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C-30, etses amendements subsquents.Nietzsche's Etbical Vision:An Examination of the Moral and Political Philosophyof Friedrich NietzscheFredrick AppelDepartment ofPolitical ScienceMcGill University, MontrealJune, 1995A thesis submitted 10 the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research inpartialfulfilment ofthe requirements of the degree ofPh.D.~ FredrickAppel, 19951+1 National Ubraryof CanadaBibliothque nationaledu CanadaAcquisitions and Direction des acquisitions etBibliographie Services Branch des services bibliographiques395 Wellington Streel 395. rue WelhnglonOttawa. 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Ni la thse ni des extraitssubstantiels de celle-ci nedoivent tre imprims ouautrement reproduits sans sonautorisation.ISBN 0-612-08076-5CanadaAbstractThis dissertation argues that a pervasive ethical vision underlies the work ofFriedrich NietzsChe (1844-1900): a concem for the possibility of human flourishingin the modern world. Notwithstanding NietzsChe's celebrated daim to he "beyondgood and evil", and against the standard interpretation of bis "pelSpCCtivism", it isargued that Nietzsche makes qualitative, normative distinctions between higher,admirable modes ofhuman existence and lower, contemptible ones, and that hewishes through bis writings to foster the former and discourage the latter.Furthermore, it is argued that Nietzsche believes human excellence to he theproperty of a small minority of "higher" human heings, and that he identifies theproject ofencouraging human excellence with a political imperative ofcultivatingthis gifted lite. The dissertation also argues that Nietzsche's piCtu1'e of the fullyflourishing human life suffers from a number ofinconsistencies that may he traeedback to bis vaciUation between two incompatible moral discourses: an Aristoteliandiscourse emphasising the importance ofcertain "external goods" (e.g. friendship,recognition, community) in a fully flourishing life, and a rival, Stoic-influenceddiscourse stressing the virtuous individual's total sclf-sufficiency. An examinationis made ofNietzsehe's stance towards the following key concepts and questions:truth, morality, virtue, instinct and "bodily" knowledge, nature, creativity,rationality, discipline and self-masteIy, freedom, solitude and sociability,friendship, community, pity, breeding and heredity, women and gender relations,and domination.RsumCette thse veut dmontrer que l'oeuvre de Friedrich Nietzsehe (1844-1900) estsoutenue par une vision thique, c'est--dire par un souci de l'q,anouisseme1J.t del'homme dans la modernit. Lathse, allant rencontre de l'interprtationorthodoxe du enuine [Wahrluiftig] - that is what 1call himwho goes into god-forsakendeserts and bas broken bis venerating heart [sein verehrendes Herz]." (ZfiOFP) In the midst of Zarathustra's chastisement ofthe so-called "higher men"we leamthat one ofthe clearest signs oftheir moral-spiritual impoverishment istheir not having "suffered enough" (ZIV OHM6). Am e a ~ of the depthofour examination oflife, Zarathustra suggests earlier. is the depth ofoursuffering.33Suffering [Leid]. then, is an essential part ofthe packageofauthentic self-overcoming and a preconditionofcreativity. There is "muchbitter dying" (ZfiOBI) in the life ofthe creative individual; ie. one must heprepared tocountenance mpeatedzeenminations - andeven l'ejection- of one's mostcberishedbeliefs and closest relationships inorder to reemerge as a "child new-bom".34 Onewho aspires to this new-bomstatus "must also hewilling to he33 "[A]s cleeply as manlooks into life, 50 cleeply does he look also intosuffering [$0 tiefder Mensch in dos LebensWa. so tiefsieht er auch in dosLeiden]." (ZmOVR1) The suggestion that suffering is a precondition for thecultivationofbnman excellence is also madepowerfuIly in BGE225: "Thediscipline ofsuffering. ofgreat suffering - do you DOt knowthat it is thisdiscipline alone whichbas createdeveryelevationofmankind bitbcrto? Sec alsoWP910: "To those humanbeings who are of any concemto me 1wishsuffering. desolation, siclmess. ill-treatrnent, indignities._ 1wish themthe onlything that canprovetoday whcther one is worthy anytbingor DOt - that oneendures." One ofthe ttu1y coutemptiblefeatures ofanslave DlOIlI1ity. forNietzsche. is its desire to abolish an manner ofsuffering, its aspiration for whathe refeI:s to dcdsive1y as an "English bappiness". ie. a lifecIwacterised 501elyby the pmsuit of "comfort and fashion" (BGE228).3'J "One pays deady for beingimmortal: onebas to dieseveral tilDes whilealive." (EH"Z" S) Leiter rightly observes tbat N"JetzsChe sees suffering as aprequisile ofany great bnman achievement (Leiter 1995: 31). His account ofthe itapoltanNietzsche atttibutes to suffering is flawed. however. in one204the mother and endure the mother's pain." (Ibid.) The metaphor of maternaIlabour pain reappears once again in the Preface to the Gay Science. whenNietzsche insists that "we have to give birth to our thoughts out ofour pain.Only great pain is the ultimaIe herator of the spirit." (GS Pref. 3)35Nietzschesees one ofbis most important but difficult tasks as encouragingbis fellow travellers to embrace this 10neIiness and suffering by breaking withtheir primary communities. "One forgets what one bas leamed about men,"wams zarathustra, "when one lives among men... [W]hat can far-seeing. far-seeking eyes do there!" (ZmHC) Nietzsebe's position appears to he: nopsychological distance from the herd without physical separation fromit. In theabsence of this physical and psychological distance, one cannat adopt thesuperior bird's eye viewofthe wood desaibed in Chapter 1, the objec've viewofhowthings truly aIe. Even the comforting camaraderie ofthe youthful,ideaHstic worshippers smrounding zarathustra is no substitute for the insightsderived froma period ofenforcedsolitude. As Z3rathustramentions to bisloving disciples in Z1OBV3. "[y]ou had not yet sought yomselves when youfound me. Thus do all believers; therefore all beliefis ofso little account."Although these youthful, nasnt noble types took an important stcp in negaringtheir a:)11 In"mities oforlgin. they betrayedtheir continued attachment to servile.communal values by foIming a newsort ofreligions cult ofdevotion andimportant respect Leiter appears to assume thatN"1etz5Che hadphysicalsufCering in mindfirst andfoIemost, and attributes this to Nietzsche's ownfrequent physical sufCerings throught the ISSOs (1995: 32). Without attemptingto deny the influence Nietzsebe's poor bea1thhadon bis WIiting (an influenceNietzsche bimselfdiscussed; e.g. EH"WISe" 1),1think the emphasis onphysical pain1II1derestj"'afr:Sthe degJ:eeto whichNietzsche spcaks ofthepsychicsuffering that is necmarily a part ofbreaking away fromhearthand home.35 Thisportrait ofthenoble. heroic sufferinginvolved inbreaking withpast,deeply-heldloyalties is quite diffcnt fromNietzsche's afOO::11"'otionedt r e a t m e n ~ oftheknawing, morbidsuffering ofthe slave type (Olapter IV).Unlike noble suffering, seenas the by-product ofthe all-consumiog desiIeforself-improvetDCllt, p1ebeian suffering is tracedbackto the slave type's dimawareness ofbis own inadequacies and wretchedness.205worship. with Zarathustra as its godhead. Uoless the abject of their venerationgently pusbes themaway onto solitaly paths. they may tum into the pathetic. 