The Inversion of the Overman

The Failure of the Modern Imitative Nietzschean Ideal

In Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-1885), Zarathustra says to the small village, “I teach you the overman. Man is something that shall be overcome. What have you done to overcome him?” What is this “overman” Nietzsche so highly regarded as the highest form of human existence? The overman, as implied by the name, is a man who has overcome his own and society’s limitations. The overman rejects tradition, embraces the self, and strives to achieve greatness through the overcoming of the meaninglessness of one’s existence. Although broad, this ideal seems desirable. Not only desirable, but quite attainable. But why? Why was the overman needed as the ideal to reach for human existence? Why is it still? The overman was Nietzsche’s prescription for his diagnosis of the death of God. As religion, particularly Christianity, saw decline during the advent of the Enlightenment, and solidified during the nineteenth century, meaning and purpose fell out of fashion. Christianity declined and man now placed meaning in technological progress. Never before in human existence was the greatest attainable ideal that of technological and societal progression. What was held in high regard was one’s connection to the divine, one’s place amongst nature, and one’s moral character, in the pre-Enlightenment age. What does modern society hold in the highest regard? Progression, and a perpetual increase in the material, reminiscent of Hegel’s idea of perpetual technological manipulation until the highest ideal is achieved, and history is complete. But this idea has slowed. The modern industrial age if anything has only exacerbated our meaninglessness. Each successive innovation brings us further from meaning. Innovation attempts to distract from both the metaphysical and the physical, turning our eyes away from the stars and ourselves, and into the product for which we are occupied. This modern illness represents a stark change from that of Nietzsche’s diagnosis. While Nietzsche acknowledged both religion and science’s failure to give humans meaning, the two disciplines have seen an even greater departure from meaning from when Nietzsche wrote. Religion has fallen even more out of fashion since the nineteenth century, and technological innovation only pulls us further from any sense of higher meaning. The illness has spread, and Nietzsche’s diagnosis only covered one part of the body. The illness has grown in severity, grown in prominence, and the remedy has turned on the body. What is this remedy? For Nietzsche, the remedy for this illness was the overman. A man so powerful and above himself and society that he has found meaning within himself and his own interests. He strives for perfection, using his own interests and his own beliefs to achieve immortal meaning and purpose. This was Nietzsche’s remedy for the illness of meaninglessness experienced by the survivors of the death of Christianity in the nineteenth century.

The Triumph of the Imitative Overman

I propose a controversial assertion. An assertion which seeks to explain the applications of the overman. I believe the overman has already been created, and the remedy already administered. In fact, it has been administered to every human being who rejects society. The overman is now every man in the modern and new generation. The overman is not an unattainable and rare feat, only achievable by the likes of those of Napoleon or Caesar, but it is a feat that can be achieved by Amber, Justin, Liam, and Emma. The new generation isn’t raised on religion, nor science, nor technological progress. It is raised on the overman. The idea that one’s self, one’s inner desires, and one’s goals in life are the reasons for meaning and purpose, is now the baseline norm in which we raise the new generation. Meaning and purpose is now placed in the self, and purpose is placed in one’s goals. No longer does society value religion as it applies to meaning and purpose, placing it to the side as a falsification of metaphysics (a reality which has been evident since the Enlightenment). No longer does society value technological progression as it applies to meaning and purpose, seeing that technology sinks us deeper into despair and further from greater explanations. Society values the self. The self as it was seen by Nietzsche. Or does it? Does society value the self as in the definition provided by the overman, or the self as in the definition provided by society? As we see in the modern generation, the self, as defined by society, is defined as one’s limitations. Not by one’s overcomings. It is not the triumph of the overman, but the triumph of the imitation of the overman. But one key element is missing: overcoming.

