Comparing Nietzsche's Genealogy Of Morality And

The first essay of Friedrich Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals contrasts the development of both master morality and slave morality. One cannot, however, take all of his arguments at face value, namely with respect to his definition of freedom. For Nietzsche, true freedom will occur only when every individual can live according to their true nature; that is, when the strong can be strong and the weak can be weak without limitation. However, with its lack of constraints, this version of freedom propagates vulnerability; the ease with which the strong can enslave the weak through master morality jeopardizes the possibility of true freedom for an entire society. Thus, any theory of morality that seeks to defend this concept of freedom must be able

Both writers argue that the values of modern civilization have resulted in a weakened people. In the opening lines of Genealogy of Morals, Nietzsche claims that "we are unknown to ourselves" (15). For him, the strong have lost sight of their true nature. Likewise, Gandhi also implies that Indians who adhere to the norms of modern civilization do not know themselves (56). Despite identifying the same problem within their own societies, the two thinkers take almost antithetical approaches to solving it. Gandhi believes in the power of passive resistance—that self-sacrifice will always overcome violence. Nietzsche, on the other hand, advocates for the strong to live freely even if it means subscribing to “a desire to overcome, a desire to throw down, a desire to become master” by any means necessary (Nietzsche 45). Nevertheless, the solutions each thinker offers to remedy the problem produced by civilization requires that mankind return to a way of living that has been lost; for Gandhi, that system is a pre-Western civilization informed by passive resistance; for Nietzsche, it is one that gives the strong man freedom to be

Gandhi claims that “every reform must be preceded by discontent” (23). This unrest or discontent stems from an awakening as a result of a perceived partition that separates the weak from the strong. Similarly, Nietzsche believes that “slave morality always first needs a hostile external world” (37); and, his ideal free world would produce the hostile environment that would generate both unrest and ressentiment within the weak. However, as exemplified during the Renaissance, Reformation and French Revolution, times when master morality attempted to rise from its slumber, impassioned ressentiment leads the weak individual to partake in a slave revolt against master morality and quickly eradicate it (Nietzsche 55-56). However, with the addition of Gandhi’s passive resistance, instead of seeking to lead a slave revolt on morality and to change the moral code as they have done repeatedly in the past, the weak would embark on Gandhi’s journey of personal suffering to attain true