jewish philosopher [[Hannah Arendt]] and [[Jean-Paul Sartre]], who had participated in anti-Nazi resistance) to discharge him of accusations concerning his ties to the Nazi regime and the [[NSDAP]]</ref> because this biological interpretation significantly departed from Nietzsche's original ideas. In ''[[The Case of Wagner]]'' and ''[[Nietzsche Contra Wagner]]'', he bitterly criticized the German artist, partly because of [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s [[pan-Germanism]] and [[antisemitism]]. It is widely thought that Nietzsche's sister, [[Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche]], who was an avowed anti-semite, contributed greatly to this misconception by deliberately misrepresenting his work. Philologists [[Giorgio Colli]] and [[Mazzino Montinari]] proved this in the 1960s when editing, for the first time ever, Nietzsche's complete posthumous fragments. The Nazis themselves reinterpreted and appropriated elements of many philosophical and religious texts, including Nietzsche's.
| + | Others<!---I know people say this; just can't be bothered right now to search files for who. Please correct my laziness.—-> maintain that willing the eternal recurrence of the same is a necessary step if the Übermensch is to create new values, untainted by the spirit of gravity or asceticism. Values involve a rank-ordering of things, and so are inseparable from approval and disapproval; yet it was dissatisfaction that prompted men to seek refuge in other-worldliness and embrace other-worldly values. Therefore, it could seem that the Übermensch, in being devoted to any values at all, would necessarily fail to create values that did not share some bit of asceticism. Willing the eternal recurrence is presented as accepting the existence of the low while still recognizing it as the low, and thus as overcoming the spirit of gravity or asceticism. |
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| − | ===Misleading translation===<!-- This section is linked from [[Übermensch]] -->
| + | Still others<!---I know people say this; just can't be bothered right now to search files for who. Please correct my laziness.---> suggest that one must have the strength of the Übermensch in order to will the eternal recurrence of the same. This action nearly kills Zarathustra, for example, and most human beings cannot avoid other-worldliness because they really are sick, not because of any choice they made. |
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| − | The translation of ''Übermensch'' as "Superman" may compound the misconception. ''[[Über]]'' is, among other things, the German equivalent of the prefix trans-. It has also gained a colloquial use in English with (sometimes spelled "ueber" or "uber"). Examples of prefixed words in German with the "trans-" meaning are: ''Überwindung'' ("overcoming"), ''überstehen''/''durchstehen'' ("come through"/"get over"), ''übersetzen'' ("literal:"over setting"/"translate"/"take across"). Some scholars therefore prefer the translation "overman", not simply because this best captures the other meaning of ''über'' ("[[transman]]" refers to transgender in English) but because the point of the ''Übermensch'' is that man needs to ''overcome''.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}
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| − | Furthermore, the German [[adjective]] ''übermenschlich'' (above/beyond human) is common and used in contexts such as "''mit übermenschlichen Kräften gelang es ihm…''" ("with a force no human being is capable of he managed to…" or "with superhuman force…"), the connotation is that of leaving the human sphere. Parallel constructions can be found in ''übernatürlich'' ("no longer natural", "transcendental"), ''überirdisch'' ("heavenly", literally "unearthly"). "Superman" lacks the German connotation of a sphere beyond human knowledge and power.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}In addition, ''Mensch'' is less specifically male than the English "man", closer at times to the English "human". ''Mensch'' is to be understood as a neutral form of a noun.
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| − | ==In popular culture==
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| − | The inescapable reference to the Übermensch is the American comic book character [[Superman]]; however, this comic book character (despite having tremendous physical and mental capabilities) is closer to a Last Man than an Übermensch, in that the character enforces and conforms strongly to pre-existing American cultural and especially moral norms.
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| − | * [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]], in his 1866 novel ''[[Crime and Punishment]]'', anticipated the Übermensch concept: the book's main character, Raskolnikov, justifies an act of murder he commits by deciding that he, as a superior being, is not bound by the normal rules of morality. Raskolnikov identifies [[Napoleon]] as having been an Übermensch and seeks to emulate him, though his attempt fails - he is full of scruples and remorse, and in the end he finds solace in [[Christian]] morality.
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| − | * Chester Coote, a character in the [[H. G. Wells]] novel ''[[Kipps]]'', negatively references the Overman theory.
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| − | * [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s 1903 play ''[[Man and Superman]]'' is a reference to the archetype; its main character considers himself an untameable revolutionary, above the normal concerns of humanity.
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| − | * The television series ''[[Andromeda (TV series)|Andromeda]]'' has characters called "[[Nietzschean (Andromeda)|Nietzschean]]s" who have applied [[selective breeding]], [[genetic engineering]] and [[nano-technology]] to themselves in order to become a race of Übermenschen. Those who distrust them refer to these Nietzscheans derogatively as "Ubers".
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| − | * [[Jack London]] is considered to have intended to his character [[Wolf Larsen]], the sea captain in his book ''[[The Sea Wolf]]'', as "an attack on Nietzsche's super-man philosophy".