As alluded to earlier, society no longer values religion nor science as a means to achieve spiritual bliss or purpose, and instead relies on the self. Society believes that the self is what gives us meaning and purpose, the self as it is defined by society. Society defines the self with its intrinsic qualities, those being the self’s body. The body, being defined by its physical attributes and its cultural implications. The modern generation relies on the image of the self, and the intrinsic, inherited social, political, and socioeconomic qualities of the self. And they claim this self to be the same self of the overman. They claim that they overcome the self by overcoming the intrinsic and inherited qualities of the self as defined by society. They imply that this overcoming is perfectly representative of Nietzsche’s idea of the overman. But this is clearly not the case. The overman overcomes his own limitations that society places on him, not the limitations that he himself places on him. The modern generation claims that these inherited and intrinsic qualities are qualities that not only define who they are, but qualities that limit their own interests through the overbearing of society. But is this true? If a whole population believes that society rejects their own inherited and intrinsic qualities, and the population acts as if it were true, who is the population overcoming? They neither overcome themselves nor society. If overcoming one’s self means accepting the position that one is limited by their intrinsic and inherited qualities, doesn’t this inherently imply that one is limiting oneself? The modern generation invents a limitation, places the limitation upon themselves, while being aided by society, and overcomes such a limitation, and thus claims to be the overman. The overman was never meant to overcome the limitations of one’s self attributed limitations of intrinsic and inherited qualities, but rather, the overman, as seen by Neitzsche, was meant to overcome society’s limitations of the self, and naturally, overcome one’s own limitations.

Another component of this “imitation” of the overman and the false ideal that the overman should overcome a challenge, and thus, become himself again. The modern generations seek to overcome their own self-ascribed and self-created limitations (the limitations of the intrinsic and inherited qualities) by embracing their intrinsic and inherited qualities, accepting their nature. They see this acceptance as overcoming their own limitations. And the final form of this imitative overman is a man who becomes himself again, embracing one’s “true self” by “overcoming” the self-induced limitations of intrinsic and inherited qualities. Thus, we see the triumph of the imitative overman, or modern society’s own definition of the Nietzschean ideal: One’s intrinsic and inherited qualities are what defines oneself, and to overcome such a limitation, one must accept and embrace these limitations of intrinsic and inherited qualities and use them to their advantage, thus overcoming society’s limitation on oneself (even whilst society also continues to accept, embrace, and even further these intrinsic and inherited qualities as limitations, knowing that such limitations are used by the populous as advantages), and achieving the final form of becoming one’s true self, a self which has overcome oneself by embracing and accepting ones intrinsic and inherited qualities. This is society’s interpretation of overcoming oneself. But really, it is simply a justification to accept and embrace oneself, even if it includes accepting and embracing a failed or limited self.

Intrinsic, Inherited, and Negatively Self-Induced Qualities

What are these intrinsic, inherited, and negatively self-induced qualities that society seeks to “overcome” and become one’s final form: one’s self? Society seeks to embrace and accept one’s intrinsic and inherited qualities, embracing them as the qualities which define their own being. These qualities being the body, and the body’s place in society. One’s race, one’s gender, one’s sexual orientation, one’s socioeconomic status, and one’s place in society. These, by no fault of the self, are intrinsic and inherited qualities, qualities which are neither definitive of one’s own character as a personality nor are they negative or positive. They are neutral. They are true and beautiful, no matter the inherited quality. While some of these intrinsic and inherited qualities may be perceived as either beneficial or negative by society or even by the individual, even whilst they may be as such in the eyes of the individual, they are nevertheless qualities in which the overman doesn’t concern himself with. The overman, as viewed by Nietzsche, a person who, regardless of their intrinsic and inherited qualities, overcomes one’s own intellectual and societal limitations. In the modern and false interpretation of the overman, the overman accepts and embraces these intrinsic and inherited qualities, accepting these qualities as the definition of one’s own character, thus overcoming such qualities through accepting such qualities. But does acceptance and embracement as one’s identity really translate to overcoming one’s intellectual and societal limitations? No. Thus, in the modern interpretation of the overman, intrinsic and inherited qualities are self-induced limitations that are “overcome” through their acceptance and embracement by the self. Negatively self-induced qualities are qualities that are naturally negative, such as poor choices in life and so forth. These are included with intrinsic and inherited qualities, as all of these qualities are seen as the definition of one’s character, and to overcome such a character, in the modern interpretation of the overman, one must accept and embrace such qualities as one’s true self to overcome the idea of the self that society prescribes to the overcomer. Thus, in the modern interpretation of the overman, the new overman overcomes society’s idea what their own self should be, rejecting society’s interpretation of who they should be (even though this idea of the nw overman is furthered by society) and accepting their own intrinsic, inherited, and negatively self-induced qualities.

