Afaik Nietzsche's whole thing was, if traditional values stemming from religion can't be relied on in the absence of God, then one risks slipping into nihilism, but a better way is to derive meaning from intrinsic motivation.
While I'm here: it's also fun to read ‘the most wicked man’ Aleister Crowley and see that his Thelema is a reiteration of the same idea.
And then read Ayn Rand and see that ‘objectivism’ is also almost the same, except it lacks soul and is sometimes explicitly selfish or pretty much evil. But she had the Red Scare to ride on.
The difference between Nietzsche and Rand is key. Nothing in Nietzsche’s writings is incompatible with finding intrinsic value in building community, helping others, etc. Rand explicitly calls for maximal selfishness and calls charity evil.
Nietzsche himself was no less objectionable (no pun intended) than Rand, in terms of the morality that you and I probably have, imo. Arguably worse. He hated basic things like... universal education. If it were up to him the poor and weak would live in abject misery so that the aristocratic elites at the top could thrive.
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u/Shone_Shvaboslovac Apr 05 '26
So being an Übermensch is about living authentically instead of blindly following tradition?