Primary sourceBook1887
On the Genealogy of Morality
Friedrich Nietzsche · 1887
Nietzsche's 1887 polemical essay tracing the origins of 'good and evil' through master and slave moralities, ressentiment and the ascetic ideal.
Nietzsche's systematic polemic on the origins of morality, written in direct response to his contemporaries' ideas.
About this source
What it is
On the Genealogy of Morality: A Polemic is an 1887 book by Friedrich Nietzsche, made up of a preface and three treatises that build on his earlier work Beyond Good and Evil.
Why it matters
In this book Nietzsche traces how moral ideas like 'good' and 'evil' changed over time, arguing that they grew out of a historical struggle between the powerful and the powerless. He responds directly to his friend Paul Rée's earlier theory of morality, showing how Nietzsche developed his ideas partly in dialogue and disagreement with other thinkers of his time. Many scholars consider it his most systematic and influential work.
Look closer
- Why does Nietzsche call this book a 'polemic' rather than a calm academic study?
- How does tracing the history of a word like 'good' change how we think about morality today?
- What groups of people does Nietzsche say shaped our ideas of right and wrong, and why might that be controversial?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Friedrich Nietzsche on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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