On Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Genealogy of Morals (1887), “Third essay: what do ascetic ideals mean?”
Self-denial is necessary for disciplined action but can clearly go too far. N uses this concept of asceticism to analyze both geniuses and the masses. It’s a chief tool of the will to power, dangerous to human flourishing but also helping us to evolve. Does N’s picture of motivation and greatness make sense?
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