Nietzsche on Naturalism, Egoism and Altruism

• Main Author: Nantz, Derrick Phillip
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Archive @ GSU 2007
• Subjects: Altruism; Egoism; Nietzsche; Ethical Egoism; Egoistic Morality; Selfishness; Selflessness; Higher Man; Bernard Reginster; Philosophy
• Online Access: http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/philosophy_theses/30; http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=philosophy_theses

In this thesis I provide an overview of Nietzsche's ethics with an emphasis on showing how his naturalistic approach to ethics leads him to advance an egoistic moral code. I argue that this, though radical in the light of conventional morality, is not irrational, unprincipled, or proscriptive of other-regarding moral considerations. On the contrary, it demands the highest degree of foresight and integrity. While Nietzsche's writings are meant for a select group of people, namely "higher men," whose flourishing may be undercut by their unwitting acceptance of a self-destructive morality. I explain that Nietzsche places the highest degree of value on the life of these individuals, the development of their character, and their flourishing. Further, I explain that Nietzsche extols as a great virtue "bestowing" or "gift-giving," and that he takes generosity to be more frequently practiced under an ethics of egoism.