Learn about the philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. Explore his philosophy of perspectivism. Understand the concept of relativism and how it relates to perspectivism.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Nietzsche's Perspectivism Definition, Facts & Challenges
Table of Contents
- Friedrich Nietzsche's Perspectivism
- Philosophy of Relativism
- Challenges to Perspectivism
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main concept of perspectivism?
The theory of perspectivism argues that there is no real truth because all truth comes from the perspectives of individuals. Thus, reality is relative to each person's own interpretation and perspective.
Is perspectivism the same as relativism?
Although related, perspectivism and relativism are not the same. Relativism focuses on the culture someone is a part of and grew up in, while perspectivism is based on an individual's interpretations, which are influenced by personal experiences.
Table of Contents
- Friedrich Nietzsche's Perspectivism
- Philosophy of Relativism
- Challenges to Perspectivism
- Lesson Summary
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a German philosopher who developed theories to understand the concept of truth. His philosophy of perspectivism argues that all truth is based on a person's perspective and is thus relative to that perspective.
Many of Nietzsche's philosophies, including perspectivism, criticized religion, specifically Christianity. In many of his books, he parallels Christianity to a "slave mentality" in which believers are dependent and servants of their god, and their god (masters) creates the morals to their believers to devote their lives. In addition to condemning religion, many of Nietzsche's books propose radical thinking, making him a complex revisionist of the 19th century.
Nietzsche's Philosophy on Truth and Morality
The philosophy of perspectivism deals with the relationship between truth and morality. Since Nietzsche proposes that one's perspective determines truth, he suggests that there is no reality in the concept of truth. Nietzsche's interpretations of the facts surrounding truth explain it as non-existent. This means that morality and truth only exist in one's interpretation. These philosophies contradict Christian teachings of finding truth and morality through god. Based on these theories, Nietzsche challenges the notion that one can understand reality. Instead, interpreting one's perspective is the only way to understand experience and reason.
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In Beyond Good and Evil (1886), Nietzsche posits people make up the concepts of good and evil. He argues that societies develop the ideas of good and evil and then instill meaning into them to preserve social order. He further suggests that humans should aim to be conscious of the present to live in reality.
Nietzsche's development of perspectivism influenced later schools of thought that wanted to understand truth, specifically the philosophical school of existentialism. Existential thinkers of the 20th century proposed questions to understand individuals as free agents responsible for creating their own meaning of life. They based their philosophy on Nietzsche's argument that people must accept that there is nothing else beyond life. Existentialists viewed themselves as part of a material world and needed to take risks to reach their potential.
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Nietzsche's criticisms of morality led him to develop the philosophy of relativism, which claims that there is no such thing as moral facts. Instead, morality developed from a baseless idea of reality that does not exist. He views morality as a means to understand life. Although this applies to many facets of life, like religion, Nietzsche explains that morality is a tool, not a fact.
From this, Nietzsche developed the concept of cultural relativism, which acknowledges that different cultures have varying values. As a result, cultures have different ways of looking at and understanding the world. Because of this, cultures have different ideas of right and wrong. For example, in Western countries, many animals are considered pets. In other areas of the world, societies view animals as products, either as working aids or food. Based on the theory of cultural relativism, these contrasting values are both valid. There is no way to constitute which values and ethics are correct or incorrect.
Cultural relativism is consistent with Nietzsche's theory of relativism because both theories state that there are no moral facts. Therefore, there is no way to label one belief as correct. The theory of perspectivism also plays into cultural relativism because each culture determines that they are doing the right thing through its interpretations.
Perspectivism vs. Relativism
Although there are significant differences between relativism and perspectivism, the two theories complement and often depend on each other. Humans make judgments by interpreting the world from their perspective. Since these perspectives are instilled in people and are inescapable, humans cannot make absolutely true judgments because their perspectives limit them. However, all judgments are not equal. For example, a linguistics professor knows more about language than an accountant because they studied it in-depth. Although both understand linguistics based on their perspective and judgments, one is more valuable than the other.
Relativism comes from the culture and society one grows up in. There is a set of values instilled into groups of people based on the beliefs they grow up around, which alter their perspectives. These perspectives are of equal value because each culture has its own way of perceiving the world.
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As much as Nietzsche's philosophies have inspired contemporary schools of thought, they have also experienced strong opposition. Marxism is one school that challenges the theory. Marxism argues in favor of a communistic form of labor and promotes the existence of certain essential truths. Marxist values of community contradict the master-slave relationship which Friedrich Nietzsche wrote about. Its assertion is inconsistent with Nietzsche's ideas, specifically its assertion of objectivity.
Nietzsche's perspectivism also contradicts positivism, which holds that assertions can be scientifically verified, meaning that knowledge is true by definition. This philosophy directly challenges perspectivism by proposing an oppositional definition of truth. Although perspectivism views perspectives as a hindrance to truth, positivism considers one's perspective crucial to understanding truth.
