From Clark Kent to Superman

From Clark Kent to Superman

Nietzsche’s main idea in the first part of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, is the evolution of humanity towards the Übermensch, which in German translates literally into the Overman, but is commonly understood and translated as, the Superman. Thus Nietzsche starts off his book with a short prologue introducing Zarathustra, the prophet of the Übermensch, and his attempt to speak to the world about his revelation. But in order to truly understand Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and the message Nietzsche is trying to communicate to our frail species, one must first understand the man himself. Nietzsche is considered one of the premier philosophers of the 19^th century. Possessing a strong dislike of organized religion, and a special hatred for Christianity (so much so that he in fact declared himself to be the antichrist in his book aptly titled The Antichrist), much of his work revolves around a central concept: the death of God. Not literally of course, because Nietzsche never believed that God lived in the first place, but that the concept of god is unbelievable in a world of technological advancements. With God’s death comes the death of the values that God laid down for humanity, first through the Ten Commandments, then through the prophets. According to Nietzsche, new values are needed to replace the old ones, and that’s where Thus Spoke Zarathustra comes into play. In the novel, Zarathustra serves as a new kind of prophet, preaching the coming of the Übermensch, and the new values that follow it. Thus Spoke Zarathustra serves as his bible, communicating Nietzsche’s values through the words of Zarathustra.

            Personally, I find Nietzsche’s new values fascinating. Many of his writings are pessimistic, directed toward his ultimate goal of nihilism, the rejection of all religion and moral principles that were “taught” to us by God. The Übermensch serves as the ultimate goal for this nihilism, the evolution of mankind passed the need for Gods. Zarathustra speaks of the three stages of metamorphosis one must undertake in order to move back gone, the camel, the lion, and the child. As a camel, one renounces all of life’s comforts and exercises self-discipline and control over their actions for the sake of knowledge. Once one has done that, the camel transforms into a lion, a fierce and proud ego-centric beast, which rejects outside influence and thoughts that are not their own. The child, which directly succeeds it, represents man reborn. As a child is the beginning of life, so is it the end of life, and the birth of the Übermensch. The child is the most important stage, it is new creation. Man bust be created anew to allow for the coming of the Übermensch, and the values he teaches. The values that he dictates, make up the rest of part one, and emphasize the shift away from the slave morality of the Abrahamic religions, and towards the reclamation of the master moralities and values that are represented by Superman and his teachings of nihilism.