Nietzsche's Ten Virtues

In his paper Nietzsche's Best Life, Randall Firestone enumerates 10 qualities Nietzsche wanted people to develop. Let's begin 👇

Self-Determination. People must determine their own values and adventures - and not uncritically swallow the "mainstream" ideas of the age.

Creativity. Nietzsche's work is a "sustained celebration of creativity" - Nietzsche urges us to create not just art, but our own life purpose, values, morality, and personality style. God is dead and there are no absolute rules - creating great opportunity for acts of creativity.

Becoming. Randall Firestone writes: "For many if not most people, life falls into a routine and stagnates." Nietzsche rebelled against the stagnating life with all his might: "What is life? Life—that is: constantly shedding something that wants to die."

Overcoming. By taking on and overcoming great challenges, Nietzsche wanted people to become "more resilient, more formidable, more dependable, and more accomplished." Nietzsche defines happiness itself as the "feeling that power increases—that a resistance is

overcome."

Discontent. Nietzsche rejects the "age-old wisdom" that asks us to seek inner contentment, peace, and harmony with nature. Nietzsche values the "the great experimenter" who is "discontented and insatiable, wrestling with animals, nature, and gods for ultimate dominion."

Flexibility. Nietzsche rejects absolute and permanent moral codes as they're a sign of intellectual rigidity and don't allow people to make creative, context-sensitive choices. Nietzsche: "I mistrust all systematizers and avoid them. The will to a system is a lack of integrity."

Self-Mastery. Nietzsche's creative, flexible individual is no slave to to his emotional turbulence. Nietzsche valued people who developed "mastery over circumstances, over nature" but achieving "mastery over oneself" is a prerequisite for external conquest.

Self-Confidence. Sample the first 3 chapters of Nietzsche's autobiography: “Why I Am So Wise”, “Why I Am So Clever”, and “Why I Write Such Good Books.” Nietzsche believed "that we are more productive" with a healthy ego. Nietzsche: "The noble soul has reverence for itself."

Cheerfulness. Nietzsche writes: "To stay cheerful when involved in a gloomy and exceedingly responsible business is no inconsiderable art: yet what could be more necessary than cheerfulness?" The noble person is not emotionally beaten down by suffering.

Courage. To live out the above Nietzschean ideals can mean social rejection, intellectual turmoil, and disturbing setbacks. To bear it all requires courage. This is why Nietzsche values "courage and adventure and pleasure in the uncertain."