50-called "bighermen" burlesqued in Part IV. who bang on Zarathustra's everyward while never really understanding what he says. Like the "king on theright". the}' will find meaning and value only in the persan of their Master:"'There is no longer any point in living, it is a11 one, everything is in vain: exceptwe live withZarathustra!'" (ZIVG)Ta counteraet the danger ofbacks1iding into servile dependency. Zarathustrabids bis young friends ta "find themselves" by leaving him(Z1OBV 3). Inconttast ta Christ, who. through divine omniscience, prediets bis disciples'betrayal and retums resurreeted despite this tteaehe1y. Zarathustta encouragesbetrayal and makes bis mumconditional upon it: "ooly whenyou have a11denied me will Imumtayou." (Ibid.)Bidding bis young protgs to depart, while essential for their furtherdeveJopment, is not easy for a mentor who is far fromimmune from thesewann, seductive feelings ofattaehment andcamaraderie. Nietzsche urges us,however. tobe suspicious of such longing for companionship and love, ofthe"involuntaly b1iss" [Seglceit wider Wdlen] coming "out of season" (ZmOIB)wbich may seduce us inta comp1omising our bighest aspirations and potentiaJ.into abandoning thejourney ofself-overcoming. We must not, in other words,become comp1antly satisfiMinour dcpendent attaehment ta eachother andassume that this feeling ofsatiaton repsents the end ofourjourney.For Nietzsche, moral-spiritual mannity cannat he akinta b1issful stagnationandthe self-satisfacti'>Dthatcomes withthe be1iefthatonebas fina11y attainedone's ethical los. Committedta the ideaofperpetual self-improvement, hemakes bis literaIy aeaton impLess upon bis disciples that "mak[mg] peace [ISonly] amcansta newwars." (Z1OWW) B1issful peace ofmind must give way206ta the terrible. war-like, psychic agony of soliwde !bat is the precondition ofmoraI and spiritual independence and further growth. At the end of this samesection, Zarathustra compares the tempting, facile bappiness !bat pursues himtaa woman who aims to dominait: ber man and suppress bis independencealtogether (Ibid.).36 One must develop a "hatred ofIove" ofthis sort (HAH1Pref.3). ZaratilUStIa bas this sort of"desire for love" [das Behehren nochliebe] in mind when he decIares: "To desire -!bat nowmeans to me: to have lostmyself [Begehren - das heijJt mir schon: mich verloren haben].." (ZmOIB)For Nietzsche. this is type of "love" is in filet pseudo-love; through Zarathustra,he argues !bat one does not yet know love's troe meaning ifone bas not drunkfIom the cup ofbittemess: "There is a bittemess [Bittemis] in the cup ofeventhe best love: thus it arouses longing for the Superman [Sehnsucht zwnO1Jermenschen], thus it arouses thirst in you, the creator!" (Z1OMC)37 Truelove must involve a passionate commitment to self-betterment, which, as weshall sec, involves improving the species. "What is great in man," declaresZarathustra at the beginning and once againnear the end of bis adventl.Jn:S, Histhat he is a bridge and not a goal; what cao be loved in man is that he is agoing-across and adown-going rein t1beI'gUIIg und ein Untergang ist]." (ZPrologue4; andZIVOHM3)36 N"1etZScl1e thereby de"'Olll>1:laICSa continuity with the traditionofcivicrepublicaopolitical philosophy, ie. with thinkers like Aristotle. MachiaveIli, andRousseau, aIl ofwhominfamously ac:sociate the influence ofwomen over menwith the coauption of(male) civic virtue. Sec Cbapter IX.n Inthe next cbapterI shall argue that N1etZScl1e associates truc friendship withan UI1COIIIp1omising jeetion ofthecomplacent pseudo-Iove that, inbis view,serves ta steer us away fromthe ceaseIess suivingfor self-improvemeut. Onemust cultivate inoneselfand encourage in one's friends a "haIdness".207We began this chapter with an examination of Nietzsehe's stress on negation- i.e. bis critical debunking of inferior tables of values and the ideas and practicesreIated to them - as a precondition for moral-spiritual se1f-improvement. ANietzschean affitmation of "life", 1argued, should not be equated with anindiscriminate embrace of all manner of human existence; on the contrary, thehighest man must leam to shun and repudiate as well as to affirm. In particular,superior human beings should abandon their futile, wrong-headed efforts atreforming mainstreamsociety and its slavish-minded people (who, inNietzsche's fatalistic view, are beyond hope), and instead, under the guidance oftheir visceral, sensitive "psychological antennae", exert hea1thy, se1f-defensivestrategies aimed at sheltering themse1ves from all manner of contemptuous,"herd" influt'.nce.Nietzsche speaks in terms of se1f-defense becanse of bis view!bat badcompany and (in general) a deleterious milieu may subvert the highest humanbeing's potential for greatness by fotcing himte needlessly expend vital, creativeenergy for se1f-proteetive pmposes. Inparticular, Nietzsche is concemed!batthe critical, negating spirit, ifleft indefinite1y inthe midst ofa contemptiblesociety, will overwhelmthe mespirited rebel complete1y, thereby stifling bisessentially affumative, Jasagen-ing disposition. Nietzsche explores inthiscontext the dangers of the nihilistic personality, !bat pathology of untramrnelednegationbarn ofyouthful, bitter disillusionment at the shattering of naIve,complacent belief. It is this concemfor the well-beng ofthe mespirit !batcompe1s Nietzsche te encourage inbis select readers notjust a noble aloofnessfromthe herd. but a sttonger, visceral feeling ofcontempt and a desire te flee atallcosts. ~Thebest self-defensive strategy, in Nietzsche's view, is a distancing one,involving a complete break- physica1 as welll\!: psychological- with the hetd-208like community as a whole. He acknowledges !bat the sort of whole-scaIerepudiation !bat he countenances - involving. for example, a break with one'simmediate family.long-time mends. and with long-cherished