Nietzsche and Moral Perfectionism

Abstract

Nietzsche is typically thought of as having no positive ethics; instead, many claim that his aim was to subvert all ethical categories and transcend them altogether. In this project, I will make the competing claim that Nietzsche had in mind a number of personal characteristics that he endorses and promotes throughout his work. I believe Nietzsche’s ethical thought can best be explained by the concept of moral perfectionism, which I feel is best defined as the idea that human beings ought to strive for and promote excellent lives. In Nietzsche’s case, I will make the argument that he endorses a profoundly elitist version of this idea. Finally, I will address those who think that Nietzsche does not advocate for a specific kind of ethics, but instead offered a pluralistic and egalitarian account in which one person’s way of life is in no way superior to another.