What does Nietzsche promote beyond good and evil in the unity of the self?

Abstract

This article examines the intrinsic relationship between Nietzsche’s conceptualisation of ‘beyond good and evil’ and his distinct view of the self. First, it focuses on Nietzsche’s genealogical analysis of morality, and by scrutinising this historical account of moral valuations the article then endeavours to present Nietzsche’s concrete philosophical standpoint on the fundamental necessity of value judgments which are constantly realised by individuals in their interactions with each other and with life. In this regard, it discusses the strong need to differentiate Nietzsche’s dismissal of the Judaeo-Christian scheme of morals, as good and evil, from his firm advocacy for creatively and only personally actualised valuations of good and bad. After delineating this essential distinction, the article portrays how Nietzsche’s view of the becoming self is interconnected with his proposal of the formation of moral valuations beyond good and evil. Finally, it conclusively elucidates how Nietzsche considers the self’s endless revaluation of morals beyond good and evil for the affirmation of life as its primary means to attain the unity of its selfhood, and it further illuminates his comprehension of this process as the prerequisite step for the self to realise the unity of its selfhood in its endless becoming.