Human Morality

Paper Summary:

The paper explores the philosophical works "The Genealogy of Morals" by Friedrich Nietzsche, and "Ethics" by Baruch Spinoza, which provide differing opinions on what human morality means. The paper discusses how Nietzsche says that morals are a result of trying to deter others from having power, while Spinoza says that they come from God's virtues.

From the Paper:

"Nietzsche restricts the presence of God in his equation by saying that the concepts of good and evil have changed with the progression of history and that these two paradigms of human behavior and secular code will continue to evolve toward the demands of a changing society. Nietzsche, therefore, makes the argument that morals are constructs of the times in which we will and have evolved much as human beings have over the ages, but that this is not necessarily a good thing because it is meant as a manner of preventing others from having control over us. This is because people inherently wish to exercise power over others and morals are a way of leveling things off so that the strongest members of society do not dominate, as Nietzsche emphasizes.."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Nietzsche, Friedrich. "On the Genealogy of Morals." 1887. (Online). Available: http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/Nietzsche/genealogytofc.htm.
• Spinoza, Baruch. "Ethics." Citadel Press. New York. 1995.

More papers on Human Morality:

• Comparison Essay # 112051 : "The Basis of Human Morality"
• Comparison Essay # 116622 : "Nietzsche and Spinoza on Human Morality"
• Analytical Essay # 1566 : "Human Morality in "Huck Finn" and "A Connecticut Yankee"

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