Nietzsche’s Key Ideas Simplified

The Death of God:

“God is dead”

“There are nofacts only interpretations”

“What is truth? A mobile army of metaphors and anthropomorphisms”

Nietzsche was not the first to proclaim the death of god. It was a statement made by Hegel in his earlier less reputable writings as well as by Martin Luth. When Nietzsche says that God is dead he is not making some theological proposition , no – Nietzsche is saying that people dont really believe in god anymore. People who today subscribe to christianty do so without any passion and commitment to the religion and will not go out of their own convenience when the religion demands it of them.

Nietzsche likewise rejects truth. In the history of western though truth, from Plato to Hegel has always been something monistic (“Das Ganze is das Wahre” – Hegel; Platos “the form of the good”) (P{hysics: the unifying theory of the four fundamental fields of physics) Truth is the unity behind the deviersity of appearance that make up the world. As such metaphysics does manifest itself in anotheworldly form which is why Nietzsche rejects truth. Example: Marx interpretation of Hegel’s Herrschaft und Kenchtschaft posits that the laws of the world are realized in some future state of affairs (“socialism”). Example: Socrates dreamed of a world where he could go on practicing philosophy forever.

I am not to familiar with Nietzsches *arguments* against the above epistemologies but the idea that there is no truth to grasp is something that reflecting on ones imediate experience can. In its place Nietzsche posits what Solomon (from whose lectures I am heavily borrowing here) calls epistemological nihilism or the idea that truth is dependant on what is useful and practical.

The Eternal Retrun of the Same

[too long to quote: see Gay Science]

This is what Nietzsche called his greatest idea. It is a though experiment that asks you to aggressively confront your life and your attitude to life. The basic idea is as follows: how would you react if you had to live the life you have led and will lead over and over again exactly the same – eternally. This has the potential to be the greatest weight if you do not truely love life / your life whilst on the other hand it could be the greatest thing you have ever heard and certainly Nietzsche Uebermensch would unhistatnyl say “yes” to the question.

The eternal return of the same is also a kind of philosophivcal hammer with which to test whether ideas are in fact life affirming. Thus you wouldnt want to spend all eternaity leading you life whilst basing your life on a desire to live in the middle ages or to go to heavan.

Nihilism

Multiple definition throughout his notes. Good example:

“The highest values devalueing themselves”

Nietzsche describes nihilism as a “spectre haunting europe” He identifies nihilistic tendencies precisely wherer the authors today and in his time would have located the bulwark against nihilistm, namely in philosophy and religion. Religion and Judeo Christintity specifically are nihilistic in that the are world negating. This can be understood with reference to the eternal recurence. If an individual were to live forever and if that individual were christian he would spend his life wanting heavan which is tantamount to wanting nothing . Life is a thing heaving is otherworldy therefore heaving is nothing and the “will to nothing spoken sacredly” Modern Politics would be a very good example of nihilism in action. Thus Obama campaign for a mystical “change” is very very nihilistic as it is bound to be understood.

The Uebermensch

“I teach you the overman. Man is something that must be overcome. What have you done to overcome him today`

“Man is a rope spun between ape and superman”

The idea ofthe uebermensch is only mentioned once in Nietzsche corpus – at the beginning of Zarathustra. The word Uebermsch is actually not something Nietzsche came up with. Goethe uses the term in a poem and there is some evidence to suggest that the term existed in ancient Rome (I believe). The uebermensch would be defined by many scholars as an individual who unabatently accepts the thought of the eternal return. But he is also more than this. He is the ideal human being or “the will of the earth” that justifies our existence. Niethsce calls him and the culture which will give birth to this individual the “grosse Mittag” the great, halcyon mid-day. Suggesting that once humanity has reached its height it will descend into darkness. Whether the uebermensch is an indiiduals or a race i cannot say for sure. Nietzsche often flirts with the idea of creating a certain political order based on his ideas (eg. The good europeans) but just as often disgards these ruminations.

There are also darwinistic tendencies in Nietzsche. He expresses admiration for darwin at the beginning of The Genealogy of Morality (more on which below) and the image of man being something spun between an ape and a superman is clearly an allusion to darwin. Nietzsche pragmatic epitsemology is also often clarified in darwinian terms (ie true is what is rpactical, practical is what aids survivali) but Nietzsche is at odds with darwin in that the survival of the fittest does not mean that the best survive. Thus there was a theory circulating a couple of years ago arguing that the last two creates to battle it out at the end of evolution will be the syphilis virus and the cockroach.

A good example of the kind of life the uebermsnch might embody is represented by the German Poet Goethe for whom Nietzsche had great admiration. Goethe, says Nietzshce, explored the limits of his life and life as it was accessible to him. Goethe was someone who fully developed his talents and had a strong passion for what he did. Goethe also had a very intricate persona life.

