Nietzscheâs Perfectionism and Evil-Scepticism

Peter Brian Barry

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Nietzscheâs Perfectionism and Evil-Scepticism

In: I Want to Do Bad Things: Modern Interpretations of Evil

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Peter Brian Barry

Peter Brian Barry
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 41â49

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9781848883307_006

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Evil-scepticism is the view that there are no evil people, or trivially few such people, and in either case implies that the vocabulary âevilâ should be shed from our moral vernacular. Any number of contemporary philosophers advocate evil scepticism, but the most important historical advocate of evil-scepticism is Nietzsche. I contend that Nietzsche actually offers two distinct arguments for evil-scepticism: one that appeals to the historical origins of the term âevilâ and the other to Nietzscheâs own positive moral theory. Nietzscheâs first argument has received some response but his second has received none at all, typically because Nietzsche is so often conceived of as an amoralist or general critic of morality. But Nietzsche does offer a positive moral theory, a variety of moral perfectionism that calls for the development of human excellences and virtues whose growth and development can be retarded or mollified in societies that embrace âevilâ in their moral vernacular. While novel and under-appreciated, I contend that neither of Nietzscheâs arguments for evil-scepticism are successful, even if they do ground a healthy scepticism about our all-too common use of terms like âevil.â

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I Want to Do Bad Things: Modern Interpretations of Evil

E-Book ISBN:: 9781848883307

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 01 Jan 2014

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- Philosophy
  - Ethics & Moral Philosophy
- Social Sciences
  - Cultural Studies

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Nietzscheâs Perfectionism and Evil-Scepticism

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I Want to Do Bad Things: Modern Interpretations of Evil

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