values - will tumthe free spirited type into a social pariah and cause himgreat persona! anguish.In order tu hearten those ofhis select readelS who may he contemplating such amove. Nietzsche insists !bat such persona! suffering is in fact a precondition forfurther moral-spiritual growth. Those who embrace it, and suffer the mockeryand/or rejection of lower order people, showadmirable courage anddetermination. Nietzsche aiso empresses upon us the unavoidability ofthis typeof suffering. in light of howdeeply internalisedslave moral categories are in thehearts of nascent noble types and of how difficult it wouldhe to effect such adrastic change in value stances.The suffering is also. Nietzsche hopes, temporary. As wc shall sec in thenext chapter. Nietzsche argues that the future-oriented optimism ofthose whoovercome the temptations ofnihilism by f1eeing mainstream, heIdsociety caohesustained in the long run onlyby arrempting tu reconnect with humanity. After anecessaI)'. cJeansingperiod of solitude, the free spirit must seekout and findsuitable companions in orderto continue bis moral-spiritualjoumey.Nietzsche also believes, however. that wc caoenter into a friendship ofthishigher sort ooly after wc have traVCISCd a difficult, solitaI)' periodin which wcsucceed in adoptiDg an affirmative stance withrespect to our ownpast andto thepastingeneral. This "Iedemptoo" ofthepast [Die VergangenzuerlOsen] (ZnOR; zmONL3). suggests Nietzsche, cornes through an inward, psychological"stretching" !bat is saidto result fromCC1ndnctiDg a thought experiment known asthe Etemal Return ofthe Same. h is to Nietzsche's account of theEtemalRetum, and to bis viewofthe sort offriendship po8S1ole in its aftermath, that weDOW tom.209Chapter vu; Reconstituting the Master (3); Jasagen and the "Que forFriendship and CommunjtySaying "Yes" 10 the past; EtemaI Return of the SameDescribed variously as "the highest formula of affirmation [die hOchsteformelder Bejahung] that can possibly be attained" (EH "zn 1) and as a "vast andboundless declaration of Yes and Amen" [das lUlgeheure unbegrenzte Ja- undAmen-sagen] (ZIDBS), Nietzsche's doctrine ofEtemal Retum represents a rite ofpassage tbrough which the individual ofnoble sensibility must pass on the way tofull human flourishing. Tbrough successful conduct ofthis difficult thoughtexperiment, the noble type supposedly demonstrates a healthy, unql!a1ified self-love as well as a love oflife itse1f, in all ofits imperfections.lSuccessful performance ofthis thought experiment involves recognising andembracing one ofthose "haId ttuths" that, as wc noted in Chapter 1, Nietzschesees few people as being able ta countenance: the idea that our so-called "errors",and the suffering that goes with them, conlnDute as much ta our self-developmentas our joys and triumphs. "[E]ven the blunders oflife," argues Nietzsche, "thetemporary siclepaths andwrong tumings have their own meaning and value.They are an expression ofa great sagacity, even the supIeIIlC sagacity" (EH"Oever" 9) As wc notedin the last chapter, Nietzsche believes that one must passtbroughperiods ofgreat persona! upheaval and anguish, suffer ridicule andostraeism, and talmany "wrong" tums in arder ta attain the lofty moral andspiritual outlookofthe highest man. Were this superior individualgiven thehypothelical chance ta live bis lifeover again, Nietzsche believes that ifhe ttuly1 Although tbroughout this work1have made many criticisms ofNehamas'inle1pretationofNietzsche, 1find bis viewofthe Etemal Retumas apsychologicaldoctrine, rather than a cosmological theoIy, compe1Ijng. Sec Nehamas 1985: 141-169.210loves himself (and he must, if he is to qualify as a "highest man"), he wouldassent unhesitatingiy 10 the whole process again. 'Was that hfe?" remaries thehighest sort of man. 'WeU then!" he courageously decides: "Once more!" (ZmOVRl)The Etemal Retum doctrine, moreover. involves imaginatively embracing theprospect ofa hypothetical, never-ending repetition aIl ofexistence, and not simplythe retumofincidents related directly to one's own life. "My formula forgreatness in a human bcing," declares Nietzsche towards the end of bis career. "isamorloti: that one wants nothing to be other than it S... Not merely to endure thatwhich happens of neeessty. stilliess to dissemble it - an ideaJism is untruthfulnessin the face of necessity - but to love it..."(EH "Oever" 10)Given the discriminating soul's keen awareness of the Rongordnung betweennobility and wlgarity and bis utter contempt for the latter, it is easy to appreciatehow such an individual, al first giance, would view the prospect ofsuch anUDconditional embrace withhorror. 'Ibis thought experiment, after an, entailsimaging the etemaI recurrence Dot just ofan that is beautiful, but ofugliness asweil; even ofthe contemptably wlgar, slave-like man: ""l'he man ofwhomyouaIe weary, the little man, recurs etemally'," 2'.arathustrarepeats incredulously tohimself. " .. etemaI recuaence even for the smallest! that was my disgust al anexistence [das war mein OberdrujJ an allemDasein]!" (ZmC2)2 Nietzsche'sharsh thought experiment is onethat envisages affiImation "evenofsuffering[Leiden]. even ofguilt [Schuld], even ofan that is strange and questionab1e inexistence [allem Fragwiirdigen und Fremden des Daseins]" (EH "BT" 2)zarathustra, hecanse of bis visceral IeVu1sion oftheherd, initially deems this ideaan "abysmal thought" [abgriindlichen Gedanken]. (ZnOSO) The same phrase is2 Nietzsche lays out thematter morepeISOnally, andeuttingly,inEH"WlSC" 3:"1COIeSS that the deepest objection to the 'Etemal Recmrence', my idea fromtheabyss, is always my mother and my sister."211invoked once again in Z mom, when Zarathustra concedes he has yet tosummon the strength ofcharacter and "arrogance" [Obermute] required to"summon [it] up." (Ibid.)Nietzsche wants to convince us, however, that heing an unconditionalaffinner ofall ofexistence need not entai! abandonment of our visceral disdain forvulgarity and baseness. He clearly wishes the higher sort ofman to retain bisdisJike for simple-minded, blindly optimistic aflirmation ofevetything. We haveaiready noted (but it bears repeating) Zarathustra's derisive description ofproponents ofindiscriminate, polyanna-ish aflirmation asthe all-contented [die Aligengsamen]J All-contentedness that knows how to taste everything:that is not the best taste! 