We then went on to talk about Neitzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra which was written "for all and for none" meaning that Neitzsche wanted anyone to read it, but it was not for any specific academic camp or group of society. This was because he wanted people to follow his philosophy of their own will, rather than being forced to. He used Zarathustra to preach to the masses about things such as the origins of our belief systems, why we are here and the effect that tradition has on society.
Firstly, he thought that traditions such as democracy, morality and belief in spirits and the afterlife are holding humanity back from achieving their full potential (as Overmen). This would have been very controversial at the time because people did not want to hear that there was no afterlife, that they did not have immortal spirits or that God does not exist; Neitzsche thought that this is because God and religion gives them comfort and escape from the truth. All of this would have been very shocking at a time when most people were deeply religious.
One of the most shocking statements he made was that "God is dead". This brings up the idea of God as Clockmaker, setting up the world then going away to leave the machine ticking over and not interfering, as well as the theory of the God of the Gaps which says that things that we cannot scientifically explain, are explained by God, but anything that can be explained by science shows that God does not exist there. What also came to mind was Hegel's idea of the geist and how it is an expression of moving on and progressing. Different to all of these ideas, Neitzsche seems to be arguing that God never existed; only the idea of him did. He is saying that the idea of God is no longer strong enough to keep people aiming for a higher purpose; the values, morals and ethics of that God are gone and something else needs to come and take its place in providing comfort and purpose and progress for the world.
Hence Neitzsche's theory of the Uberman/overman/superman. He argues that humanity is merely a stepping stone between being an animal (which we evolved from) to being an Overman (which he believes we will evolve to). An overman is someone who is free from all the prejudices, traditions, values and moralities of human society and creates his own values and purpose; someone that motivates themselves and doesn't look to a higher power to give them a purpose in life. An overman also differs from humanity in that he has the strength of will to keep going through the "eternal recurrence" of every event in your life being repeated infinitely. Neitzsche said that "Man is a rope fastened between animal and overman. A rope over an abyss." He thought that out journey in life, if we let it, leads us to become overmen, but things like democracy and religion weaken us and those that are weak will never become overmen. In Thus Spake Zarathustra, the protagonist seeks out individuals that are strong and can be powerful and take control of their own lives, thoughts and moralities and abandons the herd who he sees as weak.
The idea of eternal recurrence shows Neitzsche's view on time; that it is infinite. This links to ideas of reincarnation and the journey towards paradise/ to join Buddha. We then moved on to talk about meditation and the idea that people who meditate are trying to free themselves, to find serenity, nothingness, oblivion and to overcome themselves. This, and the idea of being born again in the cycle of reincarnation, can be seen as similar to Neitzsche's progression from man to overman.
He also spoke of "the last man"; someone that believes in the old ways and refuses to accept the idea of the overman. Someone who is stuck, not progressing or challenging. In the story, the people of the marketplace liked this idea which persuaded Zarathustra that he should give up trying to preach to the masses and that he should turn his attention to those that wanted to follow him; the strong individuals rather than the herd.
Neitzsche also said that the universe is a struggle between good and evil and that religion is a barrier and burden to the overman. At one point he juxtaposed the camel, the lion, and the child (symbolically). The camel was the carrier and the provider of knowledge, while the lion was an aggressive individual with ideas of their own and the child was fresh, new and unburdened. These can be seen as the progression from animal (camel) through human (lion) to Overman (child), and reflects the theory of evolution.
Throughout the book, there are many metaphors and symbols which can be picked up on to show Neitzsche's ideas. One example is the cave that Zarathustra emerges from and later takes his followers back to. Many have seen it as a nod to Plato where the cave could be a private thinking space, away from the world and its traditions and values. The shadows in the cave are that of the real world; not close enough to effect those in the cave but still present. Neitzsche wants people to escape the cave and progress to the real world and the idea of the Overman.
One point that I made about the reading was that iI found the loose plot line very difficult to follow, however Brian pointed out that it was deliberately loose to reflect the modernist traditions where things were no longer structured, no longer sticking within "safe" boundaries, but breaking the rules and thinking outside the box.
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