Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Herodotus, Friedrich Nietzsche and John Perry

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4 ideas

23. Ethics / B. Contract Ethics / 1. Contractarianism
Basic justice is the negotiation of agreement among equals, and the imposition of agreement [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: Justice on the elementary level is good will among parties of approximately equal power to come to terms with one another, and to compel parties of lesser power to reach a settlement among themselves.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (On the Genealogy of Morals [1887], II.§08)
     A reaction: This pinpoints a key problem with the social contract as a moral theory - that it requires equals, and recognises only terror of superiors, and indifference to useless inferiors who have nothing to offer (paraplegics and animals).
A masterful and violent person need have nothing to do with contracts [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: He who can command, he who is "master", he who is violent in act and bearing - what has he to do with contracts!
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (On the Genealogy of Morals [1887], II.§17)
     A reaction: The persistent problem with social contract theory is that those much stronger or much weaker seem to have no interest in morality at all, and yet they can all have standards of behaviour.
23. Ethics / B. Contract Ethics / 2. Golden Rule
If you feel to others as they feel to themselves, you must hate a self-hater [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: Supposing we felt toward someone else as that person feels about himself, then we would have to hate him if he (like Pascal) found himself hateful.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (Dawn (Daybreak) [1881], 063)
     A reaction: And how does the Golden Rule work if the other people feel suicidal (as groups sometimes do)?
The Golden Rule prohibits harmful actions, with the premise that actions will be requited [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: The rule 'do nothing that ought not to be done to you' prohibits actions on account of their harmful consequences: the concealed premise is that an action will always be requited.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (The Will to Power (notebooks) [1888], §925)
     A reaction: Indeed it seems to be a slogan for contractarians, though I don't see why you shouldn't be influenced by the thought that there might be reciprocation, even if you don't expect it.