Daybreak: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality

Schluss, "Will people perhaps one day say of us that we too, steering westward, hoped to reach an India, - but that our fate was to founder on the infinite? Or, my brothers? Or -?"

S. 327, "The Don Juan of knowledge: he has not yet been discovered by any philosopher or poet. He lacks the love for the things he knows, but he has spirit, excitement, and enjoyment in the hunt and intrigues of knowledge - up to the highest and most distant stars of knowledge! - until finally nothing remains for him to hunt but the absolutely wretchedness of knowledge, like the drinker who at the end drinks absinthe and rinse water. So finally he lusts for hell - it is the last knowledge that tempts him. Perhaps it will also disappoint him, like everything known! And then he would have to remain standing forever, nailed to disappointment and himself become a stony guest, with a longing for a banquet of knowledge that will never again be his! - for the whole world of things has no more morsel to offer this hungry one."

Cf. Franz Kafka's "The Hunger Artist": "Because I have to starve, I can't help it …… because I couldn't find the food that tastes good to me. If I had found it, believe me, I wouldn't have made a fuss and eaten my fill like you and everyone else."

Is that not a bitter twist of Nietzsche's Don Juan of knowledge? It shows a complex and perhaps tragic figure who is driven by the pursuit of knowledge yet lacks the essential love for the very things he discovers. His journey leads him to the brink of despair, as he exhausts all possibilities and is left with only the wretchedness of knowledge. This is similar to Kafka's hunger artist, who starves not because there is no food but because he cannot find the food that satisfies his unique taste. Both figures seem to be trapped in a cycle of unfulfilled desires and a sense of isolation from the rest of the world. Nietzsche's portrayal of the Don Juan of knowledge thus offers a profound exploration of the human condition and the nature of knowledge itself.

This book holds a special place in my personal canon as it was the very first work of philosophy that I ever had the opportunity to read.

I first picked it up during my high school days at Powell's. At that time, I could barely make sense of what I was reading.

As the years have passed, I have grown older and, hopefully, wiser. However, I still find great pleasure in revisiting Nietzsche's earlier works.

"Daybreak" is Nietzsche in his aphoristic mode, which happens to be my favorite among all his styles.

In this work, he commences his assault against historical morality, a theme that would come to define the remainder of his body of work.

One can observe the young Nietzsche grappling with a set of ideas that would later go on to become his significant contribution to the field of philosophy.

As his countryman Heidegger would put it, these ideas would be "fixed like a star in the sky of the world."

Revisiting "Daybreak" allows me to witness the evolution of Nietzsche's thought and gain a deeper understanding of his philosophical journey.

It is a reminder of how far I have come in my own intellectual growth and how much there is still to discover and explore in the world of philosophy.

This book, which was written subsequent to Human, All Too Human, offers a hint regarding the forthcoming shift in Nietzsche's work.

While HATH was a volume of pure exploration, touching upon numerous ideas without a distinct focus, Daybreak (or, The Dawn) is the point where Nietzsche discerns the path that will lead him to his life's work - an examination and reevaluation of moral values.

Nevertheless, this book is merely the commencement of Nietzsche's moral odyssey, a journey that will persist (and in certain aspects conclude) in The Gay Science, paving the way for Nietzsche's'main' works, in which he concentrates more on sharing with us that which he had uncovered in his previous explorations.

In Daybreak, you will still encounter an abundance of exploration, yet with a nascent focus on morality. One segment that particularly stood out to me consists of a few paragraphs about the Jews (primarily comprising Nietzsche's admiration for them, as is customary), presenting yet another illustration of Nietzsche's superhuman faculty for discerning the patterns of history and human psychology, and then leveraging his insight to almost predict the future. In this instance, written in 1881, Nietzsche perceives the ascending power of the Jews in Europe and concludes that within a century they will either become the masters of Europe or lose it entirely.

This is a brilliant book (albeit lacking the more potent voice of the later works), penned by humanity's preeminent explorer of morality.

Finally, a selection of quotes:

"The snake that cannot cast its skin perishes. So too with those minds which are prevented from changing their views: they cease to be minds."

"If you feel great and productive in solitude, society will belittle and isolate you, and vice versa. A powerful mildness such as that of a father: wherever this feeling takes possession of you, there build your house, whether in the midst of the multitude, or on some silent spot. Ubi pater sum, ibi patria [where I am a father, there is my fatherland]."