The Imitative Overman’s Self-Induced Limitations and Connection to the Limitations of Religion

I have described in detail the modern interpretation of the Nietzschean ideal of the overman. The modern interpretation twists the Nietzschean ideal, turning it into a “novel” ideal that aligns itself with the negative attributes of religion rather than to the virtuous attributes of the overman. Neitzsche’s main criticism of religion, particularly Chirstinantiy, was not primarily a criticism of the metaphysical explanations that Christianity offers, but rather, a criticism of how Christianity limits the potential of the individual. Neitzsche believed Christianity offered people an excuse of inaction. He believed Christianity limited one’s true potential by limiting their actions to the will of God. Neitzsche believed Christianity to serve as a crutch for the weak, as the weak failed to find strength within themselves, and instead, relied on the solace of Christianity as an excuse for inaction. Instead of finding power within themselves, Neitzsche believed Christianity forced one to become reliant on an external force for achieving one’s own destiny, rather than relying on the power of the self. This idea is reminiscent. An echo of a familiar tone.

This echo, as it seems, is the same echo of the imitative overman. Yes, religion died. And yes, science failed to replace the meaning and solace that religion gave. So what has the new generation created? A religion disguised with the mask of the overman. What does the modern imitative overman elicit? Limitations. Limitations similar to what religion seems to limit us with. The Nietzschean ideal has inverted, and the overman has become society’s newest self-limiting religion. The imitative and modern overman accepts and embraces his self-induced characteristics, of which he sees as negative or positive even though such characteristics are neutral, and ascribes his overcoming with accepting and embracing such self-perceived negative or positive characteristics, the same self limitations that Nieztsche accused Christianity with causing. Thus, the progression of societal meaning and purpose remains as it always has: the use of religion to justify inaction. Only now, this “religion” is not a metaphysical and divine explanation of the world, but rather, an imitative ideal of the overman that lacks any spiritual qualities. In a sense, this new “religion” is even less connected to purpose and meaning than the former religions were. So, we find ourselves in a situation even more dire than Nietzsche found society in. The diagnosis has worsened, and the remedy of the overman has irritated the virus, making the illness spread and worsen.

The True Overman

The problem with the modern overman is that it attributes overcoming with overcoming of the self as seen by society, rather than overcoming of the self as limited by one’s own self. To overcome one’s self, one must overcome one’s own limitations to achieve a higher ideal. In the modern interpretation, the overman overcomes one’s own self-ascribed limitation to achieve not a higher ideal, but to become one’s true self, i.e, a version of one’s self who accepts and embraces one’s situation whatever it may be, forever resented their true self. The true overman, rather than overcoming themselves to become their “true self”, should overcome themselves to achieve an ideal. This is where I part with one of Nietzsche’s minor ideas of the overman. Nietzsche believed one must overcome oneself to become one’s “true self”, but I believe this “true self” to be the striving of the ideal self, not the self as it currently is. While I agree that one must overcome one’s own and society’s limitations on one’s self, I believe that the end goal of this is overcoming it to achieve a higher ideal. Who did Nietzsche see as overmen? He saw conquerors, artists, politicians, innovators in science, athletes, and great men as overmen. Men who conquered themselves and society’s expectations of themselves. But did they overcome themselves in order to achieve the end goal of becoming their “true selves”? Or did they overcome themselves in order to achieve a higher ideal of perfection. They don’t strive to become themselves. They strive to become their ideal selves. Their ideal selves as it relates to their ideal virtues, ideal goals, ideal beliefs, and ideal societies. Hence, the true overman, is a man who overcomes his own and society’s limitations in order to achieve an ideal of what the self should be, not what the self currently is.