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| − | * In real life, [[Leopold and Loeb]] committed an act of murder in 1924 partly out of a similar Übermensch-like conception of themselves.<ref>[http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/nietzsche_crimes/index.html "Nietzsche inspired Hitler and other killers"], Court TV Crime Library</ref> Their story has been fictionalized many times, including in the [[Alfred Hitchcock]] movie ''[[Rope (film)|Rope]]'' and the 2002 movie ''[[Murder by Numbers]]''.
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| − | * In [[C. S. Lewis]]'s [[Narnia]] book ''[[The Magician's Nephew]]'', the character of [[Uncle Andrew]] sends his nephew, [[Digory Kirke]], into an unknown world. Uncle Andrew had tricked Digory's friend, [[Polly Plummer]], into putting on a yellow ring which transports her to the "[[Wood between the Worlds]]." Not knowing where she has gone, Digory is incensed by his uncle's behavior. He tells his uncle to bring her back to which his uncle replies that "rules of that sort, however excellent they may be for little boys—and servants—and women—and even people in general, can't possibly be expected to apply to profound students and great thinkers and sages. No, Digory. Men like me who possess hidden wisdom are freed from common rules." (p. 16, New York: Macmillian Publishing, 1988)
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| − | *The [[Space Trilogy]], also by C. S. Lewis, offers several fictional treatments of the Übermensch. In [[Perelandra]], [[Professor Weston]], or the "Un-man" as he later becomes known, is a naturalist and renowned physicist who gives up morality in favour of "preaching the gospel of life itself.” Over the course of the first two books, his soul rots from the inside out and his body becomes a living corpse possessed by [[Satan]]. In ''[[That Hideous Strength]]'', the characters Frost and Wither, a pair of historical materialists who as part of their philosophies reject morality, follow a similar arc, and are also critical treatments of the Übermensch. Lewis may have based Weston, Frost, and Wither in part on Nietzsche himself.
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| − | * ''[[The X-Files]]'' episode "[[List of The X-Files episodes|Arcadia]]" features a creature called "Übermenscher".
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| − | * [[Grant Morrison]]'s comics, particularly [[The Invisibles]] and [[The Filth]], frequently feature characters and storylines preoccupied with a hypothetical evolution beyond the human form. The Invisibles character Jack Frost, in particular, can be seen as a [[Thus Spoke Zarathustra|Zarathustra]]-like agent of human evolution. However, many villains in the same comic are also avowedly transhumanist.
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| − | * In [[Revolutionary Girl Utena]] Tsuwabuki's duel chorus,"Absolute Conic Egg Algebra", has a whole verse about Übermensch.
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| | ==Notes== | | ==Notes== |
| | {{reflist}} | | {{reflist}} |
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| | + | ==See also== |
| | + | *[[Nazism and race]] |
| | + | *[[Great man theory]] |
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| | ==External links== | | ==External links== |
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- The title of this article contains the character Ü. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Uebermensch.
The Übermensch (German: Übermensch ▶) is a concept in the Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. It is frequently translated as Superman or Overman, though there are problems with both of these. Nietzsche posited the Übermensch as a goal for humanity to set for itself in his 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra (German: Also Sprach Zarathustra).
The book's protagonist, Zarathustra, contends that "man is something which ought to be overcome":
All beings so far have created something beyond themselves; and do you want to be the ebb of this great flood and even go back to the beasts rather than overcome man? What is the ape to man? A laughingstock or a painful embarrassment. And man shall be just that for the overman: a laughingstock or a painful embarrassment…
There is no consensus regarding the precise meaning of the Übermensch, or even the overall importance of the concept in Nietzsche's thought.
Übermensch in English
The first translation of Thus Spoke Zarathustra into English, done by Thomas Common in 1909, rendered Übermensch as "Superman;" Common was anticipated in this by George Bernard Shaw, who did the same in his 1905 Man and Superman. Walter Kaufmann slammed this translation in the 1950s for failing to capture the nuance of the German über and for promoting a puerile identification with the comic-book character Superman. His preference was to translate Übermensch as "overman." Scholars continue to employ both superman and overman, some opting to simply reproduce the German word.
The German prefix über can have connotations of superiority, transcendence, excessiveness, or intensity, depending on the words to which it is appended.[1] Mensch refers to members of the human race, rather than to men emphatically. The adjective übermenschliches means superhuman, in the sense of beyond human strength or out of proportion to humanity.
This-worldliness
Nietzsche introduces the concept of the Übermensch in contrast to the other-worldliness of Christianity: Zarathustra proclaims the Übermensch to be the meaning of the earth and admonishes his audience to ignore those who promise other-worldly hopes in order to draw them away from the earth. The turn away from the earth is prompted, he says, by a dissatisfaction with life, a dissatisfaction that causes one to create another world in which those who made one unhappy in this life are tormented. The Übermensch is not driven into other worlds away from this one.
The Christian escape from this world also required the invention of a soul which would be separate from the body and survive the body's death. Part of other-worldliness, then, was the denigration and mortification of the body, or asceticism. Zarathustra further links the Übermensch to the body and to interpreting the soul as simply an aspect of the body.
