Concept
On the Genealogy of Morality
Overview
On the Genealogy of Morality: A Polemic (German: Zur Genealogie der Moral: Eine Streitschrift; sometimes translated as On the Genealogy of Morals) is an 1887 book by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It consists of a preface and three interrelated treatises ('Abhandlungen' in German) that expand and follow through on concepts that Nietzsche outlined in Beyond Good and Evil (1886). The three treatises trace episodes in the evolution of moral concepts confronting the "moral prejudices" of Christian morality.
Some Nietzschean scholars consider Genealogy to be a work of sustained brilliance and power as well as his masterpiece. Since its publication, it has influenced many authors and philosophers.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
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because it is his _will_ to depend upon himself and not upon tradition: in all the primitive states of humanity “evil” is equivalent to “individual,” “free,” “arbitrary,” “unaccustomed,” “unforeseen,” “incalculable.” In such primitive conditions, always measured by this standard, any action performed—_not_ because tradition commands it, but for other reasons (_e.g._ on account of its individual utility), even for…
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Dawn of Day
States what On the Genealogy of Morality is; the author is tied to On the Genealogy of Morality in the knowledge graph.
Omisso enim eo, quod potissimum postulabatur, hoc expeti putavit, ut principium aliquod ethicae conderetur, itaqae eam partem commentationis suae, in qua principii ethicae a se propositi et metaphysicae suae nexum exponit, appendices loco habuit, in qua plus quam postulatum esset praestaret, quum tamen ipsum thema ejusmodi disputationem flagitaret, in qua vel praecipuo loco metaphysicae et ethicae nexus…
Arthur Schopenhauer, The Basis of Morality
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It stands to reason that this must needs produce results which are removed from the truth by something more than a respectful distance. Have these current genealogists of morals ever allowed themselves to have even the vaguest notion, for instance, that the cardinal moral idea of "ought"[2] originates from the very material idea of "owe"? Or that punishment developed as a retaliation absolutely independently of any…
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Genealogy of Morals The Complete Works, Volume Thirteen, edited by Dr. Oscar Levy.
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Philosophers who discussed On the Genealogy of Morality
Related ideas
- Heinrich Heine
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- Walter Kaufmann (philosopher)
- India
- Judaism
- Paradigm
- Hysteria
- Thus Spoke Zarathustra
- Ernest Renan
- Paris
- Masterpiece
- Vegetarianism
- Zoroaster
- Michel Foucault
- Free will
- Christianity
- Bernard Williams
- Beyond Good and Evil
- Arthur Schopenhauer
- Teleology
- Charles Darwin
- Daniel Dennett
- The Antichrist (book)
- Perspectivism
Opposing perspectives
Place in the tradition
Part of German philosophy.
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