1 honour the obstinate,fastidious tangues and stomachs [d i ewiderspenstigen wiihlerischen Zungen] that haveleamed to say T and 'Yes' and 'No'J But to chewand digest everything - that is to have a reallyswinish nature reine rechte Schweine-Art]! (ZmOSG2)Nietzsehe's vision ofJasagen, then, retains that sense of discriminating tasterequired in oIder ta encourage andpromote certain ways oflife and discourageotbers. "1 contradiet as bas neverbeen contradieted.," declares Nietzse:hc. addingcrucially that "[1] amnonethe1ess the opposite ofanegati.ve spirit." (EH "Destiny"1) SimiIarly, Zarathustra attellqllS ta explainta the IIIICOIIIp[ehending "frothingfool" that bis contempt "shall ascend fromlove aIone .. [Aus der Liebe a1lein soUmirmein Verachten _. mifIliegen]" (ZmOPB) Tbc apparent paradox is Dot loston Nietzse:hc as he refIeets onbis famous literary aeation: "Tbc psychologicalproblemin the type ofZarathustrais howhe, who ta an unheard-of degree saysNo, does No ta evetything ta which one bas hitherto said Yes, cao nonetheless bethe opposite ofa spirit ofdenial -"(EH"Z" 6) Nietzsche wants ta convince us.then, that an jmaginative, loving embracc ofall that bas 00CUlTed is in faet212compatible with the maintenance of a heightened, discriminating sense. How is itpossible ta reconcile the two?Cearly the reconciliation is not easy; as we have just seen, Nietzsche calls it a"psychological problem". He believes that this unconditional, yet discriminatingembrace cmbe attained only by a mature individual, who bas developed a sttengthof character that appears only lifter the turbulence ofyouth bas subsided. It is onlyMat the midday ofour life," he informs us, "that we understand what preparations,bypaths, experiments, temptations, disguises the problemhad need ofbefore itwas al10wed ta rise up before U5." (HAH1Pref. 7) Successful conduct ofthisthought experiment, therefore, presupposes the overcoming of the dangers ofyouthful nihilism The highest man is ready ta embrace it only when he is able tekeep beauty and virtue in the forefront ofbis mind at all times. In other words,only when he cmconstantly remind hjmselfofthe peaks ofhnman achievement(of bis achievements, real or potential) cmhe bear ta embrace the full spectrumofhuman life, including its swamps and deepest gullies.This "embrace", as 1argued above, does Dot entail coming ta love the swamp;it refeIs rather ta an acl;nowledgement ofits necessity inthe scheme ofthings.Ugliness and vulgarity, believes Nietzsche, are obstacles that the superior manmust ovt:lcomeon the pathtaever-higher moral and spiritual deVe1opmc11t; theyare nessary inthis, strictly instrumental sense, and must thereforehe embracedin this spirit Our visceral revulsion inthe face ofthem, andthe unplCllSllDtconfrontation withthem, are an absolutely essential part ofthe process thatconsttucted who wc are. And if, ta IepC8t, we tIuly love howwc have turned out,wc must also concede the necessity ofthe ugly, contemptuous things that helpedmakeus who wc are.33 We shall IetuminQaptcr Xta this idea ofthe instrumental necessity ofugliness and vuIgarltyin the context ofa discnssion ofNietzsche's viewofmaslCr-slave relations. 1shall argue that Nietzsche contradicts bis view{professed213The EternaI Return and the Triumph over FoTtunaBy deciding to give bis unconditional stamp of approval to all of existence, thehighest man imaginatively subordinates Dasein to bis own affirming will.Nietzsche suggests. in effect, that this imaginative leap is tantamount to willingeverything into existence, to "bending and accommodating" reality to the highestman's all-powerful will. AIl that exis15, insis15 Zarathustra, "must become smoothand subject to the mind as the mind's mirror and reflection." (Z nOSO) Once onebas truly convinced oneself in this way of the will's absolute hegemony, the wholeidea of "misfortune" as an independent, mendacious force to which one isperpetually vulnerable lases i15 legitimacy. Througb. sheer force ofwill, thatwhich had once been seen - wrongly, impotently - as "misfortune" becomes adehDerately chosen 1001 ofmoral growth: "Fromyour poison you brewed yourbalsam; you milkffl your cow, aftlietion [Trbsal], nowyou drink the sweet milkofhec udder." (Z1OJP) The higbest man's will-power, in effect, renders himinvulnerable [Unverwundbar].4 Once wc have successfully run the gauntlet of theEtemal Return, tragedy can never againbreak, or eventoueh us: "[h]e who climbsupon the highest mountains," observes Zarathustra, "laughs at aIl tragedies, real orimaginary [lacht aber alIe Trauer-Spiele lI1I/l Trauer-Emste]." (Z1ORW)NIetzsche be1ieves bis thought e x p e r i m e n ~ ta be 50 empowerlng as ta banish thein GM) ofthe self-snfficiencyofthe highest type ofhlJ1D8n being in dceming theDatura1 slave type "necessary" (mthis iDstrumental sense) ta the deve10pment ofthe bighest type. .4 "yes, something invuInerable, UDbw:iable is within me rein Unvuwundbares,Unbegrabbares ist an mir], something that reuds rocks: it is calledmy W"11l.Silentlyit steps and unchangng through the yearsJ Itsball go i15 course upon myfeet, my oldWill; hlud ofheart andinvu1Dc:rable is i15 tenFJIaminvu1Dc:rableonly inmy hee1s. You live there and are always the same. most patient one! Youwill always bIeakout ofaIl graves!" (ZnPS) Just as IeVCa1ing is Zarathustra'scharaaerlsarionofthestrongwill as "thisdispellerofneed" [diese WendeallerNot]. (Z1OBV 1)214very notion of accidentaI 0CCIIlleIlCC (31 least with respect ta the superior man):Zarathustra serves notice !bat "[t]he time bas passed when accidents [Zlifd1le]could befall me; and what couid still come ta me !bat was not already my own?" (ZmW)SThe breathtaking audacity and courage required ta become a "redcemer ofchance" [Erliiser des Zufalls] (Zil OR; Z mONL3) in this sense is said ta bebeyond the reach of most people, who remain Fortune's "prisoner". (ZmONL3)The vast majority, claims NielZSChe, IOUtinely thinkthemselves 31 the behest offorces beyond their conlIOl, whether these forces aIe seen as stemming fromGodor as completely independent, capricious phenomena. Unable ta creatively rethinkthe pasto "he who is of the mob" [Pobel) uncritically submits ta its authority. AIl!bat is past, for this sort ofman, simply is "handed over" [Also ist allesVe1'8angene preisgegeben]. (ZmONL Il) Unable ta will the past, he "is only'willed', he is the sport ofevery wave" (Zm ONL 16), a fact !bat fills himwithregIet and recrlminarion.6 BitterlyIeSCI1tful ofthe cards !bat "fate" bas dealt bim,he cannot Iep1icate the courage ofthe higbest man andface unblinkingIy theprospect ofliving bis lifeover again inexactly the same way.The mediocre man's powerlessness in the face of"dreadful chance" [grauserZlifall] (Zil OR) fmtber encourages bis afOiementionedptedilection for fIustrationand rancor, not ta mentionrevenge (Chapter IV). Z8r!Uhustra observes