Der neue Übermensch - Teil 2 (The new Overman - Part 2)
In the last days I was inspired by some conversations with my friends and my father and especially by this article (originally found in the excellent blogossauro, from my friend Rubens Campana). As a follower of internet trends, I saw the rise of some interesting ways of thinking that are quickly spreading and modifying the entire society in a speed that was not possible before in the history of mankind. One of these trends is a new form of atheism, where people are encouraged to dismiss religion as a sort of ritualistic ignorant habit that must be negated in the name of reason and science.
These new atheists affirm that religion is the cause of ignorant behavior in society, mocking the Bible and attacking all sorts of religious leaders and institutions. But as the article points out, these people seem to forget that throughout human history reason has been hailed as the ultimate answer to mankind's despair by many intellectual movements and also regimes. It also points out, very correctly, that these movements and regimes, though revolutionary and very important, were also very violent periods of our history, being afterwards regarded as inhuman and grotesque. The strongest example would be some totalitary regimes, that managed to manipulate logic to justify just about any atrocity.
In Nietzsche's book "The Birth of Tragedy", the german author writes about how societies use art to channel their violence and express, somehow, their feeling of the "sacred", pointed out by the article as being the spiritual experiences that human beings go through during their lives. Neglecting these experiences does not bring us closer to any truth; it's quite the contrary, actually. Decent people who study or follow any religion do not take any of its symbolism concretely. It is as stupid to do that when attacking a religion as it is when it is being defended. The symbolism is the way that our "sacred" experience can be shared and brought into our culture; it's not supposed to define truth in any level, the same way as art is only representative.
By neglecting our religious past and the influences it has on our culture, we are not being "rational"; we are simply doing the easy thing: choosing a side. It's fairly understandable that us human beings, when faced with doubt, tend to choose a side to stand for. Our lives are not easy. We have to work, we have to socialize, take care of our health, face pain, death and emptiness. We struggle to put these feelings into containers, organize them; to be able to cope. When we decide to be "atheists", or merely "logical people", we are not standing above any religious zealot; we are doing exactly what we criticize: we are taking the "easy way out".
When Nietzsche wrote that God was dead, he didn't mean that religion was dead and certainly didn't mean that spirituality and art was dead. He meant that certainty was dead, that nothing or nobody could be "the truth". As he writes about his Übermensch, Nietzsche simply invites us to bear the pain of the doubt, to struggle with uncertainty. He invites us to avoid choosing a side, no matter how hard that might be. That is the superation of the human being: his capacity to constantly doubt himself.
That is certainly not easy; maybe impossible if we think how life used to be hard and how society evolved slowly in the past. However, we are in a different stage of evolution now. We are no longer holders of opinions, defenders of groups; we are no longer enemies. We live in a global village, where survival is no longer the priority of every man individually, but a collective concern. As a global conscience, constantly changing, this characteristic of self-doubting is almost inevitable. We don't have to find any answers by ourselves anymore, but just be a member of a network that by itself pursuits a constant renovation. That brings us to be an "Overman" as a group, not as an individual. Perhaps then we are able to deal with uncertainty while still living our lives in a comfortable, or at least bearable way, without resorting to ignorance.
Of course we have a long way ahead of us and what I am writing about still only applies to some individuals; but nonetheless it is already happening and hopefully the insights that we arrive to as a group will help us to pursuit a world where everyone can be a part of this same group. If we insist on isolating ourselves in ideas and choosing sides, we will just keep renewing the circle of ignorance that characterizes our history. The only way to escape ignorance is fully admiting it and learning to live with it; if we can't do that alone, let's try to do it as a connected group, as a network. Nietzsche said that perhaps in the 21st century people would start to understand what he wrote. Let's not disappoint him and at least keep trying.
These new atheists affirm that religion is the cause of ignorant behavior in society, mocking the Bible and attacking all sorts of religious leaders and institutions. But as the article points out, these people seem to forget that throughout human history reason has been hailed as the ultimate answer to mankind's despair by many intellectual movements and also regimes. It also points out, very correctly, that these movements and regimes, though revolutionary and very important, were also very violent periods of our history, being afterwards regarded as inhuman and grotesque. The strongest example would be some totalitary regimes, that managed to manipulate logic to justify just about any atrocity.
In Nietzsche's book "The Birth of Tragedy", the german author writes about how societies use art to channel their violence and express, somehow, their feeling of the "sacred", pointed out by the article as being the spiritual experiences that human beings go through during their lives. Neglecting these experiences does not bring us closer to any truth; it's quite the contrary, actually. Decent people who study or follow any religion do not take any of its symbolism concretely. It is as stupid to do that when attacking a religion as it is when it is being defended. The symbolism is the way that our "sacred" experience can be shared and brought into our culture; it's not supposed to define truth in any level, the same way as art is only representative.
By neglecting our religious past and the influences it has on our culture, we are not being "rational"; we are simply doing the easy thing: choosing a side. It's fairly understandable that us human beings, when faced with doubt, tend to choose a side to stand for. Our lives are not easy. We have to work, we have to socialize, take care of our health, face pain, death and emptiness. We struggle to put these feelings into containers, organize them; to be able to cope. When we decide to be "atheists", or merely "logical people", we are not standing above any religious zealot; we are doing exactly what we criticize: we are taking the "easy way out".
When Nietzsche wrote that God was dead, he didn't mean that religion was dead and certainly didn't mean that spirituality and art was dead. He meant that certainty was dead, that nothing or nobody could be "the truth". As he writes about his Übermensch, Nietzsche simply invites us to bear the pain of the doubt, to struggle with uncertainty. He invites us to avoid choosing a side, no matter how hard that might be. That is the superation of the human being: his capacity to constantly doubt himself.
That is certainly not easy; maybe impossible if we think how life used to be hard and how society evolved slowly in the past. However, we are in a different stage of evolution now. We are no longer holders of opinions, defenders of groups; we are no longer enemies. We live in a global village, where survival is no longer the priority of every man individually, but a collective concern. As a global conscience, constantly changing, this characteristic of self-doubting is almost inevitable. We don't have to find any answers by ourselves anymore, but just be a member of a network that by itself pursuits a constant renovation. That brings us to be an "Overman" as a group, not as an individual. Perhaps then we are able to deal with uncertainty while still living our lives in a comfortable, or at least bearable way, without resorting to ignorance.
Of course we have a long way ahead of us and what I am writing about still only applies to some individuals; but nonetheless it is already happening and hopefully the insights that we arrive to as a group will help us to pursuit a world where everyone can be a part of this same group. If we insist on isolating ourselves in ideas and choosing sides, we will just keep renewing the circle of ignorance that characterizes our history. The only way to escape ignorance is fully admiting it and learning to live with it; if we can't do that alone, let's try to do it as a connected group, as a network. Nietzsche said that perhaps in the 21st century people would start to understand what he wrote. Let's not disappoint him and at least keep trying.
posted by Vitor Eduardo at 6:44 PM
1 Comments:
" Got a good reason for taking the easy way out - now,
She was a day tripper,
One way ticket, yeh,
It took me so long to find out, and I found out."
Post a Comment
<< Home