Mill and Nietzche: Compare and Contrast - ATTN: Philosophy buffs

[BlackjackAJ]

Hi all. Just working on a midterm exam where I have to compare and contrast Mill’s and Nietzsche’s interpretation of human agency (i.e., how do each of them interpret what it means to be a human being). I have a few ideas from "On Liberty" to discuss but am having some problems understanding Nietzche. Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful.

[pilliwinks]

To truly understand Nietzsche, I recommend tertiary syphilis /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Sorry

[madnak]

It's easiest to just write the stuff and then find post-hoc justifications. Chances are your professor can't outline Nietzsche's position any better than you can /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I think Nietzsche was too poetic to have an "interpretation" of human agency. I'd say he had "explorations" of human agency instead. However, it's probably safest to base your paper on his "Will to Power" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Will_to_Power) idea, with a good helping of "Beyond Good and Evil." (http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/Nietzsche/beyondgoodandevil_tofc.htm)

I think he had a deep respect for the basic dignity of human action, and I believe it's where he found most of the meaning in existence. Agency was very essential for him, and individual choice represented the pivot upon which substantive reality rested. But that's just my own interpretation, and many people would disagree strongly with it.

[BlackjackAJ]

[ QUOTE ]
It's easiest to just write the stuff and then find post-hoc justifications. Chances are your professor can't outline Nietzsche's position any better than you can /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I think Nietzsche was too poetic to have an "interpretation" of human agency. I'd say he had "explorations" of human agency instead. However, it's probably safest to base your paper on his "Will to Power" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Will_to_Power) idea, with a good helping of "Beyond Good and Evil." (http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/Nietzsche/beyondgoodandevil_tofc.htm)

I think he had a deep respect for the basic dignity of human action, and I believe it's where he found most of the meaning in existence. Agency was very essential for him, and individual choice represented the pivot upon which substantive reality rested. But that's just my own interpretation, and many people would disagree strongly with it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the reply with the links, they were helpful. I'm going to focus on Nietzsche's master and slave morality in Genealogy of Morals, as well as his explanation of linguistics being used to separate the doer and the deed.

[moorobot]

I imagine that the most important point your Prof. is looking for is that Mill has an ethical and egalitarian view while Nietzsche has an aesthetic and inegalitarian view. I'll leave it up to you to unpack what these terms mean.

[aeest400]

find a cpl of brian leiter's papers on nitzsche. use google.