"Does this mean I should take advantage of people weaker than me whenever possible?" Somebody who doesn't contribute to the future. It is only in our Christian society that suicide is "bad" the Romans considered it honorable in certain cases, for example (falling on their sword).Įdit: And "weak" does not necessarily mean physically weak but also mentally, intellectually etc. It should be a "good" value and people should be honored and respected for doing so, when the case is appropriate. And suicide isn't necessarily something to be ashamed of it allows resources to be used more efficiently, for example. Somewhere Nietzsche talks about suicide and how people who no longer contribute should be encouraged to end their own lives.
Ignoring others who are "weak and failures" and letting them die alone, may in some cases be "good".
Again, he does not advocate ignoring all old people and letting them die alone, as this would no doubt have a negative impact on society. Those that stop trying because of failures become "failures" and no longer have a place. "That which does not kill me makes me stronger."Īt a certain point, we all become "weak" with old age, and many (most) of us will try (and trying is one of Nietzsche's highest virtues) and fail (and failure is a virtue if we learn from it). These people should be left to their own devices (as should we all), and they "shall perish", physically. I have no doubt that he does not advocate lining them up against a wall and shooting them, but he is very clear about not taking pity on these people (think about habitual welfare users, for example). The "weak and the failures" do not contribute to this progression, so our (individual and societal) resources shouldn't be spent on them. That is "our humanism" - the improvement of mankind.
Nietzsche believed in a future evolution (to the superman and a race of supermen), and this occurs, he believes, consciously we select our mates (or they are selected for us) in order to achieve this goal. The same concept, however, applies to adults. It is our modern, Christian, society that tends to find this kind of act as criminal and immoral. Recall that he was a classicist who admired the Greeks, and this was a society that regularly exposed weak and "failed" children to the elements to die (to be at the mercy of the gods). I think that, to some extent, Nietzsche applies this to individuals. I'm going to take a different view from the other responses.
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