Frazer, M. (2006) The compassion of Zarathustra: Nietzsche on sympathy and strength. Review of Politics, 68(1), pp. 49-78. (doi: 10.1017/S0034670506000052)
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Abstract
Contemporary theorists critical of the current vogue for compassion might like to turn to Friedrich Nietzsche as an obvious ally in their opposition to the sentiment. Yet this essay argues that Nietzsche's critique of compassion is not entirely critical, and that the endorsement of one's sympathetic feelings is actually a natural outgrowth of Nietzsche's immoralist ethics. Nietzsche understands the tendency to share in the suffering of their inferiors as a distinctive vulnerability of the spiritually strong and healthy. Their compassion, however, is an essential element of the imaginative creativity that Nietzsche holds to be the goal of human existence. Although shared suffering may prove debilitating for some, great individuals must come to affirm their compassion as necessary in achieving accurate knowledge of the human condition.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Frazer, Dr Michael |
| Authors: | Frazer, M. |
| College/School: | College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics |
| Journal Name: | Review of Politics |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press for University of Notre Dame |
| ISSN: | 0034-6705 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1748-6858 |
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