A review by caris96
Human, All Too Human by Friedrich Nietzsche
4.0
“The fact that Nietzsche’s scrutiny stopped short of [feminist natures], that he took over a second-hand and unverified image of feminine nature from the Christian civilization that he otherwise so thoroughly mistrusted, finally brought his thought under the sway, after all, of bourgeois society.”
~ Theodor Adorno (Minima Moralia, 1951, 103).
As one of his earliest works, Nietzsche’s concern in “Human, All Too Human” was just as the title implies. He discusses principally what it means to be human, both on an individual and social dimension. He tackles critiques of societal institutions like religion, the state, and social classes. But like Adorno summarizes, Nietzsche’s moral and epistemic views are contradicted by some regressive socio-political views: namely, misogyny (despite his popular stance on the social construction of ‘man’ and human nature). The generalizations for which Nietzsche criticized theologians are just as present in his statements about women:
[Theology] led to “the habit of philosophers of treating all feelings which they found in themselves as if they were essential to man in general, and thus to the habit of granting their own religious feelings a significant influence on the conceptual structure of their systems” (80).
Oh, Friedrich… now just do the same for men!
I’m always conflicted by Nietzsche for these reasons. It’s like his philosophical frameworks possess in themselves the refutation of his own social values. His critiques of the interdependence of religion and the state overshadow the role of capital that result in the attribution of bourgeois labels to his work, regardless how robust his arguments against organized Christianity are. However, I think this work can be fairly summarized more by what it problematizes than what it takes for granted.
~ Theodor Adorno (Minima Moralia, 1951, 103).
As one of his earliest works, Nietzsche’s concern in “Human, All Too Human” was just as the title implies. He discusses principally what it means to be human, both on an individual and social dimension. He tackles critiques of societal institutions like religion, the state, and social classes. But like Adorno summarizes, Nietzsche’s moral and epistemic views are contradicted by some regressive socio-political views: namely, misogyny (despite his popular stance on the social construction of ‘man’ and human nature). The generalizations for which Nietzsche criticized theologians are just as present in his statements about women:
[Theology] led to “the habit of philosophers of treating all feelings which they found in themselves as if they were essential to man in general, and thus to the habit of granting their own religious feelings a significant influence on the conceptual structure of their systems” (80).
Oh, Friedrich… now just do the same for men!
I’m always conflicted by Nietzsche for these reasons. It’s like his philosophical frameworks possess in themselves the refutation of his own social values. His critiques of the interdependence of religion and the state overshadow the role of capital that result in the attribution of bourgeois labels to his work, regardless how robust his arguments against organized Christianity are. However, I think this work can be fairly summarized more by what it problematizes than what it takes for granted.