When you hear the word ‘Superman,’ you might think of Henry Cavill with superhuman abilities wearing
a tight blue outfit and a red cape. But this superhero, originally from American comic books
published by DC Comics, is not the original Superman. In fact, in the 1800s, the German
philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche developed one of his central ideas: the Übermensch,
which translates to English as the Overman or Superman. Nietzsche’s mythological Superman didn’t
have the supernatural powers that the superhero Superman has, but is nonetheless a superior human
being. A (Nietzschean) Superman has overcome the limitations of traditional morality and represents
Nietzsche’s goal for human evolution and an ultimate way of reachings one’s full potential.
Nietzsche’s concept of the Superman is one of his most famous and controversial ideas,
as it goes vastly against normative perceptions of what’s good and evil. Nevertheless, the Superman
is an ideal human being that Nietzsche believed we should all strive to become. “Man is a rope, tied
between beast and superman—a rope over an abyss,” he stated in his work Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
However, Nietzsche didn’t see the emergence of the Superman as a fun pastime or some
crazy philosophical experiment: he saw it as a necessity for humanity to buttress itself against
the dangers that arise when traditional values subside. Through the Superman, humanity must
overcome itself so it doesn’t fall prey to the prevalent nihilism Nietzsche predicted to occur.
This video explores Nietzsche’s concept of the Superman,
and how to overcome yourself in light of it.
Last centuries we saw a decline in religion in Western countries, which has accelerated
during the previous few decades. Nietzsche saw the decline of Christianity as both positive and
negative. On the one hand, he was concerned that nihilism could arise in the wake of religious
decline, as the lack of purpose and moral values could lead to despair and meaninglessness.
On the other hand, he saw the religious decline as an opportunity
for people to create new values and meanings. Even though Nietzsche disliked Christianity, he
saw the value of this religion as a way to provide meaning and purpose to people. He disagreed with
what the Christian faith teaches, though, and believed that its values are life-denying,
as they promote self-sacrifice and self-denial by rejecting one’s desires and instincts,
leading to a repressive way of life. In his work Beyond Good and Evil, he stated:
The Christian faith from the beginning,
is sacrifice the sacrifice of all freedom, all pride, all self-confidence of spirit,
it is at the same time subjection, self-derision, and self-mutilation.
End quote.
According to Nietzsche, Christianity’s ‘slave morality’ promoted weakness instead of strength,
as opposed to the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome and the Mohammedan civilization
of the Spanish Moors, which Nietzsche held in high regard for their strength and vigor.
But, even though Nietzsche’s disgust with the herd morality that, according to him, Christian
values promote, he also saw the inevitable danger of the decline of such traditional values. Again,
Christianity, like other religions, provides people with meaning, purpose, and guidance. For
centuries, the church has been an integral part of Western civilization, being the fabric of society,
influencing and controlling almost all facets of life. Thus, taking it away is comparable to
destroying a building’s foundation: the building will collapse. As a consequence, so thought
Nietzsche, the decline of Christian values would make people feel hopelessly adrift because of
their lack of meaning and purpose. In the preface of his work The Will to Power, Nietzsche writes:
What I relate is the history of the next two centuries. I describe what is coming,
what can no longer come differently: the advent of nihilism. This history can be related even now;
for necessity itself is at work here. This future speaks even now in a hundred signs,
this destiny announces itself everywhere; for this music of the future all ears are cocked
even now. For some time now our whole European culture has been moving as toward a catastrophe,
with a tortured tension that is growing from decade to decade: restlessly, violently, headlong,
like a river that wants to reach the end, that no longer reflects, that is afraid to reflect.
End quote. When looking at Western civilization,
was Nietzsche correct about the centuries that followed his statement? Has the decline of
traditional religious values paved the way for nihilism among those secularized? Many argue it
has, and thus, Nietzsche was correct. But how do we deal with nihilism? Nietzsche proposed a cure.
To the fading of Christian values and God as life’s ultimate meaning, Nietzsche presented
an answer: the Superman. A Superman rejects collective moral and traditional beliefs,
frees himself from them, and embraces individuality and self-realization.
Instead of following the ways that others have laid out, a Superman carves out his own
individual path and thus transcends the flock. Nietzsche believed we needed to overcome our
current limitations to reach a higher level of existence. In his work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra,
he describes a human being as a tightrope over an abyss, a dangerous crossing, stretched between the
animal and the Superman. According to Nietzsche, the path toward being the Superman is an active
and ongoing process of self-overcoming and embracing the challenges and risks of life.
“I want to teach men the sense of their existence, which is the Superman,
the lightning out of the dark cloud man.”
…he stated.
We’re not born as Supermen: this ideal must be actively pursued. Nietzsche admitted that the
path toward the Superman is difficult. Someone becoming a Superman is a rarity. But it’s not
just about reaching the goal. The dangerous walk on the tightrope itself is just as important,
if not more so, as the journey implies that one is moving in the right direction,
away from a more primitive, inferior version of humanity. Nietzsche stated:
“I teach you the superman. Human being is something that must be overcome. What have
you done to overcome him? All creatures so far created something beyond themselves;
and you want to be the ebb of this great flood and would even rather go back to animals than overcome
humans? What is the ape to a human? A laughing stock or a painful embarrassment. And that is
precisely what the human shall be to the overman: a laughing stock or a painful embarrassment.”
