The Compassion of Zarathustra: Nietzsche on Sympathy and Strength

Frazer, Michael L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9797-3647 (2006) The Compassion of Zarathustra: Nietzsche on Sympathy and Strength. The Review of Politics, 68 (01). pp. 49-78. ISSN 0034-6705

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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:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies University of East Anglia > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	13 Jan 2016 14:00
Last Modified:	13 Feb 2023 14:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/56299
DOI:	10.1017/S0034670506000052

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