The Decline of Subjectivism and Emergence of Perspectivism in Nietzsche's Thought

Amin Arjang

Ph.D. Student in Philosophy, University of Tabriz, E- mail: aminarjang4@gmail.com

Abstract

In this article, we have tried to show that subjectivism has emerged out of the ethics; it is intended to redeem the human from the fate of Gods and take him to autonomy. By Socrates, subjectivism as a war against the Gods starts with eliminating Dionysius and the dominance of Apollo. Plato develops subjectivism by resourcing to the Socratic equation of virtue and knowledge, and by declaring that knowledge just is of existent; but, inevitably, he admits a god who is single and transcendental. Subjectivism culminates in Neo-Platonist by transcending the being by God; but because of its alienation from the body, they have nothing to say but admitting embodying God, to acquire knowledge from the body. Descartes displaced subject with God; the rational element of body redeem as an extension. But the Cartesian subject is suspending between self-enslavement and the necessity of nature; Kant subjects the nature to the laws of understanding and redeems the subject by constructing him out of its autonomous style. He proposes the teleological aspect of the world, to ensure the freedom of subject in mechanical nature. Even though subjectivism culminates in Kant, but body, as the suppressed thing called noumenon to get lost from the outset: and Nietzsche’s philosophy as the voice of this suppressed body, reduces the first and the second Critique to the third Critique and, thereby, denies the subjectivism which denies body and adopts the body-based perspectivism.

Keywords: Subjectivism, Perspectivism, God, Nietzsche

Introduction

Nihilism, in Nietzsche’s thought, is the inevitable result of the ethical encounter with the being; thereby that the truth-seeking drive, which is derived from the ethical forces, by detecting its teleology and its partial perspective, deactivate it. Subjectivism, as a project that reduces the human being to a knowing subject and being to a knowable object, is nothing but this very truth-seeking drive, which is derived from the ethics, and the processes which it wins over other drives. From Nietzsche’s perspective, by virtue of trying to define and clarification of everything with what he invents, i.e. dialectic, Socrates wins over Apollo. Besides, through the equation of virtue and knowledge, Socrates makes it possible for truth-seeking drive or reason to be authoritarian. Nietzsche’s claim will be proved by virtue of Socratic accusation, i.e. war against Gods. Therefore, what Socrates invented through his method, i.e. reason, was a means by which he limited the Gods. In clearer terms, knowing and clarification of objects was nothing but a war against Gods and get them out of the world, and it was the triumph of autonomy of the humankind.

Subjectivism

Plato, by virtue of making a contrast between reason and sensation, takes reason in contrast to all of the drives of life. He prioritizes the reason over all of the drives and reduced all of the aspects of humankind to a knowing subject. On the other hand, Plato places the reason in the world of Ideas, and prioritizes the Goodness Idea over every other thing in the world, injects an ethical approach to the world. Stating that knowledge only belongs to beings, Plato makes the knowledge as the main element of the world.

The paradox of subjectivism

The subjectivism will be paradoxical when the very core of knowledge as a method for evading the fates of gods, needs to be supported by a single and transcendent God: 1- evading from the fates of Gods is not possible but only from the Apollo method, i.e. by virtue of subjectivism. 2- Subjectivism, for being realized, needs a transcendent and unconditioned God. 3- Developing subjectivism, in its climax, leads to the first insurrection of the body against the idealistic suppression of subjectivism and secondly embodiment of the God of subjectivism within the body. 4- The emergence of Christ was a solution to realize the aim of subjectivism, i.e. realizing human-God, on the one hand, and surviving the body by virtue of embodiment of God, on the other hand. But this solution leads to failure with an answer as horrible as the Cross. 5- The clear answer of the Cross was that the unity of body, subject, and God is possible only on the Cross and by crucifixion. 6- Triumphant of the body means that all of the subjectivism projects has been failed and the anarchy of drives is returned. 8- In the middle Ages, we saw that after the Cross event the only way behold the Christian thinkers were surviving God from the Cross at the expense of crucifixion of the subject and suppression and denying the body. 7- Descartes in Meditations rereads the elements of the Cross and, thereby, displace the subject and God. But surviving the subject from the Cross and trying to the crucifixion of God and the body leads to Captive of the subject within himself. 8- It seems that Kant’s philosophy seeks a way to survive both the subject and God from the event of the Cross. But it let the body be on the Cross at the expense of this surviving. Kant, by virtue of the first critique, deals with the body; by virtue of the second critique constitutes the subject in own will; by virtue of the third critique preserve the critical philosophy.

Perspectivism

It seems that subjectivism, in Kant’s philosophy, reached the end of a route which has started by Socrates. But insurrection of the nature and body against construction as a whole, show up right where it looks done and subjectivism finds its goal ascertained: And then Nietzsche’s philosophy is the loudest voice and highest stack of the Body in this insurrection. Nietzsche aims to free subject as the heart of subjectivism and makes it stop. He delivers subjectivism to perspectivism with criticizing solid and a priori categories, and far more important, with disabling reason’s ideas that prepare the condition of unconditional knowledge. In addition, by disabling reason’s ideas and knowledge categories, Aristotle’s rational animal turns to Nietzsche’s metaphor making an animal that only has feelings and imagination. 

Conclusion 

When subjectivism denied the Body as it finds its destination in making the Being as an attachment of cognition, creating a free subject for the salvation of human and turning it to god, Nietzsche makes Übermensch the destination of perspectivism. An Übermensch is full of élan vital (Life Drive) and embodiment. Nietzsche puts modulation of perspective –due to preparation of Übermensch- not on a single drive, but on a multiple of them. Like at the end of Thus Spoke Zarathustra where bodies with powerful drives and desires congregate and from their inter-body dialectic a perspective to the creature of Übermensch can result.

References

-        Hill, R. Kevin Hill (uu2005) Nietzsche’s Critiques the Kantian Foundations of his Thought, New York: Oxford University Press.

-        Kant, Immanuel (1998) Critique of pure reason, Trans Paul Guter and Allen W. Wood, Cambridge University Press.

-        Nietzsche, Friesrich (1967a) the Will to Power, Trans Walter Kaufmann and R.J, Hollingdan, New York: Random House.

-        Nietzsche, Friesrich (1967b) Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo, Trans Walter Kaufmann and R.J, Hollingdan, New York: Random House.

-        Nietzsche, Friesrich (1982) The Portable Nietzsche (Includes Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Twilight of the Idols), Trans Walter Kaufmann and R.J, Hollingdan, New York: Viking Penguin.

-        Nietzsche, Friesrich (2002a) Beyond Good and Evil, Trans Judith Norman, New York: Cambridge University Press.