Satre Nietzsche & Human Nature - Essay Example

Sartre and Nietzsche on Human Nature A controversial issue of human nature is discussed on the basis of philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre and Nietzschefurther on. Existentialism and postindustrial humanism provide two different visions of a human nature. In the modern context, the philosophy of Nietzsche is more appropriate and relevant to the modern people of the global world. Jean Paul Sartre is the philosopher of the school of existentialism. He underlines that “existence precedes essence". In order to understand philosophy of Sartre, it is relevant to know the main points of existentialism.

There are a lot of issues of separation and independent existence. Actions of the human beings define their essence and identity. Thus, a self-development of an individual depends on his actions. In case an individual lives in the society and his actions are predetermined and compared with the actions of other people, then there is a direct influence exerted on an individual’s identity. Social actions determine an individual’s essence. This is interpretation of the existence preceding essence.

A feeling of responsibility is reflected in an individual’s feeling of anguish. A personal choice of an individual determines destiny of all other people and humankind in general. Our decision making can be decisive for other people. The existentialists do not believe in God. God does not determine whether we do right or a wrong action. Human instincts determine decision making. Different actions, taken by the individuals should be properly considered, because there is no external guidance of God or any other third power defining correctness of appropriateness of one’s actions.

A purity of a human mind may occur in the state of "despair", when people have a chance to take control over his actions. A nature of a man, when considered by Nietzsche, refers to a man’s feature of inertia. This philosopher is focused on a group of chosen men, or creators. Prevailing norms are not appropriate for real creators. They need great masses of people to show their dominance, but at the same time, they like being creators for themselves. A human nature is positioned by Nietzsche as an integrative social phenomenon.

At the same time, there are idealistic considerations about the nature of man in the philosophy of Nietzsche. This can be explained by the Industrial times of his philosophy development. The Industrial society needs and ideal hero. There is a need for salvation of humanity and human feelings and emotions play a strong role in the modern world and in the process of human identity development. Society pressure is hard to be resisted. Therefore, in order to stand with the social norms and values and preserve one’s identity it is very important to have a strong self-identity and a strong creative potential.

Nietzsche underlines that in the modernity there is a strong need for a “Superman”. A strong human nature is resistant to outer social pressures and is able to withstand life challenges. Therefore, in accordance with the discussions of human nature, an inner power of an individual prevails over social pressures, as Sartre puts it. With respect to Nietzsche, it is evident that he underlines a superpower of an ideal strong individuality. Man is simply exists and he is nothing more than his actions.

There are no external powers exerted on him and there is no creator, as Sartre claims. Therefore, Nietzsche claims more about a potential existence of God, but he underlines that God existed, but died. A man is looking for an ideal individuality and idealistic self-development. The strongest belief of Nietzsche is that there is no need to strive for a good or a bad human nature. A powerful human nature is focused on self-perfection. The more a man is developing, the more he is trying to become the strongest one.

A clear intention to become the Ubermensch is a perfect way out for the modern postmodern society. To my mind, philosophy of Nietzsche is more appropriate for the modern world’s development. People develop themselves in the name of power gaining and not in the name of self-perfection. Moreover, during the post-industrial period people were mainly focused on substitution of a man by a machine. Therefore, human nature comes across numerous challenges: it should exceed the powerful machine. To make a personal choice and be responsible is more important for the individual than for the whole society.

To be in despair is unnecessary for the contemporaries; it is more appropriate to be self-assured and independent and assure an individual power over powers of others. References Cate, Curtis. (2005). Friedrich Nietzsche. Woodstock, NY, USA. Webber, Jonathan. (2009). The existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre. London: Routledge.