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Essay / Examining Friedrich's Good and Bad Conscience...
Friedrich Nietzsche is recognized as one of the most influential German philosophers of the modern era. He is known for his work on the genealogy of morality, which is a way of studying values and concepts. In Genealogy of Morals, Friedrich Nietzsche mentions that values and concepts have a history because of the many different meanings that come with it. Nietzsche focused on traditional ethical theories, particularly those rooted in religion. Not being a religious man, he believed that human life had no moral purpose other than the meaning that human beings gave it. People from different backgrounds and historical circumstances change the meaning of morality, adapting it to the norms of their society. For example, the concept of what is "good" in ancient Greek culture meant aristocratic, noble, powerful, rich, pure, but not in the modern era. This means that in the past, the term "good" was not applied to a type of act someone did, but rather to the type of person and their background. Nietzsche's project was to help broaden understanding by re-examining morality through the genealogy of morality; help one be more aware of potential confusion in moral thinking. He believes that the current values and concepts that have been instilled in a society are a reversal of the truth, forcing him to believe that moral systems must have been created within society. In works on the genealogy of morality, Nietzsche traces the origins of the concepts of guilt and bad conscience, which will be at the center of the debate, and explains its role in Nietzsche's project against morality. It will be said that guilt and bad conscience go against Nietzsche's role against morality because they can conflict with the moral milieu...... middle of paper ...... the reason why this situation would go against morality is that the person be punished for their actions because it goes against the moral code of society. In conclusion, there is no absolute truth or meaning behind the concepts and values of guilt and bad conscience, except for the meanings that human beings give them. Because of the meanings that human beings give to values and concepts, Nietzsche is free to state that, in his view, guilt and bad conscience work against its role against morality because they can conflict with the moral codes of society. What society considers morally right determines whether a certain concept or value goes against it. As Nietzsche may have already mentioned, the history and meanings behind a concept or value are not created by the world but by different groups with different cultural heritages and beliefs..