The revaluation of all values or transvaluation of all values (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Umwertung aller Werte'') is a

concept Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by ...

from the philosophy of

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

Exposition

Elaborating the concept in '' The Antichrist'', Nietzsche asserts that

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, not merely as a religion but also as the predominant moral system of the Western world, inverts nature, and is "hostile to life". As "the religion of

pity Pity is a sympathetic sorrow evoked by the suffering of others, and is used in a comparable sense to ''compassion'', '' condolence'' or ''empathy'' – the word deriving from the Latin ''pietas'' (etymon also of ''piety''). Self-pity is pity ...

", it elevates the weak over the strong, exalting that which is "ill-constituted and weak" at the expense of that which is full of life and vitality. Nietzsche contrasts Christianity with

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

. He posits that Christianity is "the struggle against sin", whereas Buddhism is "the struggle against suffering"; to Nietzsche, Christianity limits and lowers humankind by assailing its natural and inevitable instincts as depraved ("

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

"), whereas Buddhism advises one merely to eschew suffering. While Christianity is full of " revengefulness" and "antipathy" (e.g., the Last Judgment), Buddhism promotes " benevolence, being kind, as health-promoting." Buddhism is also suggested to be the more "honest" of the two religions, for its being strictly " phenomenalistic", and because "Christianity makes a thousand promises but ''keeps none''."

Martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

, rather than being a moral high ground or position of strength, is indicative of an "''obtuseness'' to the question of truth." Similarly, Nietzsche contrasts 19th-century European morality to that of pre-Christian

Greek civilization The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Minoan civilization, Minoan and later in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, while influencing the Roman Empire and its successor the Byzantine ...

. Because sex is, in Nietzsche's thought, a fundamental affirmation of life, for its being the very process by which human life is created, Christianity's elevation of chastity (including, for example, the story of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

's virginal pregnancy) is counter to the natural

instincts Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a ve ...

of humanity, and therefore a contradiction of "natural values". Nietzsche's enthusiasm for what he called "transvaluation" stemmed from his contempt for Christianity and the entirety of the moral system that flowed from it: indeed, "contempt of man", as Nietzsche states near the end of ''The Antichrist''. Nietzsche perceived the moral framework of Christian civilization to be oppressive: * Reproduction derided as sinful * Life as an "investment" for the promise of an illustrious afterlife * Breaking the will to live in the real world ''The Antichrist''
§ 50
/ref> The Christian "proof by power" is that " ith makes blessed: ''therefore'' it is true." However, blessedness is something that the priest merely ''promises'', not demonstrated; "it hangs upon "faith" as a condition—one ''shall'' be blessed ''because'' one believes." in this (the one real) world. Transvaluation would mean the exaltation of life rather than the exaltation of suffering, and an acceptance of every instinct or lust as organic and therefore valid, and so beyond the scope of moral condemnation. What one desires would be merely what one desires, rather than either sinful or pious. What one desires would be the product of stimuli rather than the product of "will". '' The Revaluation of All Values'' was also the working title of a series of four books Nietzsche was planning to write, only the first of which—''The Antichrist''—he ever completed. However, one of his schemas for '' The Will to Power'' used "The Revaluation of All Values" as a subtitle, and it was this scheme that his sister

Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche Therese Elisabeth Alexandra Förster-Nietzsche (10 July 1846 – 8 November 1935) was the sister of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the creator of the Nietzsche Archive in 1894. Förster-Nietzsche was two years younger than her brothe ...

used to assemble his notes into the final book with that title.

Exposition

See also

References

Further reading