Paul Maverick B. Ward                                                                                      

Contemporary Moral Problems by James E. White (7^th Edition)

Library Reference: none

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Contemporary-Moral-Problems-James-White/dp/0495553204/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1233910528&sr=1-1

Learning Expectations:

            I expect to learn more information about Master and Slave Morality that ever since has been very popular with a lot of people. This morality has been something that is the main core of some movies out there. I also expect to learn how Friedrich Nietzsche developed his insights about master morality and slave morality and what the difference it has between the two.

Review:

            On the sub-chapter of Chapter 1 in the book Contemporary Moral Problems by James E. White, it talks about master and slave morality and what Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher and poet, thinks about the two.

            Let’s first give a preview of what the two really is. First of all, the Master Morality is a kind of morality of which a superior person follows and emphasizes power, strength, egoism, and freedom. These people are those who lead a group of people and instill fear and power over the others. There are advantages and disadvantages to this kind of morality. The advantages are great leadership, firm grip over all the people under, strict implementation of rules, regulations, and restrictions, and most of all, all of the special things such as money, weapons, and the like are organized and well kept. The disadvantages on the other hand is that these kinds of morality gives birth to disrespect for others especially to those under, corruption of all things inside the society or community, and one of the most creepy of them all is that the leader gains an idea that with all of this power, he becomes as powerful as God himself. He gets the notion that he can do anything he wants as longs as he is happy and satisfied.

            Finally, there is the Slave Morality, this of which is the kind of morality that gives respect to others. It calls for weakness, submission, sympathy, and love towards other people. A lot is against this kind of morality because for them, it shows weakness and thinks that people who undergo with this morality is pathetic or frail. Likewise with the Master Morality, Slave Morality has its own advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of Slave Morality is that it shows sympathy and respect to others. The kinds of people that practice this morality are those who are down to earth and very considerate to others. People who are into this morality are those who gain more friends and respect from other people. They don’t boast anything of what they have to others to prevent conflicts to arise. The disadvantage in the other hand is that it gives other people an idea that people who practice Slave Morality are weak and easy to overcome with. There are also times that due to overwhelming pity over others, they themselves get pitied by others because of their actions.

            Between the two, there is some form of extent on which the actions being done is right or wrong. Many things that are fueled by Master Morality ends up with wars, fights, brawls, and other kinds of conflicts between two or more people. Many conflicts that have and will happen in this world are or will be fueled by Master Morality. There are those people who will set aside their respect for others just to be superior and powerful than others. The life they want to live would be something that steps over others who are weak and submissive. On the other hand, people who are into Slave Morality will always stand up and somehow fight those people who are not showing respect to others. It’s like a game of cat and mouse between these two moralities, the cat being the Master Mentality and the mouse being the Slave Mentality. There is the notion on which the cat will always take advantage over the weak to satisfy its wants and needs. The mouse on the other hand will always make a way to run and avoid the problems and difficulties that the cat will rain down on him. There is always the idea of the strong taking over or taking advantage to the weak and frail.

            Another good example for this is Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Regime. Due to his Master Morality, he got the idea to conquer other countries and eradicate people who he doesn’t like at all. Mass murders and destruction was the cause of his actions throughout the world. He didn’t have the notion of balance between strength and weakness. For him, killing and conquering is the key to success and overall strength.

Lessons Learned:

I have learned a lot more information between Master and Slave Morality and how these two impacts the way the world goes around. I also learned about what Friedrich Nietzsche thinks about master morality and slave morality of which he agrees with Master Morality.

Integrative Questions:

1.  Who is Friedrich Nietzsche?
2.  What is his nationality?
3.  What is the difference between Master and Slave Morality?
4.  How does Master Morality impact the lives of people?
5.  How does Slave Morality impact the lives of people?

Review Questions:

1. How does Nietzsche characterize a good and healthy society?

-       A healthy society for Nietzsche is a one that should allow superior individuals to exercise their “will to power”, their drive toward domination and exploitation of the inferior.

2. What is Nietzsche’s view of injury, violence, and exploitation?

-       For him, it is a sign of superiority over others. It’s of which competition and dominance over others is practiced.

3. Distinguish between master-morality and slave-morality.

-       Master morality emphasizes power, strength, egoism, and freedom while Slave-morality calls for weakness, submission, sympathy, and love.

4. Explain the Will to Power.

-       The Will to Power is the manifestation of dominance, superiority, power, supremacy, and advantage towards people who are inferior or weak.

Discussion Questions:

1. Some people view Nietzsche’s writings as harmful and even dangerous. For example, some have charged Nietzsche with inspiring Nazism. Are these charges justified or not? Why or why not?

-       I think it is harmful in a way that it somehow pushes other people to be dominant and superior over other people. It can be a cause for something that will ignite chaos.

2. What does it mean to be “a creator of values”?

-       A creator of values is of which a man can distinguish his self-created values to be used over other people who are much weaker and frail.