"O my brothers, your nobility shall not gaze backward, but outward! You shall be exiles from all father- and forefather-lands! You shall love your children's land: let this love be your new nobility, - the undiscovered country in the remotest seas! For it I bid your sails and search!"
What should be our balance between past and future? Today's SMBC comic joked that we study history to avoid repeating our mistakes - but if we avoid our mistakes, is not the study of history then pointless in retrospect? Nietzsche now makes a related accusation, that our past is meaningless and in fact it is only our future that we should matter. After the passage above, he goes so far as to quip that we should apologize to our children for being our fathers' children. Perhaps a bit dramatic, but is there something to this?
Seems to me that Nietzsche was an existentialist. Far from being a nihilist, he certainly had values, and his Ubermensch is a lofty goal. Although he does not have a defining, a priori set of values for us, it seems clear that Nietzsche does believe in a purpose, in a unifying effort to improve our lot. How can this be nihilism then? Sartre would be proud.
And so, what is the value of our past? I agree somewhat, that the past is of little consequence, and may be a hindrance. The fact that we respect tradition and history often make a response to changing times slow. The 'old guard' isn't always right, and perhaps we should apologize for being our fathers' children. And embracing the land of our children, our future-land, would alleviate much of the overt nationalism and xenophobia that influence Nietzsche in his day. However, I would not go so far as to forget history altogether. We cannot always be in a state of flux, of changing loyalties and values. I unfortunately have nothing else definitive to say on this matter.
What should be our balance between past and future? Today's SMBC comic joked that we study history to avoid repeating our mistakes - but if we avoid our mistakes, is not the study of history then pointless in retrospect? Nietzsche now makes a related accusation, that our past is meaningless and in fact it is only our future that we should matter. After the passage above, he goes so far as to quip that we should apologize to our children for being our fathers' children. Perhaps a bit dramatic, but is there something to this?
Seems to me that Nietzsche was an existentialist. Far from being a nihilist, he certainly had values, and his Ubermensch is a lofty goal. Although he does not have a defining, a priori set of values for us, it seems clear that Nietzsche does believe in a purpose, in a unifying effort to improve our lot. How can this be nihilism then? Sartre would be proud.
And so, what is the value of our past? I agree somewhat, that the past is of little consequence, and may be a hindrance. The fact that we respect tradition and history often make a response to changing times slow. The 'old guard' isn't always right, and perhaps we should apologize for being our fathers' children. And embracing the land of our children, our future-land, would alleviate much of the overt nationalism and xenophobia that influence Nietzsche in his day. However, I would not go so far as to forget history altogether. We cannot always be in a state of flux, of changing loyalties and values. I unfortunately have nothing else definitive to say on this matter.
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