There is no doubt that a gap exists between rhetoric and behavior; this is evident. Cases like Brandon's and Philip's are rare, but that rarity is precisely what makes them so horrifying to us. There is no doubt that, as in the case of Nietzsche, quite a few philosophical ideas have been put into practice — sometimes repeatedly, even after having failed in the past.
Anyway, the movie is not about policies; they are merely the result of underlying ideas. The film emphasizes the power of philosophy and ideas — they can shape moral or immoral actions, influence practices, dictate modes of behavior, and lead to policies design.
I would add that it is not always easy to discern the seeds of disaster within a particular philosophical approach.
P.S. For a long time, I have wanted to write a post about the use of Nietzsche's theory in the film. However, I found it challenging to determine what to focus on in this subject. The more one reads Nietzsche, the more enigmatic he becomes. There is also a significant influence from Dostoyevsky, but those familiar with his books know that he actually warned against the consequences of abandoning traditional values in favor of a new morality—the opposite of Nietzsche's perspective. Most scholars believe Nietzsche never read Crime and Punishment and .
reply
share
jriley555 (8381)
4 months ago
I'm not enough of a Nietzschean reader to speak too broadly, but its pretty clear the end point of his ethics, such as they are, lead to elitism & autocracy of any sort that had a requisite 'will to power' - since he's explicitly contemptuous of majoritarian consensus (i.e. 'the herd'). From the little I've read, he comes across as a barbarian. He's missing that vital spark of pragmatism, or utilitarianism, without which any philosophy is irrelevant at one extreme, lethal at the other. His DNA is all over the fascist movements of last century, those of the present.
His insight that a modern ethics needs to ground itself in something other than ancient creeds or deities isn't, by itself, extremely ice-cutting. The hard part is finding a basis that a. captures widespread acceptance, by promoting peace & prosperity, and b. doesn't get a lot of people shunned / muzzled / maimed / killed in the process.
reply
share