"Are we then looking for too much when we seek the company of men who have grown mild, agreeable to the taste, and nutritive, like chestnuts which have been put into the fire and taken out just at the right moment? Of men who expect little from life, and prefer to accept this little as a present rather than as a merit of their own, as if it were carried to them by birds and bees? Of men who are too proud ever to feel themselves rewarded, and too serious in their passion for knowledge and honesty to have time for or pleasure in fame? Such men we should call philosophers; but they themselves will always find some more modest designation."

"Truth in itself is no power at all, in spite of all that flattering rationalists are in the habit of saying to the contrary. Truth must either attract power to its side, or else side with power, for otherwise it will perish again and again. This has already been sufficiently demonstrated, and more than sufficiently!"

"Love wishes to spare the other to whom it devotes itself any feeling of strangeness: as a consequence it is permeated with disguise and simulation; it keeps on deceiving continuously, and feigns an equality which in reality does not exist. And all this is done so instinctively that women who love deny this simulation and constant tender trickery, and have even the audacity to assert that love equalises (in other words that it performs a miracle)! This phenomenon is a simple matter if one of the two permits himself or herself to be loved, and does not deem it necessary to feign, but leaves this to the other. No drama, however, could offer a more intricate and confused instance than when both persons are passionately in love with one another; for in this case both are anxious to surrender and to endeavour to conform to the other, and finally they are both at a loss to know what to imitate and what to feign. The beautiful madness of this spectacle is too good for this world, and too subtle for human eyes."

This is the beginning of Nietzsche's crusade against morality.

If you know that you have the digestion to consume a 300+ page book by Nietzsche (not literally, of course), this is definitely one of the better ones.

It seems to be one of his least studied works, which is rather regrettable because there are many valuable insights to be found here.

It also does not focus exclusively on morality, although that seems to be the central starting point of this book (perhaps his 'preface' to the later Genealogy of Morality).

Nietzsche uses the aphoristic style to occasionally gift us with unexpected wisdoms that, when looked at more closely, often have a deeper, more comprehensive meaning.

His ideas challenge the traditional notions of morality and force us to question our own beliefs and values.

Overall, this work is an important contribution to Nietzsche's philosophy and well worth reading for anyone interested in exploring the nature of morality and human existence.

For a long time, I had been planning to read the works of Friedrich Nietzsche.

Recently, I finally decided to embark on this journey, and through some quick research, I was directed to Morgenröthe (Daybreak/Dawn of Day) as a suitable starting point.

The sources I consulted claimed that this book presents Nietzsche's infamous philosophy, which he further develops in his subsequent works.

However, I must be honest and admit that I'm not entirely sure what I just read.

Perhaps it's the quality of the translation, maybe it's me, or perhaps it's Nietzsche himself - or a combination of all three.

I'm familiar with Nietzsche's philosophy from secondary sources, mainly later philosophers writing or lecturing about him.

I recognized many of the themes that I was already acquainted with before reading this book.

But frankly, I find the majority of this book difficult to digest or stomach.

The upside is that now I realize that reading secondary literature on Nietzsche is rather pointless.

The man expresses himself in such obscure metaphors and cryptic language that almost any interpretation seems possible.

Most of the book is written by a philologist, who uses ancient thinkers, writers, and works and applies them to the human psyche.

In my experience, Nietzsche is a philologist who begins to psychologize humanity and seems to lose control.

Most of his psychological insights into human beings are clearly flawed.

He appears to eulogize the life of the solitary thinker, who, due to this peculiar lifestyle, is able to conquer himself.

The book is filled with resentment towards Christianity, (common sense) morality, women, and beneficence; it is also full of adulation for victory, soldiery, loneliness, and a contemplative lifestyle.

I will adopt Nietzsche's strategy and assert that he is projecting himself onto humanity.

Almost no sane human being would desire to be 'good' as measured by Nietzsche's standards.

We enjoy the company of others, we like being good and compassionate to others, and we certainly don't want to spend the rest of our lives preoccupied with our own thoughts.

Nietzsche seems to be obsessed with his own contemplation, which leads him to grand conclusions.

Human beings strive for power, over themselves, over others, over the world; human beings are (at least most of them) slaves-turned-masters; human beings are sick, suffering from their own passions and emptiness; and the fact that we killed God doesn't help much either...

Morality should be seen for what it truly is: an illusion.

There is no morality, and we should be radical skeptics about all forms of morality, primarily concerned with improving our own lives.

(It's interesting to note that Nietzsche seems to claim that compassion for others is impossible without first having compassion for oneself; a hateful man will seek himself in others and will hate them subsequently.)