howtheweak, servile will tums ill-tempered. "gnasbingits teeth" in its awaxeness ofitsown impotence (ZmONL3), and "tak[mg] revenge for its inability to go5 AnalternativestmIegy for makngoneselfinvulnerabletothe UD:ertainties offortune is the Schopenhmv::rjan attempt to stop willing altogetber. One is tberebysaidto attaina sense ofiDne:r peace!batis deniedthe agitatedindividual drivenbyan insatiable will NielzSche, bowever, deems this IOUte "afable song" (ZIVG)andsymptomatic ofweary. cIcgenerate, life-denyinginstincts.6 SeeZaJ:athuslIa's assessnentoftheso-called "highermcn" ofZIV. Unabletota!clwgeofand fully embracetbeirpast, tbey remain filled withgret: "Many aburden, many a memory weigbs down your shoulders; many an evil dwarfcrouches in your comers." (ZIVG)215backwards" (Zn OR) by making others suffer for its own impotence. "[T]bisalone," explains Zarathustra, ois revenge itse1f: the wiIJ's antipathy towards timeand time's 'It was'." (Ibid.)Nietzsche's doctrine of the Eternal Retumis therefore a test to see iftheprospective noble cao triumph over such rancor. and ultimately over whatNietzsche identifies as "the world's oldest nobility": "Lord Chance" [VonOhngeflihr - das ist der iilteste Adel der Welt]. (ZmBS) Although heconsiders bellefin radical contingency and flux infinitely preferable todetemlinistic religio-philosophical systems that insist upon a rationally struetureduniverse owing nothing ta human creativity.7 Niet:zselie envisioDS the highest mantuming that contingency into a neworder: bis own. Whereas "the senseIess. therneaningless" [der Unsinn, der Ohne-Sinn] rules over the vast majority ofmankind, Nietzsehe's highest man fulfils bis "nature" (mthe Aristotelian sensediscussed in ChapterIll) by h"beraling bimselffromthe domain ofchaos (Z1OBV2; Z mONL3).8 Kanfmann is quite right ta observe that Nietzsche'sphilosophical position "hinges onthe viewthat only the weak fear chaos whilepowerful natures organize il." (Kanfmann 1974: 293) Zarathustraseeks toembrace Chance ("my doctrine is: 'Let chance come ta IDC." Z mOMO) Dot tacelebrate the essential meaningIessness or radical contingencyofexistence (as the7 Zarathusttadeems the sky "pure" becanse there is no "etemal resson-spider[ewige V07UD!ft-8pinne] andspider's web" in it. (ZmBS) Inthis same section,Zarathustradeclares that he bas fieedchance fromits "servitude underpmpose"[der Knechtscluzft lI1IduclemZwecke].8 InZ m ONL8. Zarathustraevokes the imageofgangways and railings Iainover a rnnning stream, spanning its length and allowing safe passage aaoss. Inthe face ofsuchstructures ofIDJ1Dan design, he argues, we ought DOt believe thosewho say that "[e]verythingis in flux." [Alles ist imFlqfJJ The c1ever wordplaymight distract us fromNietzsehe's meaning: that purecontingency and flux,although a dominant, DSt!J'!T!OJJDtable part ofthe world for those who cannotc:onsttuet gangways, do notrulethe lives ofthe creative soulswho impose arderon the world. The accent, itmust he noted, is oncreativity: those who attcmpt taaoss over usingalready-existent railings, believing these tahe "firmly fixed"forever. mayhe suxprised ta find themselves in the waret. theirrailing having"come to nothing." (Ibid.)216neworthodoxy would have it). but rather ta subdue ber entirely. as illustrated inthis graphie depiction ofcomplete and utter submission:1am zarathustra the GodIess: 1cook every chanceUeden Zufall] in my pot. And only when it is quitecooked do 1 welcome it as my foodJ And truly.many a chance came imperiously ta me: but my willspoke ta it even more imperiously [mancher Zufallkom herrish Vl mir: aber herrischer noch sprachVl ibm mein Wille]. then it went down imploringlyon its 1aIees -/ Imploring she1ter and love with me,and urging in wheedling tones: 'Just see. 0zarathustra, how a friend comes ta he a friend!' (ZmVMS3)Unlike the ancient Romans. who deifiedChance as the goddess FortullO..Nietzsche refuses ta see contingency as apowerful, independent force in the livesof the finest human beings. The only god he wisbes the highest I:IlIIl ta worship isbis own self. the self-creating Obermenseh, before whomthere cao he no rivaIs.9LikeMachiaveIli, who counseIs prospectivepoliticalleaders ta fcm:ibly subdue thefemale FortullO.. Nietzsche wisbes ta subotdinate all oflife ta bis dietates.10Inpositing invuInerabilily ta fortuDe as a favourable state, N"1etZsCbedemollstIateSan indebledness ta a long-standing tradition inWestern moral andpolitical phDosophy traceableback ta the Stoics, and .timarelyta Socrates. AsNussbalJJn bas recendy pointedout, phDosophers and re1igious tbinkers have oftengiven expressionta our desire ta believethat acting and living well "are things that9 "Better no god, bettcr ta produce destiny on one's own account [eber aJI/eigneFaust Sch:1csal machen]. bettcrta he a fool, bettcrtahe GodoneseIf [eberselber Gott sein]!'" (ZIVRS) Elsewbere, zarathustta w:ges liko-minded souls taconsdcrthemseIves tbeir own "fate": "Andifyou will not he fates [Schicksale]. ifyou will DOt he inexorable [Unetbittliche]: howcaoyoo- CODquerwith me?" (ZmONL29) .10 Inone scene in7'hus Spoke Ztm1Ihustra, Life appeIIIS ina female persona,descn"binghersc1fas "changeable and'mtaJDC'd andinevuythinga woman, andnovirtuous one." (ZnDS) Z8rathustralater makes it clear wha1is the best way tadea1 with suchamocking, wildwoman: "Tothe Ihythmofmy whip you shallshrlekandtrot! Did1forget my whip? - 1didnotl" [Nach don Takt meinerPeitsche $OUst tbl mir tom:en undschrein! lch vergafJ doch die Peitsche nicht? -Nein!) (ZmSDS 1) AnextendeddisMlssi'Jl1 ofNietzsebe's stancetawardswomen must he defemdntiI C1apterIX.217dcpend only on human effort, things that human beings can always control, nomatter what happens in the world around them." (Nussbaum 1992: 263)Nussblmm identifies the first philosophical exp1ession of this desire in P1ato'sApology. where Socrates is reported as saying that a good man cannot be harmed(Ibid.). The Stoics Iatcr radicalised this thought, insisting that the good man ought10 disengage himself psychologically fromthat which fortune controls orinfluences; ie. the "extemal goods" of wealth, political freedom, friendship. andcommnnity. Inthe Stoic view. one may conceivably be bereft ofaIl these goodsand stillleadan upstanding, admirable life (Annas 1993: 262-290; 385-411).11Nietzsche bathradicalises this Socratic-Stoic viewand, 1believe, introduces acrucial amendment 10 il. Theradicalisation is found in bis desire to dethroneFortune completdyas an independent power in the lives of the higbest men. Withthe Stoics, as withMachiavelli, Fortune rernains a formidable force in the lives ofeven the most admirable ofmcn. What separates the virtuous ODes fromthemajority. in theirview. is the ability ofthe fonnerto en:ct effective "d.ykes". ofeither a strietly interna!, psychological natme or ofa political nature, 10 stemFortune's tide. The adoption ofcompensatorystrategies -lke the Stoicpsychological disengagememfroman "extema1 goods" andMachiavellianpolitical1ITt- involve an implicit acknowlecigement ofFortune's great power. Nietzsche.by contrast, wants 10claimthat the higbest man bas dethronedFortunecomp1etely.Althoughpme contingency wmalways play agreat role in the lives oftheIl This Socratic-Stoicmoral idea1 ofpeISOIIa1 invulnerability 10 fortune isopposed10 analtemalive view. a.csociatMwiththe great ttagedians ofancientGteece and givenphilosophical expt:ession inArlstotle, that IeCOgDises luck as"seriouslypowerful, that it is possible for a good personto suffer serions andundeserYedhaan, that this pos51Dility extends 10bnman beings generally."