The Will to Power

“Der Wille zur Macht”

Note: It is “wille zur macht” not “wille zum reich” Power does not mene political power or money for which Nietzsche expresses contempt in a number of cases. Power here refers to an individuals ability to exist their will in pursuing self master (a central idea to Nietzsche) as a means to developing their talents. An individual with a strong will to power exemplifies passion, enthusias and excitement about their ideas etc. Philosophers, writes Nietzsche, have the most spiritual will to power.

Master Morality Slave Morality

“one must give style to ones character”

The history of western civilization since the birth of christianity has been a conflict between master and slave morality.

Master morality: Masters consisted of a highly wealthy elite who never worked. As a result they founded an ethic not only of virtue (doing what is right such as not lying) but of excellence (excelling in crafts such as archery) These are what made masters “good” and they called themselves such. Bad was anything that was feeble, weak and not free as them. Ie. The slaves on whose work they relied for their aristocratic standing.

Slave morality: Slave were being oppressed by the masters. Thus they called the masters “evil” and themselves, people who were not like the masters “good” Slave morality is thus reactive.

Modern politics is a decadent form of “master” morality cloaked in slave morality. With the advent of christianity and the resultant troiumh of slave morality (ie, the bible says it is easier for a camel to go through the pin of a needle than for a richt person to get into heavan) up to the present master morality and slave morality mix. This is something that Nietsche says is too interesting to go unnoticed on a small planet in. When for instance Obama becomes elected he is an incredibly powerful person. As such he is a master. But the cultura ethic that dominatess the society he rules is one of slave morality. As such he cannot assert himself as being superior to anyone (ie he proudly proclaims that he comes from some goatherder in africa) The inteeraction etween master and slave morality is something I do not quite fully understand but essentially master morality bewcoems sublimated into something finer more spiritual than it was in the ancient world. This is the process the overman is to follow through with.

Personasl Reflection on Nietzsche

A tutor in a philosophy course I once took made a good remark on nietzsche. She said that the people Nietzsche appeals to participate in his ideas are not what most of us are. You cannt really follow Nietzsche to where he went. What I personally admire in Nietsche is not only his passion and his commitment to his ideas given his health and his very tragic life but I also greatly admire the acuity with which he was able to practice philosophy / think about life, ideas and the history of individuals.

Black Metal as Spiritual Exercise Pt 2

What is thought? Is thought not the means via which we cognitively emulate that which happens in reality? When someone tells me the fortress cannot be stormed I will evalutate that persons claim by imagining ways in which the fortress could be taken. And since the laws of the world conform to the logic cognitively at my disposal, I do not necessarily have to test my ideas in praxis. I simply need to think.

As such, it is legitimate to claim that things which exist for very long times (such as for instance the ruins of the city Ur) have been subject to the laws of the world as though a very rudimentary force has been trying to perpetually test ways to which it’s ziggurat might not withstand. This, metaforce acting in the world, is present everywhere. It isnt something tangible but something we abduce by observing what is given. Friedrich Nietzsche described architecture as mans triumph over gravity. Gravity is an instinitation of this metaforce. A law of the world that just as a thinking person, though not self reflexively and definitively slower, attempts to criqitique everything which comes to be. The world thinks. It thinks like a nihilist. A universal consciousness, an Urgeist that seeks to outdo evything humanity will create.

In the words of Goethes mephistopheles: “Ich bin ein teil von jener kraft die stehts das Boese will, doch stehts das gute schafft. Ich bin der Geist der stehts verneint, und das mit recht. Denn alles was entsteht ist es werd das es zugrunde geht. “

We human beings are not at war with ourselves. We are at war with the urgeist and there are moments everyone has experienced when they have triumphed over this most anvient of physical laws. Black metal provides us with a clear path towars transcendence. It is an art form that, at its highest, presents us with experiences which Goethe’s Faust called” verwahre doch, du bist so schoen.” Moments in which faust could say thats it. Ive found it! Damn my soul to the devil. Most of our treadmill squirrel trap culture contemporaries seek this experience in false dreams presented to them by advertts and consumerism but there is universal tendency amongst our race, we who strive to be immortal, to playfully create and imbue existence with experiences that we want to continue – eternally. Friedriche Nietzsche in what he describes as the greatest thought he ever had, presented us with a clear path towards evaluating evything that confronts us. Black metal included. It is the thought of the eternal return (Gay Science Aphorism II) This, the greatest of ideas is the supreme test of all that we can experience. Black metal included…

“Only the dead have seen the end of war” writes plato. It is time the human race united not against itself but against the urgeist. It is time the human race began thinking. In the words of DJ Goat: “Eternity if yours, if you make the infinite real.”

