The inability of Nietzsche to understand the real dynamics of gender, despite his other very fine insights, is a source of humour to me. His male followers inevitably adopt his misogyny, despite the fact that the writer himself warns that his misogynistic views are merely his own truths and are not philosophical facts.
His male groupies make a number of mistakes, all of them quite funny. Here is a sample.
1. The idea that in order to become great, I must adopt somebody else's point of view and values. (What is wrong with your original ones, and why are you advertising your rejection of them in this way?)
2. The idea that Nietzsche was trying to attract followers and should receive a following in terms of this kind of emulation of his 19th century predilections.
3. The assumption that there must be a link between misogyny and greatness.
NO! -- rather, there is a link between honesty about unpalatable facts about oneself and greatness, in the Nietzschean sense.
Greatness is attributed simply because being honest about oneself has the opposite effect to gaining social approval. It does not guarantee success, but is likely to compromise the outward trappings of success. Only if one can be honest, despite honesty being the way that one's success is compromised, one shows a plenitude of strength (in the Nietzschean sense).
If one succumbs to all sorts of negative flow backs (which is likely) if one then blames others for his demise, one fails to live up to Nietzschean precepts. In terms of this Nietzschean psychology, such a person who blames others has failed the test.
4. The confusion of psychology (Nietzsche's actual viewpoint) with metaphysics (the idea of eternal and unmoving truths). Those who think they have found in misogyny a basis for positing unyielding metaphysical truths should be required to think again.
5. Most followers of Nietzsche seem to have never thought independently -- that is, individually and individualistically -- so that when they fall down, they are even at that point unlikely to be provoked to think. But falling and failing is supposed to provoke deep thinking, according to Nietzschean psychology.
6. They have bought into the idea of rigidity of values as strength, which is the opposite to Nietzsche's psychology of strength. Quite simply, one cannot be honest with oneself so long as one is in the grip of rigid beliefs.
His male groupies make a number of mistakes, all of them quite funny. Here is a sample.
1. The idea that in order to become great, I must adopt somebody else's point of view and values. (What is wrong with your original ones, and why are you advertising your rejection of them in this way?)
2. The idea that Nietzsche was trying to attract followers and should receive a following in terms of this kind of emulation of his 19th century predilections.
3. The assumption that there must be a link between misogyny and greatness.
NO! -- rather, there is a link between honesty about unpalatable facts about oneself and greatness, in the Nietzschean sense.
Greatness is attributed simply because being honest about oneself has the opposite effect to gaining social approval. It does not guarantee success, but is likely to compromise the outward trappings of success. Only if one can be honest, despite honesty being the way that one's success is compromised, one shows a plenitude of strength (in the Nietzschean sense).
If one succumbs to all sorts of negative flow backs (which is likely) if one then blames others for his demise, one fails to live up to Nietzschean precepts. In terms of this Nietzschean psychology, such a person who blames others has failed the test.
4. The confusion of psychology (Nietzsche's actual viewpoint) with metaphysics (the idea of eternal and unmoving truths). Those who think they have found in misogyny a basis for positing unyielding metaphysical truths should be required to think again.
5. Most followers of Nietzsche seem to have never thought independently -- that is, individually and individualistically -- so that when they fall down, they are even at that point unlikely to be provoked to think. But falling and failing is supposed to provoke deep thinking, according to Nietzschean psychology.
6. They have bought into the idea of rigidity of values as strength, which is the opposite to Nietzsche's psychology of strength. Quite simply, one cannot be honest with oneself so long as one is in the grip of rigid beliefs.
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