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Beyond Good and Evil—at any rate that is not the same as ‘Beyond Good and Bad.’

In Ancient Greece and Rome, there’s no real concept of evil. A person is “good” if they are free to embrace their human instincts and pursue strength, power, and joy. A person who’s not able to do so is simply unlucky: they’re not endowed with social privilege, or they’ve been bewitched by the gods, or they’re a bit foolish. In that sense, there’s no such thing as a fundamentally evil person, or fundamentally evil behavior. The opposite of being good is more like being less good—or “Bad”—as in worse off. However, when oppressed people develop their rival moral code, they characterize their oppressors as fundamentally evil for being strong, powerful, aggressive, and experiencing joy from such behavior. Thus, the concept of “evil” enters the picture. So, going “Beyond Good and Evil” means going beyond a way of seeing natural, human power-seeking behavior as “evil” in and of itself. This is what Nietzsche longs for in his own culture.

Explanation and Analysis:

Nietzsche concludes his first essay by quoting the title of one of his other books that also addresses morality, Beyond Good and Evil. Here, he uses the title to explain a fundamental difference between ancient Europea...

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Original

Romeo

(aside) She speaks.
O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art
As glorious to this night, being o’er my head,
As is a winged messenger of heaven
Unto the white, upturnèd, wondering eyes
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him
When he bestrides the lazy-puffing clouds
And sails upon the bosom of the air.

Juliet

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art though Romeo?
Deny they father and refuse they name.
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

Modern

Romeo

(to himself) She speaks. Speak again, bright angel! For tonight you are as glorious, there up above me, as a winged messenger of heaven who makes mortals fall onto their backs to gaze up with awestruck eyes as he strides across the lazy clouds and sails through the air.

Juliet

O Romeo, Romeo! Why must you be Romeo? Deny your father and give up your name. Or, if you won’t change your name, just swear your love to me and I’ll give up being a Capulet.

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