Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19th century philosopher was obsessed with finding meaning in his life, though I guess that is a philosopher’s occupation. Having grown up in a religious family (his father a Lutheran pastor), he was fed a superficial meaning in his youth, that of Lutheranism. Shortly after beginning his higher education in theology (and classical philology), he began to study not only what religious figures thought of religion, but also read the works of critics, most notably Arthur Schopenhauer. As Nietzsche began to follow his inclination for reason, he lifted himself out of dogmatism and into the world of philosophy. In a letter to his sister, not long after renouncing his faith he writes.
“Hence the ways of men part: if you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then believe; if you wish to be a devotee of truth, then inquire…” – Nietzsche
With faith no longer clouding his ability to see, Nietzsche had to derive meaning in another way. After much explication and over several writings, Nietzsche comes to the ideal of the Higher Man. To clearly conceptualise the Higher Man, one must also consider the Herd; that is those who are not Higher Men, therefore, without the Herd, the Higher Man cannot exist.
The Herd is called such because each individual follows each other. The blind lead the blind. The Herd can be divided into two groups. The first is (ironically) the “Last Man”. The Last Man is one who pursues pleasure and comfort as the purpose, resulting in a life of laziness and mediocrity. The second is the “slave”. The slave is weak, and is called a slave, not because he has physical chains, but because he enslaves himself by subscribing to nihilism.
Nietzsche proposed that the higher man ought to have a “unifying life project” to pursue. The project should be great enough so that when/if progress is made towards it, the impact will last beyond one’s life. The reason to have such a project is that striving for it, means inevitable improvement of oneself, synonymous with the progress of becoming a Higher Man. An example of such a life project is creating intricate compositions (e.g. Mozart, Beethoven). Having a unifying life project also implies that it is individual to each life. Therefore, since the life project is unique and should drive every action a Higher Man takes, the morals of the Higher Man must be unique since they necessarily guide every smaller action towards the chosen ideal or creation. These morals can be equated to personal virtues. The Higher Man does not push these values on others. To do so could summon another herd morality.
With the overarching principle of a unifying life project in mind, Nietzsche proclaimed that “the concept of greatness entails being noble, wanting to be by oneself, being able to be different, standing alone and having to live independently.” By this, I don’t believe Nietzsche means that in order to live an enlightened life one must live in locational solitude (though, Nietzsche did for periods of his life), but rather he meant it spiritually. To be able to form your own opinions and moral frameworks around your unifying life goal, uninfluenced by the “anti-natural” herd morality, is independent thought. Despite the explicit denigration of Stoicism in Nietzsche’s Beyond Good an Evil, his position that individual reasoning is considered “natural” and is otherwise “anti-natural” is consistent with Stoicism and Aristotelian ethics, in that he declares only a life lived in accordance with reason will lead to eudaemonia (human flourishing).
Just as the herd can be separated into two classes, so can the Higher Men. The first has already been touched upon in the example of classical composers, the creative geniuses. The “other” is the more prevalent, and is only different in that they are not well-known. That is, the “other” still pursues their unifying life project and sets their own moral compass but due to some lack of innate talent or sheer misfortune do not produce the (perceived) value of the creative geniuses. It may seem discouraging to realise that even by pursuit of one’s unifying life project, you may not reach the heights of a creative genius. However, the separation is only made based on end result, not on process. Since the goal is to produce something that lasts long after one’s death, whether one’s work is deemed to be categorically “genius” is more likely to occur after one’s death. Coincidentally, Nietzsche’s work and he, himself, was not recognised for his insight and thinking during his lifetime. What is important, despite the very real possibility of “failing” to achieve recognition for your life’s work, is to examine your life because:
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
So, I skipped over one thing you may be wondering about: How do you find your unifying life project? Given it is a unique to you, Nietzsche offers no assistance here. This is perhaps what deters one from leaving the herd in the first place; the fact that certainty lives in the herd, and uncertainty outside it. When thinking in this way, one must also realise that to be a part of the herd, though the morals and goals are certain, they are certainly unfulfilling and that one should be willing to take the risk in order to become a Higher Man. When contemplating these questions aloud one may also begin to hear resistance (Steven Pressfield in The War of Art), louder than ever. The resistance from the herd appears noble at first glance, for it’s packaged as a call for equality. However, it is not a call for equality of opportunity i.e. of fairness, but rather equality regardless of effort, aptitude and courage. It is a call for Marxism obscured by a virtuous facade.
“Today – is greatness possible?” – Nietzsche (Beyond Good and Evil)