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Friedrich Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher whose theories attempted to understand truth. His philosophy of perspectivism argues that there is no essential, universal truth because all truth comes from one's perception and interpretation. Nietzsche also proposes the philosophy of relativism which suggests that there is no truth in morality since morals come from one's concept of truth. This led to his concept of cultural relativity, which acknowledges that each culture has different yet equal values and morals.
In his controversial philosophies, Nietzsche criticizes religion, specifically Christianity. He compares the Christian idea of morality to a master-slave relationship in which believers become servants of gods due to baseless morals. This creates the slave mentality that one must serve morals created by someone else. In his book, Beyond Good and Evil, he insists that humans must recognize that they make up and instill meaning in the concepts of good and evil. These ideas led thinkers to create the school of existentialism in the 20th century, which acknowledges the individual's duty to create purpose. However, there are also schools of thought that challenge these views, such as Marxism and positivism.
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Nietzsche and His Ideas
Friedrich Nietzsche is certainly one of the most famous, talked about, and frequently misunderstood philosophers in the Western tradition. Even people who have never read his books, may recognize his face, with his big bushy mustache and pompadour hairstyle. Most have heard rumors and fragments about his ideas, some of which are true and some of which are misleading. One assumption that is often made, and is true, is Nietzsche's hostility towards religion, particularly Christianity.
Like a lot of other very brilliant and original thinkers, Nietzsche's ideas are easily misconstrued. Nietzsche is, perhaps, the most important and influential philosopher of the 19th century, primarily because of his attack on the concept of essential truth. Truth, according to Nietzsche, is a matter of perspective, not fundamental reality. This understanding of truth and morality has come to be known as perspectivism. It was this concept that more or less shaped his opinion of religion.
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Truth and Morality
The concept of perspectivism and his controversial understanding of truth is most visible in his later works like Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals, and the incomplete collection of notes published after his death called The Will to Power. Nietzsche saw the quest for truth that was not subject to situation, culture, perception, and will as being misguided.
Let me explain in way of example. If I believe that the San Francisco Giants are the best baseball team on planet Earth, that is a belief based on my own perspective, not on some fundamental truth. Being good with words and a zealous Giants fan, I might be able to persuade you that my perspective is true, but I am basically manipulating your perspective to coincide with my own. Nietzsche argues that the numerous attempts by philosophers to distinguish essential, universal truths do not amount to much more than me trying to convince you that the San Francisco Giants are the best baseball team in the world.
Morality, truth claims, and ethical dictates are always motivated by something. Individuals and groups accept certain ideas as true because they have some compelling reason to do so, such as community pressures, anxieties, or desires. Nietzsche's highly sophisticated and often bombastic arguments regarding truth were a major challenge to Western philosophy's quest for essential truth and continue to be so today.
Christianity and Slave Morality
In his writings, Nietzsche sees morality as tyrannical. Keep in mind that Nietzsche does not mean that everything is meaningless, or that we should go around murdering each other for no reason. Nietzsche is arguing that morality has always tried to impose an arbitrary idea of how things should be for everyone and what should matter to everyone.
The Christian morality, which he was most concerned with, is described in On the Genealogy of Morals as being a product of its time of origin. In other words, he believed that Christian morals were a product of the slave culture present during the Roman Empire, the context in which Christianity first emerged. Nietzsche understands Christian morality, and consequently much of European morality, as being the consequence of a slave's perspective. How can a slave feel morally right and powerful? A slave can do so by describing meekness, non-violence, and weakness as morally good. How can a slave justify his or her resentment towards the Roman elites? A slave can do so by describing violence, pride, and greed as evil. Nietzsche argues that the values and morality articulated by Christianity as fundamental and universal are really the product of a particular historical and social perspective.
The Legacy of Nietzsche and Perspectivism
Nietzsche's ideas were very original and controversial in his lifetime and are still so today. But they have also been profoundly influential to numerous schools of philosophy, critical theory, and literature. In the 20th century, existentialism borrowed heavily from Nietzsche's ideas. The German philosopher Martin Heidegger's phenomenology is also deeply indebted to Nietzsche and perspectivism.
Perhaps most significantly, Nietzsche's ideas have been foundational to post-structualist and postmodern thinkers like Georges Bataille, Gilles Deleuze, and Michel Foucault. Nietzsche's ideas are very much in line with contemporary notions of cultural relativism and are as applicable today as ever. Many school of 20th and 21st century thought, such as Marxism, continue to seriously challenge perspectivism. The positivism and emphasis on objectivity stressed by modern science is also difficult to reconcile with Nietzsche's ideas. Although contemporary thinking has caught up with Nietzsche in some ways, in many others he continues to be a challenging, iconoclastic, and disputed philosopher.
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Lesson Summary
Nietzsche challenged traditional notions of truth, morality, and values. Perspectivism argues that all truth claims are contingent on, and the product of, a person's perspective. Nietzsche's philosophy attacks the concept of essential truth and seeks to destabilize the concept of universal morality.
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