As the drama of Thus Spoke Zarathustra progresses, the turn to metaphysics in philosophy and Platonism in general come to light as manifestations of other-worldliness, as well. Truth and nature are inventions by means of which men escape from this world. The Übermensch is also free from these failings.
The Death of God and the Creation of New Values
Zarathustra ties the Übermensch to the death of God, meaning specifically the Christian God. While this God was the ultimate expression of other-worldly values and the instincts that gave birth to those values, belief in that God nevertheless did give life meaning for a time. The time has come when serious human beings can no longer believe in God, however—God is dead, meaning that the idea of God can no longer provide values. With the sole source of values no longer capable of providing those values, there is a real danger of nihilism.
Zarathustra presents the Übermensch as the creator of new values. In this way, it appears as a solution to the problem of the death of God and nihilism. Because the Übermensch acts to create new values within the moral vacuum of nihilism, there is nothing that this creative act would not justify. Alternatively, in the absence of this creation, there are no grounds upon which to criticize or justify any action, including the particular values created and the means by which they are promulgated.
In order to avoid a relapse into Platonic Idealism or asceticism, the creation of these new values cannot be motivated by the same instincts that gave birth to those tables of values. Instead, they must be motivated by a love of this world and of life. Whereas Nietzsche diagnosed every value-system hitherto known as a reaction against life and hence destructive in a sense, the new values which the Übermensch will be responsible for will be life-affirming and creative.
Übermensch as Goal
Zarathustra first announces the Übermensch as a goal humanity can set for itself. All human life would be given meaning by how it advanced the generation of this higher, transhuman type. The highest aspiration of a woman would be to give birth to an Übermensch, for example; her relationships with men would be judged by this standard.
This aspect of the Übermensch has reminded some of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer. But whereas evolution via natural selection or survival of the fittest proceeds without being intended by any member of the species, the transition from humanity to Übermensch must be willed.
Zarathustra contrasts the Übermensch with the last man, an alternative goal which humanity might set for itself. The last man appears only in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and is presented as a condition that would render the creation of the Übermensch impossible.
Nietzsche associates the Übermensch with a program of eugenics. This is most pronounced when considered in the aspect of a goal that humanity sets for itself. The reduction of all psychology to physiology and even physiognomy implies that human beings can be bred for cultural traits. This aspect of Nietzsche's doctrine focuses more on the future of humanity than on a single cataclysmic individual. There is no consensus regarding how this aspect of the Übermensch relates to the creation of new values.
Relation to the Eternal Recurrence
The Übermensch shares a place of prominence in Thus Spoke Zarathustra with another of Nietzsche's key concepts: the eternal recurrence of the same. Over the course of the drama, the latter waxes as the former wanes. Several interpretations for this fact have been offered.
Laurence Lampert suggests that the eternal recurrence replaces the Übermensch as the object of serious aspiration.[2] This is in part due to the fact that even the Übermensch can appear like an other-worldly hope. The Übermensch lies in the future—no historical figures have ever been Übermenschen—and so still represents a sort of eschatological redemption in some future time.
Stanley Rosen, on the other hand, suggests that the doctrine of eternal return is an esoteric ruse meant to save the concept of the Übermensch from the charge of Idealism.[3] Rather than positing an as-yet unexperienced perfection, Nietzsche would be the prophet of something that has occurred an infinite number of times in the past.
Others maintain that willing the eternal recurrence of the same is a necessary step if the Übermensch is to create new values, untainted by the spirit of gravity or asceticism. Values involve a rank-ordering of things, and so are inseparable from approval and disapproval; yet it was dissatisfaction that prompted men to seek refuge in other-worldliness and embrace other-worldly values. Therefore, it could seem that the Übermensch, in being devoted to any values at all, would necessarily fail to create values that did not share some bit of asceticism. Willing the eternal recurrence is presented as accepting the existence of the low while still recognizing it as the low, and thus as overcoming the spirit of gravity or asceticism.
Still others suggest that one must have the strength of the Übermensch in order to will the eternal recurrence of the same. This action nearly kills Zarathustra, for example, and most human beings cannot avoid other-worldliness because they really are sick, not because of any choice they made.
Notes
- ↑ Duden Deutsches Universal Wörterbuch A–Z, s.v. über-.
- ↑ Lampert, Nietzsche's Teaching.
- ↑ Rosen, The Mask of Enlightenment.
See also
- Nazism and race
- Great man theory
External links
| Friedrich Nietzsche |
|---|
| | Major works | The Birth of Tragedy · Human, All Too Human · The Gay Science · Thus Spoke Zarathustra · Beyond Good and Evil · On the Genealogy of Morality · The Case of Wagner · Twilight of the Idols · The Antichrist · Ecce Homo · Nietzsche contra Wagner | Nietzsche | | | Philosophy | Apollonian and Dionysian · Eternal return · God is dead · Herd instinct · Last Man · Master-slave morality · Nietzschean affirmation · Perspectivism · Ressentiment · Transvaluation of values · Tschandala · Übermensch · The Will to Power | | | Related | Works by Nietzsche · Works about Nietzsche · Comparison with Kierkegaard · Influence and reception of Nietzsche · Nietzsche-Archiv · Nietzsche Music Project |
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