Black Metal as Spiritual Exercise

One of the many consciousness benefits attained through intensive study of certain meditation discplines (such as Zazen) is an awareness of and competenced in dealing with pain. Although this might sound grim, the basic idea is not. Zazen for instance requires, if practiced seriously, sitting quietly in the lotus posuter for 90 minutes. Serious zen students (myself incluced) do this regularly (perhaps 4times a year) 5 times in a day (with breaks) on top of our usual weekly meditation regimen. These are called zen nights at some dojos and ojne cannot complete a zen night withouth having to quietly sit, meditating on ones aching body. At some statge sduring the zen night, physical pain will peak and the student will have to exert their will. Attention is brought onto iones breath and eventually the physical pain will fade. One enters a new and to many unknown level of consciousness.

Many of the individuals I have known who have for extensive parts of their life been deeply absorbed in black metal have a certain strength and ability to confront problems other individuals lack. Black Metal, like zazen, is a spiritual exercise. Our genre teaches people to go beyond immediate thoughts that might arise in difficult circumstances, to concentrate on the situation until it even becomes beautiful.

This willingness to struggle is a fundamental feature of any high culture. Not to sound chauvinistic, indeed, Friedrich Nietzsche himself opposed war for the very simple fact that it acts as a distraction from what is really important: self cultivation. Self mastery. Our society has lost touch with this principle. If you look at anything from cuisine to the most valued cultural achievements of our time you will find an element of artificiality that is based upon molding the world into what is convenient. Not to say that this is a reason to reject all of “modern society” – I take off my hat to anyone who has understood the historical opriogins of this very interesting experiement – but this patent observation does call for a solution. The rare and gifted individuals always exemplify certain degree of artifstic and personal perfection that they try to tacitly communicate in their work. People today, regardless of how stupid or intelligent they are, have generally forgotten to appreciate the pursuit of perfection. From politics, through film to the music industry, all of which resemble each other in that they are far away from anything that could ber called a meritocracy, are nothing but attempt to conform to the most convenient behavioral patterns as experienced by the majority of people. This spiritual sloppiness has found itself all the way to the hallowed halls of learning. Psychology as a discipline has even defined the healthy individuals based on studies of ordinary men and women as opposed to the exceptional. Our philosophers, people like peter singer, confidently claim that “pleasure is the only thing of intrinsic value” The ideal human being today is the ultimate couch potato and Friedrich Nietzche knew this when he wrote that “democracy is the tyrrany of the evil men”

Black metal as a genre stands “as a stone in the stream of our time” to use the words of Evola. We, the NMRG, are working to establish as serious and committed sub culture here in Toronto where individuals can free themselves of careerism, petty greed and forced specialization to pursue and cultivate our art. Black Metal. We are not some shallow “radical” political organization many of whom have and will accomplished nothing of substance. The NMRG stands in defiance to the status quo when we call upon the GTA scene to:

– Educate and discipline itself

– Produce and celebrate talented musicians

– Refuse to endorse incompetence

– Seeing value in things that cannot be paid for

– Stop attending shows by morons such as inertia entertainment who want nothing of our genre but money

And what makes some music better than others? Hwo do we justify our plroubdly explaimed elitism? Black metal is not friendly. We are not a culture that wants to be happy. It is the eternal that we are after. Musicians that will write albums still heard in generations to come, individuals so healthy they will outlive most others, minds so absorbed in the history of though that they cannot be called subjective. In the words of DJ Goat of KCUF radio: “Reach to eternity and you will find the end: the end of life, the end of vision, the end of existence itself.” To us, this is the most beautiful sight. It is this union of good and evil that makes black metal a spiritual exercise. We strive to be immortal and revel in its impossibility.

The Ministry of Culture: Calling all Toronto Metalheads

The Ministry of Culture provides the GTA metal scene with a place for people tocome together and discuss culture. We seek to transform society by transforming our members and ourselves. We are always reaching for a higher state of existence. More joy of body mind and spirit. Greater art and higher culture!

At present the GTA metal scene lacks any direction beyond the entertainment of its decadent fanbase and the greed of the capitalists who sell us their music. The ministry of culture seeks to revive that elitist and romanticist spirit which dominated European black metal during the 1990’s. To that end we call on the Toronto metal scene to:

–          Educate and discipline itself.

–          Produce and celebrate talented musicians.

–          Refuse to endorse incompetence.

–          Seeing value in things that cannot be paid for.

–          Stop attending shows my morons such as inertia entertainment who want nothing of our genre but money.

–          Organize itself politically

To this end the Ministry of Culture invtes the Toronto metal scene to attend the following cultural events organized by us:

–          Philosophy and general book discussion groups

–          Concerts of quality bands

–          Camping and hiking trips

–          Occult ceremonies

–          M artial arts and physical training classes

–          Meditation classes

–          Music lessons (Bass, guitar, drums and keyboards)

 

Our ultimate goal is to establish a not for profit physical centre here in Toronto that will act as a cultural hub for black- death- and doom-metal in the city. This “Black Metal Factory” will do for underground metal what the Royal Conservatory of Music does for classical music. In so doing we seek to contribute to the natural process of emergence that is the history of our planet by producing a new form of metal that will be even darker and more interesting than anything preceding metal hence.

 

Join us!