End quote.
According to Nietzsche, the Supermen have achieved a state of self-mastery and overcame the
limitations of the herd mentality, as they’re not bound anymore by societal norms and traditional,
collective forms of morality but create their own values and meaning. These values and meanings
are unique to each Superman, based on their individual perspectives and experiences. They
live life on their terms, beyond conventions, in their own authentic ways. The Superman, therefore,
is an ultimate manifestation of the ‘will to power,’ which Nietzsche considered the fundamental
drive of all living things. “Life itself is the will to power,” he stated. And so, for Nietzsche,
the Superman represents the affirmation of life in all its richness and complexity.
Concerning nihilism and the erosion of religious values, Nietzsche described the Superman as the
new “meaning of the Earth,” or put differently, a new ultimate purpose we could all aspire to,
which implies that the path of the Superman is not reserved to one or few individuals. Everyone is
free to attempt the walk over the abyss. Nietzsche believed that the Superman was a potentiality
that existed within all of us. However, only a few have the strength and courage to endure this risky
journey, in which one faces dangers and despair followed by one’s shedding off of old values
and meaning or being ostracized and ridiculed. The prospect of loneliness and meaninglessness
generally frightens people. Being part of the herd makes us feel safe and grants us
a sense of belonging. Regardless of how much this herd diminishes them,
keeps them weak and docile, and prevents them from unleashing their full potential,
many would remain within its safe and comfortable sphere. So, we could compare the relationship
between people and their flock to the people trapped inside The Matrix, as Morpheus stated:
“You have to understand. Most people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are
so inured and so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it.”
End quote.
Thus, by walking the tightrope between ‘beast’ and ‘Superman,’ we move away from the flock,
transcend it, and therefore the herd may see us as a threat. People may ridicule and fight us and
try to pull us down like crabs in a bucket. So, choosing Nietzsche’s path of the Superman comes
with a price that many are unwilling to pay. By rejecting the limitations of conventional
morality and embracing our own individuality, we can become Superman-like figures. Thus,
the Superman is not a figure to be idolized or worshipped but rather a
goal to be pursued and realized as a new, overarching purpose for humanity. I quote:
The superman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the superman is to be the meaning
of the earth! I beseech you, my brothers, be true to the earth, and do not believe those
who speak to you of otherworldly hopes! They are poisoners, whether they know it or not.
The Superman is an individual who transcended moral and societal values and embarked on a
journey to create their own values and meaning in life. According to Nietzsche,
the Superman not only escapes the misery of nihilism but also enters a further stage in human
evolution and a higher level of human development. But what would a Superman look like in practice?
How could someone become a Superman in today’s society? Nietzsche didn’t propose a fixed set of
values or characteristics that a Superman has. So, it’s not an archetype one could emulate.
Becoming a Superman is different for everyone because it’s an individual and authentic
process. If there were a standard archetype to follow, it would oppose Nietzsche’s emphasis on
individuality and be just another form of herd mentality. But there are guidelines.
First, we must be willing to embrace our uniqueness in the face of a society that
wants us to conform. Hence, we must identify and accept our own strengths, weaknesses,
passions, and values and be true to ourselves. Only if we completely accept ourselves (after
being honest with ourselves about who we are) can we embark on the path of self-overcoming.
Self-overcoming involves facing flaws we may not want to see, confronting fears
we might have been running from our whole lives, and identifying our uncertainties;
in short, everything that holds us back from personal growth and improvement.
The key to self-overcoming lies in ‘struggle:’ the struggle to overcome one’s limitations and push
ourselves beyond what we thought was possible. “What does not kill me makes me stronger,”
Nietzsche famously said. Self-overcoming could be achieved by setting challenging goals,
seeking new experiences, learning new skills, and facing our fears head-on.
Creating our own values is also a key component of becoming a Superman. Instead of adhering to
traditional values and morality, we must question and reject them and develop our
personal philosophy and code of ethics based on our will to power. Of course, this is easier
said than done. Society is drenched in innumerable norms and values. Many of these values are deeply
ingrained in us. For example: “greed is bad” or “humility is a virtue.” So, it’s challenging to
free oneself from how we collectively judge these values. It takes tremendous courage to go against
fundamental principles that shape culture and society when they don’t serve us or keep us small.
Another aspect of becoming a Superman is creating a solid purpose to combat nihilism. Pursuing our
passions and interests and aligning them with our values and goals can help us achieve a sense
of fulfillment and meaning in our lives, so we don’t fall into the dark and dangerous abyss of
existential pointlessness. A strong purpose helps us overcome obstacles that seem unconquerable,
pushes us beyond our limitations, and may lead us to achievements of unthinkable magnitude.
As Nietzsche stated: “He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.”
In conclusion, Nietzsche’s concept of the Superman is a call to action for humanity
to transcend traditional values and morality and create their unique path in life based on
individuality, self-overcoming, and the pursuit of personal meaning and purpose.
While the path to the Superman is challenging and requires constant effort and self-reflection,
it represents Nietzsche's vision for human evolution and the ultimate manifestation of
the ‘will to power.’ By becoming a Superman, and thus unlocking our true potential,
Nietzsche believed humanity could overcome the dangers of nihilism.
Thank you for watching.