What Does Nietzsche’s “Superman” Mean?
Nietzsche often asked how we can make the most of our lives. He often played the role of a great person who does this. One of these is the Ubermensch, also known as Superman. He’s not a fictional character, but a person we can try to be like.
What exactly is an Ubermensch?
One of Nietzsche’s most important ideas is the Ubermensch, which can also be spelled Uberman or Overman. Nietzsche used this idea to explain how to get out of a negative state of mind and live a life with meaning.
The ubermensch is someone who doesn’t follow society’s rules (“slave morality”) and instead lives by his own set of ideals, virtues, or laws. These are principles that are important to him personally and that he thinks all societies should be built on.
Nietzsche said that the ubermensch is a man who has come to know himself, is independent, and has reached psychic wholeness. He is also brave, daring, and has a strong sense of what is right and wrong.
Because of this, he is someone to look up to and try to be like. He is someone who has risen above the chaos and is able to overcome nihilism and build his own morality in a world where religion is dying.
Who is the Man of Steel?
Nietzsche saw that many of the things that once gave meaning to human life were slowly falling apart. The old faiths and ways of life were becoming less important.
Superman, who calls himself a hero, stands for this new way of being. He is a figure who has overcome all other values and whose independent will has produced a “master morality” that shows his independence, creativity, and originality.
But this “master morality” is not for everyone; Superman speaks to the few who have the strength and desire to make a difference. Nietzsche meant this when he said that the “Ubermensch” will only speak to people who are ready to put aside all other values.
How does the Superman stand for something?
People have many different ideas about what Superman means and what his sign means. For example, some people think that the symbol on his chest is a version of the Kryptonian shield, a protective coat of arms for the House of El (Superman’s family), or a sign of hope, a reminder of his mission to fight for truth and justice. He then changes into his superhero character, the Man of Steel, to fight for the truth and protect people from evil.
What does the Superman stand for?
In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche wrote about his idea of the ideal person, which he called the “Ubermensch” or “Superman.” He saw the Ubermensch as a reaction to nihilistic movements like secularism, fast industrialization, and mass migration, which were destroying the old institutions and ways of thought that gave life meaning.
This is very different from the ‘Champion of the Oppressed’ character that Siegel and Shuster made in 1934. To them, Superman stood for the ideals that he thought should replace Nazism and fascism: humanism, Judeo-Christian values and antisemitism.
It’s important to understand this difference in point of view between the Ubermensch and Superman because it can help explain why the two figures are used in so many different ways in fiction. Some stories, even ones that aren’t official, make references to the idea of the Ubermensch.