(NussbalJ1D 1986: 384-5) WiUiams. in a receut l'''examinationofthis rivalperspective, notes its insistenonthe possibilityof "social reality [acting] 10crusha worthwhile, significant, c:haracler orproject without displaying either thelivelyindividual purposes ofapagangod orthewodd-historica! significanofaJudaic, aChristian, or a Marxist teleology." (Wj1Jiams 1993: 165) 1BIgUe belowtbat Nietzsche, despite himself, fee1s the fcm:e ofthis rival tradition.218spiritually and morally impoverisbed, the same, he insists, cannot be said for thefinest, who have succ:essfully pelfonned the psychological conjuring aet of theEtemal Rctum. Once one bas successfully "willed backwards" and therebymasteIedall of lime and destiny, there is no longer any need for compensatorystrategies; in the lives ofthe finest, Fortune plays no further role.Given this insistence on associating the conquest offortuna with the highestformofethical development, it would seemI3ther incongroous to suggest thatNielZSChe aIso argues - in diamelric opposition to the Stoics - for the importance of"externa1 goods" likefriendship and community in the lives ofhis highest men.As 1shall argue beIow, however, this isjust what N"1etZSChe does, therebysacrificing a great deal oftheoretical consistency. For these views are indeedincompatible; howcould one hold that the higbest man's virtue is invulnerable tocontingency while, al the saDIe time, insist that the inherently uncertain, contingentgoods offriendship and commllDity are necessary preconditions for virtue'scultivation?1intend to explore this tension, and take up NieIZSChe's views onfriendship,below. FIISt, however, furtber groundwork. needs to be done. InaIder to argue,as 1intendto, that N'le!ZSCbe COImtenances the formation ofa higbec formofcommllnity offriends, 1must fimconfront the widely-shared viewofNielZSCheas a radical individnalist, aviewthat bas long sincebecome a "commonsensical"pillar ofthe neworthodoxy. Berme pursuing Nietzsche's views on sociability,tben, wc ought to pause and e.umine bath the stl'engths and weaknesses of theprevailingorthodoxy.Nletzsdleas Lone Wolf: A Problematic Co!JSPDSDSThesecondary literalUleoverwhe!mingly cames out in favour ofwhat 1willcall the IODe wolfthesis, which assumes NielZSChe's unremittingly hostility219towards any and every fonu ofhuman community. The consensus on tbis pointextends over a very broad field, encompassing commentators who disagreesttenuously with each other in many other respects.Kanfmann set the tone inbis bigbly inf1uential study, declaring tbat bathsociety and the State represent, in Nietzsebe's mind, "only the embodiment ofmediocrity and the teInptation tbat bas 10 he overcomebefore the individual cancome into bis own..." (Kanfmann 1974: 162) Notwitbstanding the typical claimto bave discovered a "newNietzsche" at variance with Kallfmano's, proponents ofthe newortbodoxy faitbfu11y maintaintbis position, typically witbout evenbotbering to argue for its veracity. Strong, for example, simply declares tbat the"llomasking and questioning voice" ofNietzscbe's "fully conscious individual"will inevitably bring biminto conflict withthe group. (Strong 1988: 112) Warrenecboes tbis view. declaring tbat "for the most part, [Nietzsche] remains anadvocate ofthe individua1 against the 'berd' tendencies ofsociety." (Warren 1988:61) For Connolly. Nietzscbe's tJbermensch is necessarily a "figure of solitude"who "[clears] a space on the edge ofsociallife" in oIder 10 "avoidextensiveimplication in a dense web ofrelations" tbat he finds intolerably oppressive.(Connolly 1991: 187) Honig. for ber part, insists tbat Nietzsche is a tbeorist "ofradical individua1ity" whoscconception of "virt" is infinitely preferable10 thecommnnal "se1f-abnegatingexcellence" known as "virtue" (1993a: 230).Some inf1uential commentators not identified withpostmodemscho1alshipbave taken up the sauleline. Scbacbt, for example, believes tbat Nietzscheporttays the admirable person as a robustIy individnalistic, extra-social character".{Scbacllt 1983: 407)12 Ironical1y. a "commnnitarian" thinker Jike AJasdair12 Furtber onin tbis text, bowever. Scbacllt comctly observes tbat withlespect10 Nietzsebe's concepJion ofmaster moraliJ;y "we are confrontedwith afllnc!amc:nta1Jysociol mode ofvaluation, ldlecting the cba1acter ofone sort ofgroupandbound up with its relation ta anotlJer." (ScbaclIt 1983: 409) Iftbe1e isindeed an impoI1aDt social dimc:nsion10 master mora1ity. in what sense can we say220MacIntyIe, whose spirited antagonismtowards postmodemismis well-known,adheres unreservedly to Deleuze's viewof Nietzsehe as a "nomadie" thinker,insisting that the Nietzsehean great man "cannot enter into re1alionships mediatedby appeal to shared standards or virtues or goods..." (MacIntyre 1984: 258)Nussbanm, who n:mains as antagonistie towards postmodemismas MacIntyre(but much less 50 towards Nietzsche), coneurs, coneluding that Nietzsche seesmarriage, family, friends and other"externa1 goods" as incompatible with thevocation of the philosopher (Nussbaum 1994: 158).l3A first glance at Nietzsehe's writings seems to showthat the lone wolfthesisbas a lot going for il. Oearly rejecting the notion that "commnnity" in and ofitselfshould take moral priority over the individual, Nietzsche strongly endcmes a form.ofaristocratie individnalism that teacbes the exceptional, creative individual "tostand out" (TI EUM37), to value himselfas one to whomprfrences, inMontesquieu's sense (1979: m7), are owed. "Agreat man [em grofterMensch]," observes Nietzsche in the Nach1oss, deliberately rendert himself"incommunicable" [unmittheilbar]; "hefinds it tasteless to be fammar [erfindet esgesc:1unDdcIos, wenn er m self-mastery anddiscipline (Chapter V) in this context.Must there not be moles and heavy dwarfs - for the sake of the nimble ...7" (Z mONL2)17ln sum, the domination of a slave caste is said 10 be cssential for theestablishment and preservation of an aristocratie society. "As 10 how an aristocratiesociety (that is to say, the precondition for this elevation ofthe type 'man' [derVoraussetzJmgjener ErhOhung des Typus enmaningthe debasement or defi1ement of "noble wonis" by the bands ofplebeian momIity, Nietzsche conc1udes tbat hebas no alternativebut ta invokemany ofthese same, tainted wonis in developingbis ownconception ofhuman .flourishiDg (Cbapter m. This ambivalent attitudeis apparent, 1believe, with~ ta the notion of "woman": even as N'1etzsebe pteSCDtS bis ownunderstandingofthe Weib an sich. he does not wish ta be mistaken for those who28 Further onCladecharacterises Nietzsehe's comments about women inBGEas"tit{s] ofchildis1mess... expssions ofIeSCDtment disguiscdas beliefs." (Ibid.. 7)29 CIarlcsees NieI7sche as heroically "overcomingwhat he wouIdliItabelieveabout women, out ofhis commitment ta truth." (Ib;d.. 10) Shesuggests tbat thisadmirable O'.e.. oming ofself-intei:estedl'eSC umeot is sometbing that feministsought ta strive ta c:ml1bte (Ib;d.. 4). In this picture, Nic:tzschc: Iec:merges as amodel for feminists afr an. bis anti-feminism notwithstanding.316use the same language for different (in bis view, contemptible) ends. Hence thedistancing device of the inverted commas.JOWhat of the apparent denigration or undeIcutting of bis own perspective thatCIark and others sec in bis qualification of bis position as "ooly - [his] truth"?CIark bases ber argument on the questionable assumption that objective trulh, forNietzsche, is something impersonal. "IfNietzscbe daims that bis comments aboutwomen are truc," sbe reasons, "he can't sensibly claimthat they are true ooly forbim." (Ibid.,5) Seen from this angle, a self-conscious reference to "ooly bis" truthmust "sellS1oly" subvert any truth-claimas sucb. As 1tried to argue in Cbapter 1,however, Nietzsche adopts a counter-intuitive position with respect te truth,believing that there is no contradiction between the deeply persona!, embodiedperspective ofa superior, perspicacious human being on the one band and objectivetruth on the ether. Indeed, Nietzsche claims that a truth is objective only te theextent that it is heldby the hea1thy, sound sort ofindividual whose unerringinstincts allowhimte rigbtfully claimte embody truth as sucb. Far fromxepresenting an ironie retreat frombis own understanding ofthe "eternal feminine,"Nietzsche's emphasis on the intensely persona! DlltUIe of bis views constitutes anavowal of their objective truth, atruthdisc:ov=dthrougb the most scrupulous andintensive self-exploration.But what ofNietzsche's IepClIted insistence on the "art6ciality" (i.e. thehuman-constructedstatus) ofall moral scbc:ma!ll? Dacs this view not imply thatnotions ofgender roIes andIe1ations are construeted, and that attempts te legitimiseone's own conceptionofgendcrIe1ations by refeaing te some "essential" S!llDdaxdof"DlltUIe" are untcnable? Not nec:css Bdly; as far as 1can tell. Nietzsedeems bis30 It is instructivete contrast BGE231 with thepassages fromBGE239 andEH"Books" 5 cited in note 24. Innether ofthese passages is the notion ofthe etemal-womanly p1aced ininvertedcommas. Perbaps Nietzsebe is moinclined taembrace unreservedly thephrase Ewig-Weiblic1ren because it does Dot evoke theKantianconceptual "baggage" ofthepbrase Weibansich.317historicist account of how women (and men) become who they are peri'ectlycompatible with bis gender essentialism. Yes, he seems 10 suggest, the concept of"woman" is malleable, and in fact changes through time; their views ofthemselvesand our viewoftbemcao change and bas changed throughout histoJy. In xecenttimes, many European women (regrettably) have come to believe themselvesworthy ofthe same rights and privileges ofEuropean men. But this, he insists, isWI'Ong, and (as wc shall sec below) indicative of widespread cultural degeneration.Feminism, this contingent historical development arising as a post-ehristianoffspring of slave morality, is contraIy to women's essential nature, wheleasNietzsehe's own (CODStructed) master morality said to he superior inlarge partbecause it bas an accurate grasp of the essence ofwoman. In sum, Nietzsche (mmy view) attempts to combine a social constructivist viewwitha deeper genderessentialism.31Wi1Jjams bas xecently obsetvedthat "[t]be double ideathat thel'e shouldhe ashaIp and unchanging distnDution of roles and that females and males weredesigned10 fill those roIes bas managed10 finda remarkable rangeofpoliticalphilosophies xeady to accommodate it._" (Wi1Jjams 1993: 123) Nietzsche. 1wouldargue, bas a fiImly entrenebedposition within this "J'CID&kable range." Anti-"cSsentialist" readings notwitbstanding, Nietzsche taIs the idcaofthe "etemalfcminioc" very seriously, believing thel'e to he an ahistorlcal, acultural essence ofwomauhood that women inpartcuIartimes andplaces cither succccd incmbodyingor fail 10 live up to.In thepages that follow1will attempt to explore bis unde:rstanding ofthisessence. As wcshall sec, N'1CIZSChc falls into linc with much oftIllditional moraland political philosophy in lauding the virtuc supposed1y intJ:insic10the woman31 Cf. Cbapterm. whcrc 1mguedfor the logical COIIlpatibilitybctwcenNiclZsCbc's normative use ofthe concept oflllltU(la Arlstotle) and bis viewofthe "a11ific:ialit" ofan moral sclJemara318who serves as worthy consort ta thc higher sort of man and as mother ta hischildren. Also in linc with this tradition, Nietzsche maintains that the ultimate formof human excellence is a!tl!inablc oolyby IDCI:. That such a position could hardlybe chaIacterised as fcminist goes without saying. Just as contestable, by my lights,is its routinc characterisation as misogynist. Whilc very few enlightened peoplc incontcmporary Western societies would agree with NiClZSChc's views on women, todismiss themas hateful, childish ranting seems tao easy.It would be wrong, moreover, ta tIy ta marginalise these views from thc teSt ofNictzsehc's philosophy. NiClZSChc's ManY xemarks on women oUght to he takenseriously as an inttinsic part ofhis moral and political vision - a vision in whichconceptions ofmarriage andbreeding are given pride ofplace - and any CU1'SOIYdismissal ofthemcanooly serve ta impoverish our understanding ofthat vision.32The "Unhealthy" Woman: Nietzsche's Anti-FeminismNictzsche's vituperativclanguage is IeSeIVCd not for the femalc