Re: Re. Categorical Imperative, Again
George Sherwood (steppen@lightspeed.net)
Fri, 30 May 1997 18:30:12 -0700 (PDT)
At 01:13 PM 5/30/97 -0700, you wrote:
>>Mr. Callihan,
>>
>>>This is a bit of a reprise of the earlier thread, some months ago, on
>>>Nietzsche and the Categorical Imperative. From _The Antichrist_, #11 >(my
>ellipses):
>>
>>
>>Would you be so kind as to provide the list with the reference to this
>>"earlier thread" or a quotation from it?
>>
>>Lambda C
>
>Going back through my in-box, I see that I first introduced the subject in
>the thread, Re: Eternal recurrence is a morally irresponsible doctrine, of
>Fri, 18 Oct 1996, which was one in a series of responses to P. S. Rhodes'
>contention that Nietzsche is to be blamed for the Holocaust, etc. The
>argument revolved, largely, around the issue of whether ER had the effect of
>composing a kind of reversed categorical imperative, etc. More recently, in
>the thread, Nietzsche -claim to anti-universalism?, there was some talk
>around and about the issue. It seems to me there were other posts that also
>discussed this question, but I haven't been able to pin-point them.
>
>The notion that the ER is to be construed as prescribing that we live each
>action as though it were to be repeated ad infinitum is, it seems to me, a
>kind of categorical imperative, for instance. My contention has been that ER
>cannot be construed in this fashion, at least not on the basis of anything
>Nietzsche has written.
>
>Best,
>
>Steve C.
>
The ER might be construed as an attitude, the same way a painter might look
at his best painting. Now, this painter can look at this painting and say,
"It is done, and it is the best I can do, so for that reason I love it as I
love myself, for it is painted with my blood. Every color from white to
black is perfectly placed." Or he can say, "I hate this painting. That
black should be there and that white should be there. Why is it that so
many other painters can properly place their colors? Why can't I? Oh, life!
Miserable life!" So here we have the ER and resentment.
George
____________
George-- steppen@lightspeed.net ~~ Psst, hey, you interested in some common
sense? Go to: <www.mcwilliams.com/books/aint/> or to:
<http://www.natural-law.org>
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