What is master morality and slave morality, according to Friedrich Nietzsche?

Answer 1

Master morality tends to apply to creating your own set of values/morality i.e. merely exisiting and then like the super human having the ability to exercise man's complete freedom to create one's own morality and values. Slave morality tends to refer to what Nietzsche perceived most people as having, an accepted morality that wwe have neither the will nor often the desire to challenge and change hence we remain slaves instead of realising our potential freedom. Slaves to a convetional morality in other words. Generally regarded as the greater good utilitarian morality that has remained popular in modern political philosophy

Answer 2

Nietzsche Master Morality

Answer 3

Nietzsche addresses the idea of different moral systems specifically in his book, "Beyond Good and Evil" (link 1). In fact, it could be said to be the very crux of the title itself.

He suggests that an analysis of moral systems will produce two different kinds of systems which each tend to work to different ends, at least in part from their different origins. One will have been devised and used by those who rule, and one by those who are forced to serve. Many of the characteristics of each are self evident:

Slaves cannot help themselves; if they could, they would not be slaves, would they? Thus slave moralities tend to focus on the idea of charity and that of the 'greater good' instead of the individual. Quite the converse! To a slave, the person who stands out is the one most likely to attract notice and punishment, so slave moralities tend to discourage the unusual of any stripe. And since all slaves are in the same boat, it applies to all of them in the same way - anyone can be a good slave, if they only try hard enough.

Master moralities are completely different. To a master, what is good is what serves HIS purposes. And because he must adapt and overcome any number of different challenges, this is not always the same thing. Thus, to a master, what is 'good' is very similar to what gets him power and allows him to keep it. If some master didn't prize such things, then another who did would probably rather quickly replace him. Masters' morality is not only flexible (a.k.a. 'beyond good and evil') but also isolating: its focus is on the one on top instead of the many below.

You can rather quickly see that these two kind of systems almost HAVE to be opposed to each other. Even if there were no resentment between masters and slaves, the masters seek triumph while the slaves seek assimilation. A master defines his morality and shapes the world to suit it; a slave is handed a world he cannot shape and so instead shapes himself to fit it.

To Neitzsche, the choice between systems is as easy as the choice between lifestyles. After all... who would willingly sell themselves into slavery?

Answer 4

Beyond good and evil is one presentation of Nietzsche's views but I think for a general overview Bobby's summed up my interpretation of what Nietzsche was trying to get at.

Answer 5

Conservatism rejects the notion of master and slave and values independence. Liberalism is the morality of dependence and parasitism.

Answer 6

Is a man a means to his own ends, as apposed to a means to their ends.
The war is always between the individual mind vs. the collectivist mind.