In general, Nietzsche was a sickly individual, a recluse, and a spiteful human being.

This is evident in his philosophy: he advocates solitude, victory (over passions, over others, etc.), and power, and believes he understands the psychology of mankind, when in fact he only knew his own psyche - by projecting it onto others.

I didn't really enjoy reading this book, but it wasn't a waste of time either.

The main reason for this is that this type of book contains too much literature and too little fact - but since it was written in 1881, this isn't so strange: psychology has advanced significantly since then.

I look forward to reading more of Nietzsche and am curious to see if my opinion of him and his philosophy will change in due course.

In the preface, he said "I will conduct a survey", and in the first part especially, he was almost like an anthropologist. I really like reading Nietzsche when he embarks on a journey in prehistoric times.

Nietzsche's works are full of profound insights and unique perspectives. His exploration of human nature, morality, and values is both thought-provoking and challenging.

When we read Nietzsche, we are not only exposed to his ideas but also invited to question our own beliefs and assumptions. His writing style is vivid and engaging, making it accessible to a wide range of readers.

Whether you are a philosophy enthusiast or simply interested in expanding your intellectual horizons, Nietzsche's works are definitely worth exploring.

Reads like a dry run for the later Beyond Good and Evil (1886). He's unapologetically eccentric, and often cryptic, in this book. For example, in section V. 527, "The Hidden Men," he writes, "…have you never met those embarrassing, and yet so often good-natured people who do not wish to be recognised, and who time and again efface the tracks they have made in the sand? and who even deceive others as well as themselves in order to remain obscure and hidden?" Or in V.553, "Circuitous Routes," he asks, "—Where does all this philosophy mean to end with its circuitous routes? A philosophy which is in the main the instinct for a personal regimen—"

There are also passages that anticipate Thus Spake Zarathustra: A book for all and none (1883). In section V. 566, "Living Cheaply," he states, "—The cheapest and most innocent mode of life is that of the thinker; … he does not require society, except from time to time in order that he may afterwards go back to his solitude with even greater delight. He seeks and finds in the dead compensation for the living, and can even replace his friends in this way—viz., by seeking out among the dead the best who have ever lived." By the way, a strategy that Machiavelli also followed, after his exile from politics.

The author provides a strategy for the reader, which may or may not be to your liking. In section V. 454, "A Digression," he writes, "—A book like this is not intended to be read through at once, or to be read aloud. It is intended more particularly for reference, especially on our walks and travels: we must take it up and put it down again after a short reading, and, more especially, we ought not to be amongst our usual surroundings." So he expected this to be a kind of Vademecum, constantly at hand for delectation and consultation, perhaps like the Enchiridion by Epictetus (referred to explicitly by Nietzsche in sections I.131 and V. 546, with a mention in the latter section of slave morality, as treated at length in Nietzsche's later On The Genealogy of Morals (1887)], but also possibly as a replacement for the kind of handbook written by Erasmus, the Enchiridion Militis Christiani The Manual of a Christian Knight. Similarly, he wanted his readers to mull over individual sections of his Zarathustra, on a day-to-day basis, as a substitute for their Bible reading, preferably.

The higher we soar, the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly.

This profound aphorism offers a unique glimpse into history, revealing the great cost involved in achieving even a small amount of human reason. Our constitution, which is the source of our pride, character, traditions, and sense of well-being, requires strong moral foundations. It must be able to withstand the entanglement of human pettiness and not perish.

The dawn of day brings with it fractions of Nietzsche's expressed madness, laying down hard truth knives that carve at our flesh, suppressing our contempt.

The sublime and overwhelming might of nature nurtures our fun by trampling every remnant of free will or finality. It tears paths down as easily as a giant tears spider webs, simply to mess with our discernment. Inside this kingdom of luck and stupidity lies the great Theater, filled with inebriated and tireless enthusiasts. Sometimes, they experience pride as a tortured fellow returning to its cell without revealing compressed secrets and failing to assert superiority through presumptuous actions.

Development is not the same as happiness. How far do we want to venture into abstraction? Are we willing to explore uncharted territories where Icarus wouldn't dare? Do we seek shipwreck towards infinity? Sailing through madness is what we call philosophy. We are like gardeners, cultivating compassion and vanity, waiting to harvest freedom and power. The path of self-knowledge, in which we punish and forgive ourselves, is a very lonely one. There are no shortcuts, but it is magnanimous.

Link to my highlights: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BYn_...