Philosophy Essay. Literature & Language Assignment.

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Philosophy
Nietzsche makes an emotional argument that being self-interested and dangerous is far better than being ‘‘unegoistic’’ and a herd animal. He asserts that unegoistic practices and the sentiments that cause them have little place in a world that seeks to promote life to the full. Ethics of self-interest holds that individual’s interest is their highest value that they should pursue, and that they should measure all other values in terms of their impact on their self interest. All such ethical theories are egoist.
Egoism is based on the principle that an action is morally right so long as it promotes the self-interest of a person practicing it. Nietzsche’s insistence on self-interest as a methodological approach to morality originates from his naturalism. This is evident from a passage in Zarathustra, where he writes, “Ego’, sayest thou, and art proud of that word. But the greater thing—in which thou are unwilling to believe—is thy body with its big sagacity; It saith not ‘ego,’ but doeth it’’ (Nantz, 36). In this statement, Nietzsche expresses that the urge to purse self interest comes automatically or naturally for the body.
Nietzsche believes that the body is sagacious because the functions of growth and maintenance come automatically. While many might view such behaviors as amoral, Nietzsche sees then as mechanically life promoting and therefore healthy. The case of self-interest also stems from the idea that morality has no inherent value (Elgat,313). Instead, it is instrumental and must serve an individual’s life, which is the origin of all value. Otherwise, it will promote harm. Likewise, Nietzsche thinks that nothing has value like self-interest. According to Nietzsche, something is valuable only if it promotes individual interest.
As noted, the practice of self interest influences a person to focus on individual life and ensure that all actions satisfy individual needs. For a person to take a self-interest approach, they must understand themselves deeply and recognize their passion and interests (Janaway and Robertson, 25). This understanding helps determine the choices and actions one will take to maximize self-fulfillment. According to Nietzsche, self-understanding is critical because people are different in behaviors and tastes. That is to say, what is good for one person may be bad for the other, and the achievement of success also depends on a person’s particularities (May, 261). For an individual to know what makes them succeed, they must understand themselves. Therefore, one needs to assess their nature and character accurately. It is worth noting that one of Nietzsche’s worries about altruistic moral code is that it ignores the concept that different things can be good for different people.
He stated that any altruistic moral code that takes itself unreservedly and addresses itself to everyone is insightful to omission and particularly harmful to the privileged (Nantz, 39). Nietzsche thinks that it is immoral to state that what is good for one should be good for all, as most people who use unegoistic approach believe. Such belie...