sexas a whole,as Clark. (1994: 4) andotheIs have rightly suggested, but ralher for a partcular typeofwoman. an "unbealthy" woman al the bottomend ofN"lCtzSChe's Rangordnungoffemininity whomhe compares unfavourably to his ideal.33 She is considcIedunbealthybecallse ofher shllnnjng ofcustomaxyfemalc defeIence ta men andherdccisionto seekgenderequality, particularly inthe traditionally malc-dominatedpublic sphere. Nietzsche aetually traces feminist dcmands for gender equality backta physiological pat!lQlogy: "[t]he stmgglc for equa1rghts fg1eiche Rechte] is evena symptomofsiclrness [ein Symptom vonKnmkheitl: every physician [Arzt] lcnows. that." (EH"Books" S) MOle specifical1y, the feminist woman is alleged ta be32 Abbey perptively DOleSthe closecoadationbetweeI1Nietzsebe's attitudetawaxds womcn and his social andpolitical vision (1994: 323)33 Kofman points to Nietzsche's distinctionbetween different types ofwomcn andta his valorisation ofthe "afIirmalivc" type ofwoman in Kofman 1988: 193.319physiologically deficient in the area where healthy women demonstrale (forNJCIZSChe) their greatcst use and importance: biological reproduction. FeminislS are"abortive women [die vmmg1ilcktm Weiblein], the 'emancipateli' who lack thestuff for children [das Zeug zu Kindem]." (Ibid.)In this poItrait the feminist's infertility is inextricably linked with adegenerative, morbid set ofinstincts that produces a woman who is secret1yenvious of andbitterly ItSeIItful towards the healthy, fertile woman ofNietzsehe'simagination. Much like ber degenerative male counterpart, who, as wc will recall,sccretIy envies andplots revenge upon the healthy master-type, ber politicalactivismis saidto be driven by this envy and ressenJiment:'Emancipation ofwoman' - is the instinctive hatred ofthe woman who bas tumed out ill, that is to say isincapable ofbearing, for ber who bas tumed out well[der Instinktha'p des mi'pratenen, das heij3tgebrunti1chtigen Weibes gegen das wohlgeT'Jtene]. At bottom the emancipated are the fJ1IQTChists inthe world of the 'etemal-womanly', theundeIprivileged whose deepest instinct is revenge...(Ibid.)34Nietzsche's sterile, resentful woman not only shares same disposition as theplebeian sort, she appears to represent to an evengreater degIee the worst aspectsofthe plebeian characler: "Alittlcwoman chasing aftcr herrevenge would over-runfaIe itself. - The woman is unspeakably more wicked [bOser] than the man, also. clcverer [klger] " (Ibid.)3S34 Nietzsche, it shouldbe noted, is no more fond of"anlIIChists" tbatllCis ofsocialists, h"beral-clemocrats. or feminists. For a sampling ofbis disapprovinglerens ta anlIIChists and lIII81'chism. sec GS 370; DPret: 3; GM15; and AC5S.3S As wc sbaRcvminemorecloselyinthe next chapter. NietzschCalso uses bOseas a tmnofbonour to desaibethe iaeptessiblctendcncy ofthe bigbest sort ofmanta transgress the boundarles Ofslave morality by ped"oll oing deeds stigmatised byplebeians as "wicked." (Sec, for Cxample, Z1OYW. where Z8Iatbustrarevealstbat "man is at the bottomofbis soul only wicked [bOse]. but woman is base[schlechtl_") Inthe context ofEH"Books" S. bowever. Nietzsche does not seemta bave this positivesense of "wickedness" inmind, and uses the tmnin the moreconventiona1l (Le. pejorative) sense. Once again wc sec tbat consistent:}' in the useoftmns is oot tobefound in Nietzsche.320Ironically, argues Nietzsche, although the fcminist remains convinced that sheis worlcing for the troe inteI'eSts of the female sex, sbe in fact ensures a contnuyresult. A "real woman" rein wohlgeratenes Weib] in touch with ber "mostwomanly instincts" [weiblichsten Instinkte] (BGE239) undexstands this: "Themore a woman is a woman [Dos We;b. je mehr Weib es istl the more she defendsbexselftooth and nail against rights [Rechte] in general." (EH "Books" 5) It.would be in the best interests ofwomen to submit to the natura! order of unequalgender relations, for women would thereby retain the advantages of their abilities inone crucial area where, as we shall see in further detai1 below, Nietzsche believesthey exercise a significant modicumofpower: the area ofpersonal relations."[T]be state ofnature [der Nat/UVlStll1Idj, the eternal war between the sexes putsber in a superior position by far." (Ibid.) In this private realmof gender relations,men of bonour provide a "tribute ofrespect" [Achtungszoll) to their consorts,something that modern, degenerate women have perversely come to see as "almostoffensive," preferring as they do the "competition for rights" [Wettbewerb umRechte] (BGE 239). By insisting upon "equal rights," i.e. upon equal access to"grammar school education. trousers and the political rights ofvoting catt1e"[Stimmvieh-Rechte],36 women aClnally abandon their great natura1 advantages inexchange for the opportunity to compete with men in a man's game, thereby"lower['mg] the general rankofwoman [dos allgemeine RDng-N'weDIl des Weibes, no doubt because the "Jangbing storm"[lachende Stunn] that is Z8rathustra's free-spirited nature b2s atendency 10 "blowdust" in their eyes (ZIV OHM20).24 Once again, aggression towards animportant use assignedby N'lelZSCbe to the hammer," he claims, ois that ofthedestruction ofmass. Nietzsche more readily evokes the bammer uscdby thesculptor or the blacJrsrnith, the stoneeutter's bush bammer. the pick b;;mmeror themallet used on thecoldchiselbythe tJbermmsch." (Blondel 1991: 106) Blondel1IS!>1IIIICS that N'1ClZSChe's image ofthe sculptor with bammer is somehowdenudedofall violence; as I suggested above, this is problematic. .22 Cf. ZIVLfor anotber example ofunintentiooal baml. inflieted by the innocentcreative type upon.an innocent bystander: "as happens withthose who thinkondiffieu1t things, onbis way [Zarathustra] unintentionaJly [unversehens] trod on aman."23 "Theevil ofthe strong [Dos IsOse der Starke] harms others without givingthought to it - it Iuzs 10discbarge itself [es nu4J sich auslassen]._" D 371.24 "[A]ll praise10 this spirit ofall fIee spirits. the laughing stormthat blows dustin the cyes ofall the dim-sighted andulrated [Schwarz.richtigen,Schwiirscittigen]." (ZIV OHM20)352incoosequential plebeianelement is shrugged offas the inevitable, ancillary productofthe inner workings of creativity.It would be quite wrong-headed, in NielZsChe's view, to criticise noble creativetypes for such accidentaI cruelty. Fromthe standpoint of NielZsChe's mastermorality, after ail, they are acting in an exemplary fashion in serving as vehicles fortheir own creative instincts. In SUIn, they simply cannot help themselves. Tosuggest otherwise, 10berate themfor failing to aet prudently before di